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Future of $34M drones riding on thin Kabul air
Unmanned planes will have difficulty in altitude, expert says
Chris Wattie
National Post
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
The $34-million spy drones bought by the Canadian army to support troops in Afghanistan may not be able to fly in the thin mountain air around the Afghan capital, experts say.
The four French-built Sperwer unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are on their way to Kabul this week, along with their control stations and operators, the Canadian Forces said yesterday.
The drones are to be used for reconnaissance and surveillance during the mission in Afghanistan, where more than 1,900 Canadian troops are part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
The Canadian Forces announced in August it was buying the four Sperwers and rushing delivery of the drones so they would be available for use during the army‘s year-long deployment to Afghanistan, which began the same month.
Ken Munson, editor of Jane‘s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Targets, said the Canadians may not have taken the altitude of Afghanistan into account when they chose the Sperwer -- which the army has designated by its English name, the Sparrowhawk.
Mr. Munson said the thin air of the Afghan capital will cause problems for the Canadian spy drones.
"It would have some difficulties at that altitude," he said. "The Sperwer is really quite a tiny aircraft ... it has a two-stroke, two- cylinder engine, which is an air-breathing engine, so it‘s going to have a hard time.
"At the very least, it‘s going to be at the very limits of its capabilities."
Downtown Kabul is 6,000 feet above sea level, and parts of the sprawling sector patrolled by the Canadian battle group are as high as 7,200 feet above sea level.
The city is also surrounded by mountains that are even higher and could prove an even more difficult obstacle for the drones.
"Surely if they knew that‘s where they were going to use it, they would have made some allowances," Mr. Munson said. "At that sort of altitude, it will struggle."
The remotely piloted aircraft has a nominal ceiling of up to 16,400 feet, but its manufacturer lists its "operational altitude" as between 1,000 and 10,000 feet.
Major Paul Romanow, deputy director of the army‘s UAV project, acknowledged the altitude of Kabul will be a challenge for the Canadian drones, but said he was certain they were up to the task.
"We‘re doing some flight testing to verify that," he said yesterday. "The theoretical testing, engineering studies and simulations have all been done and they indicated that it could be done at that altitude.
"But there‘s no flight data ... once we have that, we‘ll know for sure."
He said the drones have been tested at the altitudes they will fly in Afghanistan, including low-speed flights to simulate their catapult launches. They have not, however, been launched at those heights, he said.
Maj. Romanow said full flight testing will begin next week in Kabul, once the drones and the military personnel who will operate them get there.
"But we‘re very confident that it will work," he said. "People are working to ensure that the Sperwer provides the coverage that we‘ve asked it to provide."
In addition to the four drones, there are also two ground control stations en route to Kabul, mobile command posts from which the drone‘s operators control its flight.
Maj. Romanow said the Canadian spy planes come equipped with a high-tech set of "eyes" that will allow them to scan large areas of terrain in all weather and at all times of day. "It‘s a very capable vehicle."
The $33.8-million contract for the Sperwer purchase was awarded to Oerlikon-Contraves Inc., of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., the subcontractor for SAGEM, the French firm that builds the drones.
The three-metre-long craft is already in service with France, Netherlands, Sweden, Greece and Denmark. It can cruise for up to five hours, sending back images of targets up to 150 kilometres from its operators on the ground.
At the moment, ISAF is using German "Luna" UAVs to patrol the skies over Kabul.
Mr. Munson said the Canadian Forces could have avoided potential problems with altitude by purchasing a newer, "high-endurance" version of the Sperwer.
"The long-endurance variant has a bigger wing, which would help it in the thinner air and a higher [maximum] altitude," he said. "Which might make it more suitable for a place like Kabul."
SAGEM also makes a "high-velocity" version of the Sperwer and is developing a model capable of carrying air-to-surface missiles.
Mr. Munson suggested the Canadian military might have been in too much of a hurry to buy remotely controlled crafts without shopping around first.
"Given the Canadian Forces‘ general lack of experience with UAVs, I would‘ve thought they would ask the opinion of people who know about these things before sending them off to exotic locations like Afghanistan," he said.
"This is the first time the Sperwer has been sold outside of Europe -- which is the kind of environment it was really designed for."
The drone has yet to be exposed to Afghanistan‘s gruelling terrain, temperature extremes and ever-present dust, which have played havoc with almost every piece of equipment the army brought to Kabul, from high-tech artillery detection radar to the much-maligned Iltis vehicles.
However, Maj. Romanow said if flight testing does turn up problems operating the drones, there are a number of steps the military can take to correct any shortcomings, including reducing the Sperwer‘s 50-kilogram payload of cameras and sensors.
But he insisted the army has "every confidence" in the drone. "There‘s lots of technical fixes that can be provided," he said.
"But we‘re way too early in the process to say ... whether there‘s even a problem that needs fixing."
Maj. Romanow said that if all goes according to plan, the Sperwer will make its first operational flight over Kabul in a little over two weeks.
