Current status of U.S. Navy unmanned equipment (I) - Ship-based drones

Unmanned equipment is one of the important technical means for military power represented by the United States to occupy a military advantage for a long time. The United States has always been in a cutting-edge position in research and development and military applications. In recent years, the US Navy has essentially positioned unmanned equipment as a new type of combat force with unique advantages, giving it an equally important position as humanized equipment. At present, the US Navy is accelerating the formation of systematic practical combat capabilities of unmanned equipment and building human resources.—The new naval equipment system without man combined will have a revolutionary impact on the concept of maritime combat.

At present, the development focus of the U.S. Navy’s unmanned equipment is reflected in eight aspects:1) Help the Navy achieve air superiority. Mainly air refueling, air strikes, etc. 2) Achieve underwater advantages. LDUUV provides ISR, anti-submarine warfare, anti-mine and underwater strikes, etc. 3) Achieve surface advantages. ACTCU continues to track unmanned boats. 4) Fusion with other troops. UAVs convey information and fight with the enemy, allowing troops to be deployed in a dispersed manner and have greater mobility. 5) Multi-domain unmanned system. Underwater, underwater, sky, land, etc. 6) Unmanned bee swarm. 7) Continuous supply and guarantee. 8) Autonomy and machine learning.

The tasks that naval drones can perform include battlefield reconnaissance and surveillance, technical reconnaissance, target indication, relay guidance, fire shooting, damage assessment, communication relay, alert detection, surveying and mapping navigation, electronic reconnaissance, electronic interference, electronic self-defense defense, ground strike, anti-submarine, anti-ship, engineering support, anti-ground (water) mines, search and rescue, transportation and supply, hydrological detection, meteorological detection, shooting range strike effect evaluation, simulated electronic confrontation, electromagnetic spectrum monitoring and management, and the deployment of underwater alert systems.

In terms of naval drones, the destroyer is equipped withThe "Scan Eagle" and "Firepower Scout" MQ-8B have begun to be upgraded; the "Mermaid" MQ-4C land-based drone has begun small-scale production during long-term flights. At present, the U.S. Navy deploys a large number of drones mainly MQ-4C, MQ-8B/C, RQ-21, etc.

The RQ-21 Blackjack Small Tactical UAV System (STUAS), formerly known as Integrator, was designed and manufactured by Boeing Insitu for the STUAS program of the U.S. Navy. The electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) payload on the aircraft enables operators to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), war loss assessment, communication relay, search and rescue, force protection, border security, and anti-piracy missions. The RQ-21 Blackjack offers a 102km line of sight (LoS) range. Powered by an 8HP reciprocating engine, the drone can reach a larger 20,000 feet. The drone's relatively speed and endurance are 167km/h and 16 hours respectively.

"RQ-21" fixed-wing drone

The MQ-8B Fire Scout autonomous drone (UAV) has been in service with the U.S. Navy since 2009. Developed by Northrop Grumman Systems, the Vertical Take-off and Landing Tactical UAV (VTUAV) is based on the Schweizer aircraft model 330. The MQ-8B's autonomy, longer battery life and greater payload capabilities allow it to identify, track and notify targets and provide target data, perform ISR and perform combat damage assessments. Payloads include EO/IR sensors with laser rangefinders (LRFs), mine detectors, offshore radars and communication relays.

The MQ-8C Fire Scout fully automatic drone is built based on the MQ-8B platform. The advanced VTUAV model was first flight in November 2013 and was delivered to the U.S. Navy in December 2014. The MQ-8C has more powerful abilities than its predecessor, the MQ-8B. The larger MQ-8C is powered by a Rolls-Royce 250-C47E engine equipped with a fully authorized digital electronic control (FADEC) system. In addition to the payload carried by the MQ-8C, it also comes with a Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) mine detector. The autonomous aircraft can also be configured to transport other payload types.

"Fire Scout" MQ-8B/C UAV

MQ-9, also known as Death, Reaper, and Predator, is the manufacturer of General Atomic Aviation Systems. "M" is the code name for the US Department of Defense multi-purpose equipment, "Q" refers to the remote-controlled aircraft system, and "9" means that this is the ninth in a series of remote-controlled aircraft systems. The development of the U.S. military drone started early and has a relatively complete drone system. From long-range large RQ-4 Global Hawk to small attack MQ-1 Predator, the U.S. military drone covers all types of various levels. The MQ-9 is the main attack unmanned aircraft of the US Air Force. It has the characteristics of multi-mission, long range, and altitude surveillance. It has a full load of 5 t and can fly continuously for 14 hours under full load. When performing reconnaissance missions, the continuous flight time can exceed one day and night. One of the main tasks of the Death Drone is to provide close air support to ground forces, and can also perform long-lasting surveillance and reconnaissance missions in mountainous or dangerous areas. The aircraft can collect and transmit dynamic images for air combat centers and ground forces, help ground forces choose appropriate equipment to fight, and can also open fire at any time according to actual needs.

MQ-9“Reaper”Unmanned reconnaissance aircraft

In today's military drone market,USAofRQ-1A "Preater", "Hunter" drone、UK"Phoenix" drone, Italy "Kuisu Jiuxing"”26 drone、Canada'sCL289 drone、China's"Rainbow" series droneswait，They are all the most advanced unmanned reconnaissance aircraft in the world.。Especially in the United StatesRQ-1A Predator drone has a larger takeoff weight of 850 kg，Larger load205 kg，Flying3000-5000 meters，Battery life time60 hours，Radius of combat926 km，Equipped with photoelectric/Infrared System，Synthetic aperture radar reconnaissance equipment，Inertial Guide/GPS navigation system can transmit the detected images and videos to the ground command center in real time through satellites.，It can provide long-term battlefield surveillance capabilities.

besides，Reconnaissance helicopters will also develop rapidly. Reconnaissance helicopters are the main aerial tactical reconnaissance owned by foreign troops，Its all-weather and ultra-low altitude flight performance is good，Can also hover and perform reconnaissance，Therefore, it has advantages that fixed-wing flight does not have.OH58D is the second-generation reconnaissance helicopter at the US Army Division level. The aircraft is equipped with a periscope reconnaissance ball on the top of the rotor. The ball has a forward infrared instrument, a TV camera and a laser range/target indicator. This kind of scouting ballEvenEnhanced concealment during reconnaissance.

Anyway，With the continuous application of more technologies on drones，The combat capability of drones will continue to be improved. On the battlefield of the future，Especially on the future air battlefield，Drones will play an increasingly important role.