Tag: UAV

Successful Launch of Second SpaceDataHighway Satellite

August 12, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

The EDRS-C satellite, the second node of the SpaceDataHighway network (also known as EDRS, European Data Relay System), has been successfully launched into geostationary orbit at 31° East by an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. After a test period, it will double transmission capacity of the system in order to serve two observation satellites simultaneously and provide redundant back-up for the SpaceDataHighway.

This second satellite is joining EDRS-A which transmits on a daily basis the images of Earth acquired by the Copernicus programme’s four Sentinel observation satellites. Since it entered service in late 2016, it has achieved more than 20,000 laser connections. The reliability rate has reached 99.5%, and these successful connections have downloaded more than 1 petabyte of data. Full operations including EDRS-C are expected by the end of 2019, when its inter-satellite link and end-to-end service will be tested and commissioned with the Sentinel satellites.

The SpaceDataHighway is the world’s first ‘optical fibre’ network in the sky based on cutting-edge laser technology. It is a unique network of geostationary satellites permanently fixed over a network of ground stations that can transmit data at a rate of 1.8 Gbit/s. It will be a key component of the Airbus Network for the Sky (NFTS) programme. NFTS combines various technologies – satellite and ground communications, air-to-ground, ground-to-air and air-to-air tactical links, 5G mobile communications and laser connections – in a resilient, unified, secure, highly interoperable, mesh network for aircraft, UAVs and helicopters.

SpaceDataHighway satellites can connect to low-orbiting observation satellites at a distance up to 45000 km, intelligence UAVs or mission aircraft via laser. From its position in geostationary orbit, the SpaceDataHighway system relays data collected by observation satellites to Earth in near-real-time, a process that would normally take around 90 minutes. It thus enables the quantity of image and video data transmitted by observation satellites to be tripled and their mission plan to be reprogrammed at any time and in just a few minutes.

“The SpaceDataHighway makes our data connections more secure, more stable, more reliable, with more bandwidth and in near real time. The launch of our second satellite is just the start, laser communication will be a revolution for many industries,” said Evert Dudok, Head of Communications, Intelligence & Security at Airbus Defence and Space.

A third communication node is to be positioned over the Asia-Pacific region by around 2024. Equipped with three laser terminals, EDRS-D will significantly increase the system’s communication capacity and considerably expand its coverage.

From 2021, the Pleiades Neo Earth observation satellites will begin to use the SpaceDataHighway. By the end of 2019, the system will also provide a fully European broadband communication service to the Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS).

The SpaceDataHighway is a public–private partnership between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus, with the laser terminals developed by Tesat-Spacecom and the DLR German Space Administration. Airbus owns, operates and provides commercial services for the SpaceDataHighway. The EDRS-C satellite platform supplied by OHB System AG is also carrying a payload for Avanti Communications.

Dassault Aviation at the EBACE 2019 Event

May 17, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

The Dassault Aviation group is delighted to be presenting its dual civil and defense know-how at the 2019 edition of EBACE, Europe’s primary business aviation event, to be held in Geneva from 21 to 23 May.

Saint-Cloud, France, 17 May 2019 – The Dassault Aviation group is delighted to be presenting its dual civil and defense know-how at the 2019 edition of EBACE, Europe’s primary business aviation event, to be held in Geneva from 21 to 23 May.

Three Dassault aircraft will be presented in the static display:

a Falcon 8X tri-jet,
a Falcon 900LX tri-jet,
a Falcon 2000S twin-jet.

The Falcons designed and built by Dassault Aviation are a family of business aircraft which have earned a reputation for handling, operational flexibility, low consumption and technological innovation. © Dassault Aviation – All Rights Reserved

On its stand, Dassault Aviation will also be presenting:

a full-scale mock-up of the cabin of the Falcon 6X, the new Falcon twin-jet currently under development. Visitors will be able to enter this mock-up, which is fully representative of the features and comfort of the actual cabin;
a mock-up of the Rafale, the multi-role combat aircraft, which has proven itself in numerous theatres of operations. The Rafale is a candidate for the Swiss Air Force’s combat fleet renewal program;
a mock-up of the nEUROn stealth combat UAV demonstrator built under the project leadership of Dassault Aviation, in cooperation with companies from five European countries, including Ruag of Switzerland;
a representation of the new capabilities of Dassault Aviation’s Falcon maintenance networks, notably following the acquisition of MRO activities of TAG Aviation in Europe and ExecuJet in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

As well as being the lynchpin of a strategic industrial network comprising hundreds of companies in France and around the world, Dassault Aviation is also the core industrial shareholder of the Thales Group and the leader of the new-generation European combat aircraft program.

