Misiones CAS, COIN y contra objetivos de oportunidad

[poliorcetes]

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/ ... nship.aspx

Marine Corps Considers New Cannon for Airborne Gunship
September 2011
By David C. Ake

Less than a year after it successfully fielded an “off-the-shelf”gunship to improve its close-air support capabilities, the Marine Corps is already considering upgrades for its newest aircraft.

The service in 2010 took KC-130J airborne tankers and outfitted them with a kit comprising already developed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance packages and weapon systems. The Harvest Hawk, like the Air Force Special Operations Command's AC-130 gunships, can loiter for long periods at night, peer down at enemies and engage them when called upon.

The program has proven successful enough for the service to consider an upgrade, the addition of a 30mm GAU-23 cannon to Harvest Hawk's weapons configuration, said Maj. Richard Roberts, a KC-130/Operational Support Airlift requirements officer at headquarters Marine Corps aviation.

The GAU-23 is considered a low-risk choice because the Navy and Marine Corps already use it. The Marine Corps deferred adding the cannon in June 2009 because “the 30mm cannon integration technology was not sufficiently mature to allow inclusion,”Roberts said. In the future, if technology permits, the Marine Corps may bolt the 30mm cannon to the cargo floor in an arrangement that allows it to fire out of the left side paratrooper door and still remain true to the modular concept of the aircraft.

The “hawk”part of the name is an acronym for the C-130 “Hercules airborne weapons kit.”

The Marine Corps will have a contract for the sixth Harvest Hawk by the end of the year, but it awaits a decision from aviation leadership to purchase additional units beyond that, Roberts said. The first three kits have been acquired and delivered. The second will soon replace the Harvest Hawk currently operating in Afghanistan so it can be rotated into training for other crews.

The Harvest Hawk fills a gap in Marine air power, officials said. At the behest of Marine Corps Central Command, the service began developing the Harvest Hawk in 2009 when commanders put in an urgent universal needs statement requesting a weapons platform that could perform ISR with a long-loiter capability for close-air support. The first Harvest Hawk was deployed to Afghanistan in October 2010.

Unlike the fixed-wing Harrier jump jet and Cobra attack helicopter — the air-support workhorses of marines — the Harvest Hawk can remain on station for more than seven hours. It has a weapon load similar to a Cobra, giving marines support on the ground via an ISR pod mounted on the left external fuel tank. It employs Hellfire and Griffin missiles.

Along with the cannon, the Corps is considering adding Viper Strike missiles.

As of July, the one Harvest Hawk deployed in Afghanistan has fired 42 Hellfire and 11 Griffin missiles and identified eight improvised explosive devices. The total number of enemy combatants engaged and destroyed by the Harvest Hawk is classified, but a Marine Corps journalist reported in November 2010 that it killed five enemy combatants with a single Hellfire during its first weapons engagement in Afghanistan, which came less than a month after its deployment.

The operating altitude of a KC-130J Harvest Hawk is another advantage of the system, Roberts said. It is certified to engage enemies up to 25,000 feet above sea level. At that altitude it's difficult for enemies to see or hear, he added.

“The low noise signature of the KC-130J, combined with night operations, allows Harvest Hawk crews to remain virtually undetected and employ weapons on unsuspecting enemy combatants,”Roberts said.

The Marine Corps has touted the low “fly away”cost of the system. The KC-130J is $69.5 million. Adding the weapons and IRS kits is estimated at about $10 million, keeping the price of the aircraft well below the $190 million unit cost of an AC-130. It uses the same AN/AAQ-30 targeting system as the Cobra.

“The primary role of the Harvest Hawk system is conducting multi-sensor imagery reconnaissance and close-air support, but the crew and system is flexible enough to allow re-tasking in flight,”Roberts said.

Roberts attributed the rapid fielding success of the Harvest Hawk to the urgent requests by the Marine Corps when commanders on the battlefield identified a critical operational need. If Harvest Hawk had gone through the normal procurement process of the Joint Capabilities Integration Development System, it might have taken two to three more years to deliver the weapon system to marines in Afghanistan, he said.

“Thanks to government and industry partners and the support of Congress, the Marine Corps fielded a relevant capability that meets the urgent needs of Marines in the shortest possible time. Maintaining a limber acquisition process like the existing urgent universal needs system is essential to continued acquisition success,”Roberts said.

David Ake served in the Army from 2001 to 2005 as an M1A1 armor crewman and deployed to Iraq in February 2004. He was a summer intern at National Defense Magazine.

[polluelo]

Es curioso como lo que empezó siendo una solución de fortuna para aprovechar horas de vuelo y capacidades de un avión de transporte va camino de convertirse en otra cosa bien distinta. De hecho ya no se cortan a la hora de llamarlo gunship.

