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 Fielding
larger Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), such as the MQ-9
Reaper, capable of carrying much heavier payloads will open
new horizons for the use of standard aerial weapons, such as
GPS, or laser guided gravity dropped bombs. The main benefit
of such weapons is their relative low cost, ability to deploy
from high altitude and absence of telltale acoustic or visual
launch signature. Deploying a 250 pound Small
Diameter Bomb (SDB) with the F-15E in 2006, marked an important
milestone for the SDB, considered as an essential weapon for
future unmanned platforms. The MQ-9 Reaper will be able to carry
stacks of these relatively lightweight, high precision weapons.
Current SDBs are fitted with GPS guidance kits, but enhanced
models are expected to carry GPS/ SAL or tri-modal guidance
offering UAS true all weather strike capability. Other improvements
will introduce "Focused Lethality Warheads" utilizing
the Dense Inert Metal Explosive
(DIME) technology, developed by the US Air Force and Lawrence
Livermore national laboratory.
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|  An
autonomous weapon perfected for top attack of armored targets
is the Sensor Fused Weapon (SFW). When employed with weaponized
UAVs, they can be loaded individually, or in small numbers to
accommodate weight restrictions of the platform. One of the
best known examples is the 3.4 kg Skeet, developed by Textron
Systems. This weapon is usually loaded into submunitions, carried
by cluster bombs such as the BLU-108 which is operational with
the USAF and has demonstrated dramatic effect in 2003 during
combat operations in Iraq. Textron Systems further adapted the
Skeet into the Selectively-Targeted Skeet (STS), modified for
unmanned airborne platforms, cruise missiles and loitering weapons.
STS provides the same lethality as BLU-108 Skeet but is packed
in a lightweight, more flexible deployment mechanism. Instead
of the parachute used with the BLU-108 STS uses a foiled wing,
which provides the autorotation necessary for area scanning.
A similar application is under development by the French company
Sagem, seeking to develop a UAV-borne dispenser deploying the
6.5 kg BONUS SFWs.
Another weapon designed to engage targets in open area is the
Claw (Clean Lightweight Area Weapon), also developed by Textron
Systems, using the same external dimensions and weight as the
BLU-108. It has a single insensitive munition warhead with rings
of thermobaric material (zirconium) that produce blast, fragmentation
and incendiary effects over a wide area. Using reliable self-destruct
and timed de-activation mechanisms, CLAW
leaves no unexploded ordnance on the battlefield. CLAW submunitions
are being tested with RQ-5 Hunter unmanned air vehicle under
a US Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate program. For
the Hunter demonstration, CLAW would be deployed using Textron’s
multi-mission payload universal aerial delivery dispenser (U-ADD),
a 16kg cargo tube able to carry 45-50kg (100-110lb) payloads
and has an empty weight of.
Topics covered in this article:
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