Israel’s Elbit Systems Speeds Up Drone Race

July 12, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

REHOVOT, Israel (Reuters) – Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems on Thursday unveiled a 1.6 ton unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) designed to fly in airspace currently reserved for piloted civilian planes as a race heats up to deploy military drones outside combat zones.

The move came hours after a U.S. rival staged a landmark transatlantic demonstration flight, as arms firms vie to develop drones with flexibility to be used in civilian-controlled airspace – a drive that could spawn future technology for unmanned airliners.

Changing security concerns following the dismantling of Islamic State and rising geopolitical tensions have caused European countries to shift defense efforts from far-away conflicts to homeland security, resulting in demand for drones that can be safely integrated into civilian airspace to, for example, monitor border crossings, Elbit officials said.

A version of Elbit’s Hermes 900 StarLiner is being assembled for the Swiss armed forces and is scheduled to be delivered in 2019 in a deal worth $200 million.

“We are getting a lot of interest from other customers for the same configuration … from all over the world,” Elad Aharonson, general manager of Elbit’s ISTAR division, told Reuters.

The StarLiner, being launched ahead of next week’s Farnborough Airshow, is derived from the Hermes 900 operated by Brazil for surveillance during the 2014 World Cup. That operation required closing off airspace to civilian aircraft, something the StarLiner, with technology to detect aircraft and avoid collisions, will not require, Elbit said.

The drone is compliant with NATO criteria, qualifying it to be integrated into civilian airspace, Elbit said. It will still need approval of the various civil aviation authorities.

The StarLiner has been flying in civilian airspace in Israel over the past year.

California-based General Atomics’ MQ-9B SkyGuardian – a version of the widely used Predator family – completed its Atlantic crossing on Wednesday ahead of the world’s largest military airshow at RAF Fairford in western England.

Elbit expects to receive approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for its own product in the coming months.

EASA was not available for comment.

Israel’s drone exports in 2005-2012 totaled $4.6 billion, according to consultancy Frost & Sullivan. They reached $525 million in 2016, accounting for 7 percent of Israel’s defense exports, defense ministry data show.

Drones are a major source of revenue for Elbit and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries. The United States and Israel dominate the industry but face growing competition from cheaper Chinese drones.

U.S. military drone makers are vying for a larger share of the global market, which market researcher the Teal Group forecasts will rise from $2.8 billion in 2016 to $9.4 billion in 2025.

INTELLIGENCE GATHERING

Flying alongside airliners would expand the horizons of drones originally developed for military surveillance. But it would also call for advanced sensors and software that could eventually filter back into commercial use as developers look at single-pilot and ultimately pilotless cargo or passenger jets.

The StarLiner can reach 30,000 feet – the altitude of some commercial jets – and photograph an 80 square kilometer (31 square mile) area, Elbit said.

“Some customers would like to use the system to gather intelligence,” Elbit CEO Bezhalel Machlis said. “Another example can be for homeland security applications, to fly above an area and make sure it is monitored against terrorist activities.”

The drone can be equipped with radar, cameras to take video and still pictures, and signals intelligence to analyze electronic signals.

“This is a major step towards unmanned civilian planes,” Aharonson said, adding the main barrier to such aircraft would be psychological rather than technical.

(Editing by Jonathan Weber, Tim Hepher and Mark Potter)

Successful Launch of Second SpaceDataHighway Satellite

Dassault Aviation at the EBACE 2019 Event

Israel’s Elbit Systems Speeds Up Drone Race

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