Mas que curioso diria que es un plan bien diseñado para saltarse las limitaciones de ciertos acuerdos por la puerta falsa. Primero decimos que se trata de añadirle solo unas bombas de manera artesanal para aprovecharlos cuando estén parados, luego le añadimos unos misiles porque solo con las bombas no era suficiente, ahora decimos que necesitamos un cañón, dentro de poco que para poder usar ese cañón con efectividad se necesita un sistema de control de fuego y por último que para llevar todo eso con seguridad se necesita un blindaje y posteriormente una tripulación dedicada a tiempo completo a esa nueva misión.

Et voilí , ya tenemos cañonero completo. Que no lo será porque los tenemos prohibido y no tiene tal denominación oficial pero para los efectos es lo mismo.

¿Cuanto tiempo tardarán en decir lo del sistema de control de tiro? Abro la porra con un año.

PD: y no comento nada sobre aquello de volar a la altura de los arboles para mejorar la efectividad en misiones Coin, 25.000 pies viene a ser mas o menos veinticinco veces más la altura del árbol mas alto del mundo.

[poliorcetes]

Hombre, el COIN con cañoneras desde vietnam se hace a algunos miles de metros. Y con sensores actuales se deberí­a a hacer por encima del limite de MANPADS

[champi]

Hombre, el COIN con cañoneras desde vietnam se hace a algunos miles de metros. Y con sensores actuales se deberí­a a hacer por encima del limite de MANPADS

El lí­mite en altura no viene determinado por el alcance de los sensores, si no por el de los cañones. No puedes subir mucho más de 1.500 m si quieres disparar un 25/30mm con precisión.

Por otro lado, parece que la decisión USA sobre dotarse de un COIN se tomará en noviembre: http://defensetech.org/2011/09/07/usaf- ... -november/

A U.S. Army general today dropped a bit of interesting news about a U.S. Air Force program today. The air service will make a decision on what type of plane it wants for the Light Air Support contest in November, Army Maj. Gen. Peter Fuller told bloggers this morning.
...
Here's what Fuller, deputy commander of programs for NATO's effort to build the Afghan military and police, said today when DT asked for an update on the Afghan air force:

They have asked for a fighter jet, the F-16 specifically. Instead, we're going to provide them a close air support, turboprop aircraft and it's in source selection right now with the U.S. Air Force. The U.S Air Force is going to buy that same aircraft and when the U.S. Air Force decides what aircraft they're going to procure, we'll buy the same aircraft. So, sometime in November they should complete that source selection and we'll start fielding them in about the 2014''2015 time-frame.

(I'll let you know what the Air Force says about this when we hear back from them.)

Fuller was explaining how the U.S. is guiding the Afghan air force toward buy the right, aka cost effective airplanes such as the light attack fighter and 20 of the twin-engine C-27A Spartan transport despite the fact that local officials sometimes want to buy expensive hardware like F-16s or brand new C-130Js. “They have asked for the C-130 and we said, you can't afford a very expensive aircraft,”said Fuller.

The same goes for ISR gear, according to the two-star.

They couldn't afford it; there's a big infrastructure associated with ISR. That goes back to Afghan-right, Afghan-first, Afghan-like. This is Afghan-right. This is where they have to negotiate with the U.S. government and other countries to say, ‘I still need some additional capability can you provide that for me?' Instead of buying jet aircraft why don't they negotiate with us and other countries to have us provide some air support that's located here on a temporary basis or a rotational basis.

The whole premise behind Fuller's Afghan-right concept is to give the nation equipment that will meet its security needs but won't brake the bank — especially important given the fact that the country is trying to build its civil infrastructure.

Every now and then I'll hear the comment when I'm talking to a senior leader here [where they] say they need tanks and jets. I said, ‘you can't afford that and what we need to think about is how do you afford this because, in the future, I don't believe the U.S. government is going to be interested in paying a really high sustainment cost because we gave you tanks and jets and they're very expensive to operate.' So, they're starting to understand what's appropriate for this country because if you have to spend all your cash just to sustain your military force then what about the schools?

If we have them spend all of their available cash on maintaining this big force that we could potentially put here, they're not going to be able to afford schools, they're not going to be able to afford medical care. So we're trying to be very good stewards of your tax dollars and my tax dollars and ensure that we do the right thing for Afghanistan and give them the capability that they need.

Lo de siempre, los COIN para el que no pueda pagarse cazabombarderos ni plataformas ISR, y EEUU los comprará para entrenar pilotos de fuerzas extrangeras a las que subvenciona (de ahí­ el hecho de escoger el mismo tipo de plataforma que Afganistán).

