The Ministry of Defence today signed a contract for the third phase of Typhoon described as an aircraft so advanced that it takes a hugely complex suite of on-board computers just to keep it in the sky. The urgency for such technology is evidenced in battlefields such as Afghanistan where the Unmanned Air Systems round-the-clock real-time aerial intelligence could possibly replace manned combat aircraft altogether within a generation.
Lockheed Martin's Desert Hawk III, operated by the Royal Artillery, is a low-cost, hand-launched mini-UAS used for short-range, low-altitude intelligence-gathering, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capable of being operated day or night from a portable ground control station.
Also operated by the Royal Artillery is the Elibit Systems Hermes 450, a medium-sized, medium-altitude UAV capable of remaining airborne for over 20 hours at a time, sending ISTAR information to battlefield commanders on the ground. The Hermes is scheduled to be replaced by the Watchkeeper UAS in 2010, which offers a de-icing capability allowing it to fly for longer periods through the winter months and will be fitted with an advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) able to produce incredibly detailed imagery of the area of operations below.
The Reaper Hunter/Killer UAV is operated jointly between the Royal Air Force and the United States Air Force. The Reaper is currently the UK's only UAS capable of locating and engaging enemy targets on the ground, and can carry various combinations of smart weapons including Hellfire missiles and laser-guided bombs.
Some of the more advanced UAS such as Reaper use intelligent on-board systems based on technology found in the head up displays (HUD) of the latest manned combat aircraft to process incoming information and make autonomous decisions on what is important enough to send back to battlefield commanders on the ground. This saves analysts hours or days of processing the mass of data gathered during a single flight.
One of the more advanced systems was QinetiQ's spindly, solar-powered Zephyr high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) UAV, which, in August 2008, completed an 82-hour flight, unofficially breaking the record for the longest unmanned flight. QinetiQ is developing the Zephyr to operate at altitudes in excess of 55,000 feet (16,800m) for months at a time.