Jane’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Targets

UAVs are almost universally acknowledged to be a burgeoning market. While still predominantly military, there is growing international action in civil and commercial airspace, including telecommunications relay and environmental monitoring roles.

Content Structure
This title is designed to describe both the airborne and the ground-based elements of the principal UAV and aerial target systems known to be currently under development, in production and/or in service worldwide. It does so within a common entry structure (see below), to enable informed comparison between systems of a comparable nature..

Structure
The title is divided into six product sections, the first two of which are devoted to the air vehicles of each system. The next four deal with major subsystems. All product entries are listed in alphabetical order of country of origin, and within each country in alphabetical order of manufacturer or other prime contractor. The title is completed by an alphabetical listing of manufacturers’ addresses and contact details, and separate indexes, by manufacturer and equipment name, for the product entries.

• UAVs: The major section, this covers UAVs of every size and type, both fixed-wing and rotary-wing. Lighter than air systems are also included.
• Aerial targets: This section covers all kinds of aerial target, including ballistic and towed targets. Where a manufacturer may offer a UAV variant of a standard target, this also is noted.
• Payloads: This section covers mission payloads, in which UAV surveillance sensors (EO, IR and radar) currently predominate.. Other typical payloads may include such items as target scoring systems. Standard avionics are dealt with by Jane’s Avionics and thus are normally excluded, but some UAV-specific equipment such as miniaturised autopilots are covered. Similarly, weapon payloads, although noted within relevant UAV descriptions, are not separately described here as they fall within the scope of Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons.
• Power plants: Describes reciprocating and turbine aero-engines known to be installed in, or under development for, UAVs and aerial targets.
• Control and communication systems: Coverage in this section ranges from dedicated, customised complete ground control stations to individual elements thereof such as remote video terminals and datalinks.
• Launch and recovery systems: Covers systems known to be in general use. However, it should be noted that many UAV and target manufacturers also produce such systems tailored to their own products but not adaptable for other use.

Record Structure
Air vehicle (UAV and target) entries are described under the following main headings:

• Type: Gives a quick-reference summary of each aircraft’s primary purpose.
• Development: Gives the history of development up to the time of publication, or entry into service if earlier.
• Description: This is subdivided under the following subheadings:
• Airframe: Gives a brief description of the air vehicle’s general configuration and construction.
• Mission payloads: Describes the main sensor or weapon payloads installed in, or capable of carriage by, each air vehicle.
• Guidance and control: Details the method(s) by which the air vehicle is commanded and controlled throughout its mission. (Editor’s note: Readers should be wary of the term ’autonomous’, which tends to be over-used in manufacturers’ product literature as though it were synonymous with ’automatic’. Strictly, ’autonomous’ should imply that the air vehicle is capable of making its own decisions without human input. Where the word appears in this volume, it has been taken in editorial good faith, but the editor is not always in a position to determine its strict accuracy.)
• Transportation: Is intended primarily to give an idea of the portability of the system.
• System composition: Gives, wherever possible, an overall picture of the number of air and ground vehicles, personnel and support equipment making up a standard or typical fielded system.
• Launch: Details the method, with alternatives where applicable, by which the air vehicle is despatched for a mission.
• Recovery: The means, also with alternatives if applicable, by which the air vehicle is retrieved at the end of a mission.
• Variants: Where more than one major version of a particular type exists, the principal differences — and any alternative names or designations — are detailed under this heading.
• Specifications: Are given in standardised form under the four main headings of aircraft power plant (including fuel capacity), dimensions, weights and performance, to the fullest extent of the information available.
  (Editors Note: Readers should note that weights given by manufacturers are, unfortunately, not to a consistent standard. Thus, aircraft empty weight may or may not include such items as onboard (non-payload) avionics; some payload figures may include fuel; maximum take-off or launching weight may include the weight of a launch booster; and so on. These factors will be clarified wherever such details have been provided. All speeds are assumed to be TAS (true airspeed) unless otherwise indicated. Maximum level speeds are rounded down, stalling speeds rounded up. Altitudes are rounded to the nearest 5 m or 20 ft.)
• Status: Gives the current known operational status of each system or programme, indicating whether it is in service, in production, under development or evaluation. Also includes any other known information considered to be of interest.
• Customers: These are identified either by individual name, country or region, to the extent that this information is openly available. Specific force or unit allocations are also given, if known. However, it will be appreciated that, for reasons of defence security and/or customer confidentiality, this information cannot always be given.
• Contractor: Gives the name and basic location of each product’s manufacturer; full addresses and contact numbers appear in the Contractors’ Addresses list.