[poliorcetes]

Tengo ciertas dudas: dada la masa de un proyectil de 30mm (no digamos ya un 40mm como el del CV90), la fricción del aire no producirí­a un efecto suficientemente fuerte pongamos a 5000 metros (en diagonal) como para no poder asegurar un CEP razonable con los medios actuales. No puede ser que no se logren efectos mucho mejores con los medios actuales que con los de la guerra de vietnam respecto a precisión, y recordemos que los AC130 de esa época usaban fundamentalmente el 20mm.

En otras palabras, no creo que haya una barrera fí­sica para usar una cañonera por encima de la barrera manpads, sino que la fórmula no se está adaptando con la suficiente decisión a las circunstancias actuales.

Por ejemplo, si se empleara un UCAV barato lo suficientemente grande como para aceptar una tolva de munición de 30mm, tendrí­amos un complemento genial a los hellfire: una munición razonablemente precisa, mucho más barata y en número suficiente como para mantener la persistencia. P.e., un UCAV cañonero encima de un puesto de avanzada le quitarí­a las malas ideas a enemigos sin arma aérea, porque podrí­a colaborar decisivamente en frenar cualquier ataque durante un periodo prolongado.

Y no meto por medio los miniUAV armados con arma individual por no liarla más

[poliorcetes]

Respecto a Afganistán, me parece obvio que no necesitan más: ¿Quién serí­a el mandril del vecino que querrí­a entrar en ese avispero?

[Orel]

El lí­mite en altura no viene determinado por el alcance de los sensores, si no por el de los cañones. No puedes subir mucho más de 1.500 m si quieres disparar un 25/30mm con precisión.

Efectivamente. Sea esa cifra o aunque fuera algo más (entre 2-3 km), el caso es que es a tiro de MANPAD y de AAA.

Tengo ciertas dudas: dada la masa de un proyectil de 30mm (no digamos ya un 40mm como el del CV90), la fricción del aire no producirí­a un efecto suficientemente fuerte pongamos a 5000 metros (en diagonal) como para no poder asegurar un CEP razonable con los medios actuales.

Los cañones de 30 mm de los helos de combate son eficaces a menos de 2 km (1,5 en el caso del Tiger, por ejemplo, y la gran precisión es hasta 1 km). Disparen "recto" o disparen de "arriba-abajo". Por mucho que sumes "altura diagonal" ese alcance no va a aumentar tanto, y menos aún manteniendo precisión.

Por ejemplo, si se empleara un UCAV barato lo suficientemente grande como para aceptar una tolva de munición de 30mm, tendrí­amos un complemento genial a los hellfire

El problema es que cada tolva abulta y pesa bastante más de lo que parece, para durar poquí­simo. Ahora que un complemento genial es, como lo es en cuaqluier caza actual (que siguen entrenándose para usar su cañón de 20, 27 o 30 mm en AS).

Un saludo

[Orel]

Sobre las nuevas armas "bajo coste" que están surgiendo para CAS, como los "cohetes guiados", a partir de la página 30 de esta revista:
http://www.armada.ch/Flip/issue42011/index.html

Y sobre las armas AS "bajo coste" en general, que se están generalizando, a partir de la página 24 de esta otra:
http://www.armada.ch/Flip/issue2_2011/pageflip.html

Y sobre UAVs y armas de UAVs para CAS, a partir de la pag. 44:
http://www.armada.ch/Flip/issue5_2010/pageflip.html

[champi]

Interesante la revista, no la conocí­a.

Raytheon quiere integrar el Griffin en el AT-6: http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articl ... craft.html

(Source: Raytheon Company; issued September 14, 2011)

LONDON --- Raytheon Company is seeking to integrate the combat-proven Griffin missile onto the Hawker AT-6 light attack aircraft.

Griffin weighs 44 pounds with its launch tube, is 43 inches long and is an air- and ground-launched, precision-guided missile designed for rapid integration onto rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft and ground-launch applications.

"Integrating Griffin on the AT-6 aircraft gives the warfighter a cost-effective solution to provide persistent surveillance and low-collateral damage in counterinsurgency and irregular warfare operations," said Harry Schulte, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Air Warfare Systems. "The integration of precision weapons onto versatile light-attack, reconnaissance platforms enables customers to take off-the-shelf capabilities and rapidly field a solution that meets their needs."

Griffin enables the warfighter to engage targets via a user-friendly graphic interface and guide the weapon to the target using GPS coordinates or laser designation. To maximize lethality, the user can choose to engage the target with height of burst, point detonation or fuze delay.

The Griffin missile is in production and integrated on the C-130 Harvest Hawk. Griffin A is an aft-eject missile designed for employment from non-conventional platforms such as the C-130 aircraft. Griffin B is a forward-firing missile that launches from rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft and ground-launch applications.
...