Unmanned planes will have difficulty in altitude, expert says
Chris Wattie
National Post
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
The $34-million spy drones bought by the Canadian army to support troops in Afghanistan may not be able to fly in the thin mountain air around the Afghan capital, experts say.
The four French-built Sperwer unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are on their way to Kabul this week, along with their control stations and operators, the Canadian Forces said yesterday.
The drones are to be used for reconnaissance and surveillance during the mission in Afghanistan, where more than 1,900 Canadian troops are part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
The Canadian Forces announced in August it was buying the four Sperwers and rushing delivery of the drones so they would be available for use during the army‘s year-long deployment to Afghanistan, which began the same month.
Ken Munson, editor of Jane‘s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Targets, said the Canadians may not have taken the altitude of Afghanistan into account when they chose the Sperwer -- which the army has designated by its English name, the Sparrowhawk.
Mr. Munson said the thin air of the Afghan capital will cause problems for the Canadian spy drones.
"It would have some difficulties at that altitude," he said. "The Sperwer is really quite a tiny aircraft ... it has a two-stroke, two- cylinder engine, which is an air-breathing engine, so it‘s going to have a hard time.
"At the very least, it‘s going to be at the very limits of its capabilities."
Downtown Kabul is 6,000 feet above sea level, and parts of the sprawling sector patrolled by the Canadian battle group are as high as 7,200 feet above sea level.
The city is also surrounded by mountains that are even higher and could prove an even more difficult obstacle for the drones.
"Surely if they knew that‘s where they were going to use it, they would have made some allowances," Mr. Munson said. "At that sort of altitude, it will struggle."
The remotely piloted aircraft has a nominal ceiling of up to 16,400 feet, but its manufacturer lists its "operational altitude" as between 1,000 and 10,000 feet.
Major Paul Romanow, deputy director of the army‘s UAV project, acknowledged the altitude of Kabul will be a challenge for the Canadian drones, but said he was certain they were up to the task.
"We‘re doing some flight testing to verify that," he said yesterday. "The theoretical testing, engineering studies and simulations have all been done and they indicated that it could be done at that altitude.
"But there‘s no flight data ... once we have that, we‘ll know for sure."
He said the drones have been tested at the altitudes they will fly in Afghanistan, including low-speed flights to simulate their catapult launches. They have not, however, been launched at those heights, he said.
Maj. Romanow said full flight testing will begin next week in Kabul, once the drones and the military personnel who will operate them get there.
"But we‘re very confident that it will work," he said. "People are working to ensure that the Sperwer provides the coverage that we‘ve asked it to provide."
In addition to the four drones, there are also two ground control stations en route to Kabul, mobile command posts from which the drone‘s operators control its flight.
Maj. Romanow said the Canadian spy planes come equipped with a high-tech set of "eyes" that will allow them to scan large areas of terrain in all weather and at all times of day. "It‘s a very capable vehicle."
The $33.8-million contract for the Sperwer purchase was awarded to Oerlikon-Contraves Inc., of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., the subcontractor for SAGEM, the French firm that builds the drones.
The three-metre-long craft is already in service with France, Netherlands, Sweden, Greece and Denmark. It can cruise for up to five hours, sending back images of targets up to 150 kilometres from its operators on the ground.
At the moment, ISAF is using German "Luna" UAVs to patrol the skies over Kabul.
Mr. Munson said the Canadian Forces could have avoided potential problems with altitude by purchasing a newer, "high-endurance" version of the Sperwer.
"The long-endurance variant has a bigger wing, which would help it in the thinner air and a higher [maximum] altitude," he said. "Which might make it more suitable for a place like Kabul."
SAGEM also makes a "high-velocity" version of the Sperwer and is developing a model capable of carrying air-to-surface missiles.
Mr. Munson suggested the Canadian military might have been in too much of a hurry to buy remotely controlled crafts without shopping around first.
"Given the Canadian Forces‘ general lack of experience with UAVs, I would‘ve thought they would ask the opinion of people who know about these things before sending them off to exotic locations like Afghanistan," he said.
"This is the first time the Sperwer has been sold outside of Europe -- which is the kind of environment it was really designed for."
The drone has yet to be exposed to Afghanistan‘s gruelling terrain, temperature extremes and ever-present dust, which have played havoc with almost every piece of equipment the army brought to Kabul, from high-tech artillery detection radar to the much-maligned Iltis vehicles.
However, Maj. Romanow said if flight testing does turn up problems operating the drones, there are a number of steps the military can take to correct any shortcomings, including reducing the Sperwer‘s 50-kilogram payload of cameras and sensors.
But he insisted the army has "every confidence" in the drone. "There‘s lots of technical fixes that can be provided," he said.
"But we‘re way too early in the process to say ... whether there‘s even a problem that needs fixing."
Maj. Romanow said that if all goes according to plan, the Sperwer will make its first operational flight over Kabul in a little over two weeks.