Subsystem entries, due to the diverse nature of the products concerned, are described under a more basic set of headings, as follows:

• Type, Development and Contractor are as above.
• Status contains customer details, where known.
• Specifications groups the basic technical information under similar headings for size, weight and ‘performance’, although data listed under the last-named necessarily vary with the nature of the product. In the Power plants section, it should be noted that engine ratings may vary from those quoted in individual UAV or target descriptions. This is principally because engine manufacturers generally give uninstalled (bench test) ratings, whereas aircraft builders usually quote maximum take-off power with the engine installed.
• Description: All other information, including variants where applicable, is grouped under this catch-all heading.

Images
At least one photograph is included for each equipment wherever possible. Line drawings and graphics are also provided in some cases. Images are annotated with a seven digit number which uniquely identifies them in the Jane’s image database.

Sections

• Aerial targets
• Analysis
• Contractors
• Control and communications
• Glossary
• Launch and recovery systems
• News briefs
• Payloads
• Power plants
• Professional organisations
• Unmanned aerial vehicles
• Worldwide uav operators

Commonly Used Terms
(1) Circular dispersion; (2) chrominance difference, (1) Instrument flight rules; (2) in-flight refuelling, (1) Linear predictive coding; (2) low-pressure compressor, (1) Multitarget tracking radar; (2) mean time to repair, (1) Naval Air Station (US); (2) national airspace (US), (1) Optionally piloted vehicle; (2) offshore patrol vessel, (1) Phase alternation line; (2) programmable array logic, (1) Position of intended movement; (2) previously intended movement, (1) Reconnaissance management system; (2) root mean squared, (1) Recovery, assist, secure and traverse (helicopter); (2) radar-augmented subtarget, (1) Remote tracking station; (2) request to send, (1) Remotely piloted aircraft; (2) rotorcraft pilot's associate, (1) Small computer system interface; (2) single card serial Interface, (1) Synthetic aperture radar; (2) search and rescue, (1) Very light aircraft; (2) very large array, (Trojan) Special Purpose Integrated Remote Intelligence Terminal, Advanced concept technology demonstration, Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (NATO), Aeronautical Radio Inc (US company), Air data computer, Air data terminal, Air Force Base (US), Air Force Research Laboratory (US), Air traffic control, Air traffic management, Air vehicle, Air vehicle operator, Airborne collision avoidance system, Air-to-air missile, All-up weight, Alternating current, Aluminium-lithium, Ampère, Ampère hour, Angle of attack, Anti-aircraft, Anti-aircraft artillery, Anti-submarine rocket, Anti-submarine warfare, Aramid fibre-reinforced plastics, Armoured fighting vehicle, Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (US), Attitude and heading reference system, Automatic direction finder/finding, Automatic flight control system, Auxiliary power unit, Aviation gasoline, Bandwidth, Battle damage assessment, Beyond line of sight, Beyond visual range, Bi-phase shift keying, Bit error rate, Built-in test equipment, Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung ( Germany), Cadmium mercury telluride (CdHgTe), Calibrated airspeed, Carbon fibre-reinforced plastics, Cathode ray tube, Central Intelligence Agency (US), Centre of gravity, Certificate of Airworthiness, Charge coupled device, Circular error probability, Civil Aviation Safety Authority (Australia), Close range, Comité Consultatif International des Radiocommunications (France), Command and control, Command and control interface, Command, control, communications and computers, Command, control, communications and intelligence, Commercial off-the-shelf, Commercially developed, military qualified, Common datalink, Communications intelligence, Complementary metal oxide semiconductor, Component knocked down, Computer-aided design, Concept of operations, Constant false alarm rate, Continental United States, Continuous wave, Conventional take-off and landing, Critical design review, Datalink interface, Decibel, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (UK), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (US), Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (US), Degrees of freedom, Délégation Générale des Armements (France), Department of Defense (US), Department of National Defence (Canada), Destruction of enemy air defences, Differential GPS, Digital pulse code modulation, Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile (France), Direction-finding, Effective radiated power, Electromagnetic interference, Electromagnetic pulse, Electronic combat reconnaissance, Electronic counter-countermeasures, Electronic countermeasures, Electronic intelligence, Electronic support (or surveillance) measures, Electronic warfare, Electronically erasable programmable read-only memory, Electro-optical, Emergency locator transmitter, Engineering and manufacturing development, Enhanced position location and reporting system, Equivalent airspeed, Explosive ordnance disposal, Extended industry standard architecture, Extra high frequency, Extremely low frequency, Federal Aviation Administration (US), Field of view, Financial year, Fly-by-wire, Focal plane array, Former temporary title of DARPA (which see), Forward line of own troops, Forward-looking infra-red, Frequency modulation, Frequency shift keying, Full authority digital engine control, Full rate production, Full-scale aerial target, Full-scale engineering development, Full-scale rotary-wing target, Future Combat System (US Army), Generation, Glass fibre-reinforced plastics, Global positioning system, Government off-the-shelf, Government-furnished equipment, Ground control station (or system), Ground controlled intercept, Ground data terminal, Ground moving target indicator, Ground proximity warning system, Ground support equipment, Ground-launched cruise missile, Head-up display, Heavy-fuel engine, Hertz (cycles per second), High frequency, High-altitude endurance, High-altitude, long endurance, High-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (US), Identification, friend or foe, Imagery intelligence, Imagery interpretability rating scale, Implementation Force (NATO), Improvised explosive device, In ground effect, Indicated airspeed, Indium antimonide, Inertial measurement unit, Inertial navigation system, Infra-red, Infra-red linescan, Infra-red search and tracking, Initial operating (or operational) capability, Initial operational test and evaluation, Input/output, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors, Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, Intelligence, surveillance, targeting, acquisition and reconnaissance, Intermediate frequency, Internal research and development, International Civil Aviation Organisation, International Security Assistance Force (UN), International standard atmosphere, Israel Defence Force, Jet-assisted take-off, Joint Aviation Authorities (Europe), Joint Project Office (US), Joint Services Imagery Processing System, Joint Stand-Off Weapon, Joint Tactical Information Distribution System, Laser range-finder, Lighter than air, Line of sight, Line-replaceable unit, Liquid crystal display, Lithium disulphide, Littoral Combat Ship, Long range, Low observables, Low-light television, Low-rate initial production, Man-machine interface, Man-portable air defence system, Maximum take-off weight, Mean time between failures, Measurements and signatures intelligence, Medium range, Medium-altitude endurance, Medium-altitude, long endurance, Medium-range endurance, Memorandum of Understanding, Micro air vehicle, Micro-electromechanical system, Military operations in urban terrain, Military standard(s) (US), Millimetre wave, Ministry of Defence, Miss-distance indicator, Missile Technology Control Regime, Mission payload operator, Mission planning and control station (or system), Mission planning system, Motor (automobile) gasoline, Moving target indicator, Multifunction display, Multiple ejector rack, Multiple Launch Rocket System, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (US), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (US), National imagery interpretability rating scale (US), National Television Standards Committee (US), NATO Air Traffic Management Committee, Network-centric warfare, Network-enabled capability, Nickel/cadmium, No onboard live operator (US Navy), Non-line of sight, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Not utilising live local operator (US Air Force), Nuclear, biological and chemical (warfare), One engine inoperative, Operation 'Enduring Freedom', Operation 'Iraqi Freedom', Optionally piloted air vehicle, Optionally piloted aircraft, Organic air vehicle, Original equipment manufacturer, Out of ground effect, Out of line of sight, Over the horizon, Personal computer interface, Planned position indicator, Platinum silicide, Position location and reporting system, Pounds static thrust, Preliminary design review, Product improvement programme, Proof of concept, Pulse code modulation, Pulse position coded, Pulse repetition frequency, Pulse repetition interval, Quadrature phase shift keyed, Radar cross-section, Radar warning receiver, Radio frequency, Random access memory, Receiver/transmitter, Reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition, Rectangular format array, Reduced instruction set computer, Remote video terminal, Remote-control operator, Remotely operated aircraft, Remotely piloted helicopter, Remotely piloted vehicle, Request for information, Request for proposals, Research and development, Research octane number, Research, development, test and evaluation, Revolutions per minute, Rocket-assisted take-off, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Australian Navy, Satellite communications, Sea level, Shaft horsepower, Short range, Short take-off and landing, Short-range air defence, Signal processing in the element, Signals intelligence, Single channel ground and airborne radio system, Single sideband, Small business innovative research (US contract type), Specific fuel consumption, Spurious free dynamic range, Stabilisation Force (NATO), Standardisation NATO Agreement, Suppression of enemy air defences, Surface-to-air missile, Tactical air navigation, Tactical common datalink, Tactical control station (or system), Tactical unmanned aerial vehicle, Take-off, Telemetry, Television, Theatre missile defence, Thermal imaging common modules, Thin film transistor, Time between overhauls, Time/frequency difference of arrival, To be determined, Traffic collision and avoidance system, Transferred electron device, Transistor/transistor logic, Travelling wave tube, Triple ejector rack, True airspeed, UAV common automated recovery system (US), Ultra-high frequency, Ultra-violet, Uninhabited naval strike aircraft, United Nations, United States Air Force, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, Universal control station (NATO), Universal target control station, Universal Transverse Mercator, Unmanned (or uninhabited) aerial vehicle, Unmanned (or uninhabited) aircraft system, Unmanned (or uninhabited) combat air vehicle, Unmanned (or uninhabited) combat armed rotorcraft, Unmanned (or uninhabited) surveillance drone (NATO), Unmanned (or uninhabited) target vehicle, Velocity/height (ratio), Vertical launch and recovery, Vertical take-off and landing, Very high frequency, Very high speed, Very large scale integration, Very low frequency, VHF omnidirectional radio range, Video (or visual) display unit, Video cassette recorder, Video tape recorder, Virtual memory environment, Visual flight rules, Wide area augmentation system, Wide area search

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