RU compra más Brimstone: http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articl ... a-ops.html

...
Commenting on the RAF's use of the Dual Mode Brimstone missile, Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox said:

"Dual Mode Brimstone has proved to be a critical weapon in our inventory and has allowed the RAF to deliver precision strikes in Afghanistan and Libya, taking out enemy targets while minimising civilian casualties. While British Forces have been performing at a very high standard on Op Ellamy and Op Herrick, industry back home have been equally impressive in providing the RAF with the support they need. The mix of Typhoon in the air to ground role along with Tornado and the availability of Dual Mode Brimstone have given us an unprecedented capability in protecting the Libyan people from Gaddafi's forces."

Commenting on the performance of DM Brimstone in operations over Libya, the RAF's Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice-Marshal North said:

“The effects have been remarkable, with Brimstone proving once again, as it has already demonstrated in Afghanistan, to be a unique munition capable of destroying manoeuvring targets; it is a highly accurate, lethal and a very low collateral damage weapon.”
...

[champi]

Propuesta surafricana al respecto: http://ahrlac.com/index.php/component/c ... sas-growth

The Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft (AHRLAC) is set to take the aviation market by storm, challenging dominant Western manufacturers with its low acquisition cost, reduced requirement for maintenance support and extensive operational capabilities.

AHRLAC is being developed by Africa's largest privately held defence company, Paramount Group, and aeronautical engineering and manufacturing experts Aerosud.
The two partners conservatively estimate that AHRLAC has the potential to generate annual revenue of up to R4-billion.

Manufacture is expected to take place in and around the Centurion Aerospace Village (CAV) the highly successful industry-clustering initiative that continues to grow next to the Waterkloof Air Force Base.
Ivor Ichikowitz, Executive Chairman of the Paramount Group, unveiled AHRLAC at the Aerosud development complex within the CAV. He told guests at the unveiling that AHRLAC stands for significantly more than the aircraft itself.

“AHRLAC deserves to be recognised as an amazing African achievement. Throughout our challenging history, Africans have developed a reputation for resilience and innovation. As many challenges as the world has thrown at us, we have overcome.”

Dr Paul Potgieter, Managing Director of Aerosud and driving force behind the design and technical innovations of AHRLAC, says AHRLAC offers a highly flexible form of “clip-on-clip-off”payload system which enables it to be transformed quickly between operational roles. It can stay in the air for seven to 10 hours, making it the ideal solution for patrolling large land areas, borders and oceans.
The two-crew aircraft can carry out a wide range of operations including surveillance, policing, border/coastal patrol and anti-smuggling; armed patrol and counter insurgency operations; disaster relief and emergency supply to remote areas; and intelligence gathering.


Potgieter says AHRLAC is special because it offers maximum platform flexibility for multi-role applications, from basic visual reconnaissance to advanced electronic surveillance, and intelligence, to armed patrol.
“The design is modular so as to support maximum basic airframe commonality for the various configurations and rapid role change ability,”he says.
“AHRLAC is capable of rapid deployment and fast response times with high cruise and dash speed and extended range. Because of the operational simplicity of this aircraft, in times of need, we can get this thing on the road to areas where it is required with limited support assistance.”

Potgieter says key features of AHRLAC include its “push propeller”design and high wing for crew visibility, high cruise and dash speeds (maximum cruise speed is 300 knots), payload capacity of 800kg with full fuel and two crew, large operating range (1 150 nautical miles on internal fuel) and Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) capability, including from semi-prepared landing strips, with a take-off distance 550m with full payload.
AHRLAC also has an armed patrol capability with 20mmm cannon, rocket pods and beyond visual range air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles across four to six wing hard points.

Un corte esquemático: http://ahrlac.com/index.php/ahrlac-expl ... -schematic



Y cómo no las especificaciones: http://ahrlac.com/index.php/ahrlac-expl ... ifications

Seats........................... 2 in tandem with optional Martin Baker Mk16
Max. takeoff weight.................3800 kg ( 8377 lbs)
Payload with full fuel................800 kg + ( 1760 lbs +)
Take-off distance.....................550 m (1800 ft) with full payload
Powerplant..............................Pratt & Whitney PT6a-66 950 hp flate rated
Max. speed.............................> 272 kts
Range....................................> 1100 nm
Wing Span.............................12 m (40 ft)
Length....................................10.5 m (34ft)
Height.....................................4 m ( 13ft)
Service Ceiling........................31 000 ft
Max. endurance......................7.5 hr +

[poliorcetes]

Bonito e interesante, como un ultraligero venido a más... pero nada de COIN, ¿no? Digo COIN en serio, porque no veo forma de blindarlo contra escupitajos siquiera y que despegue. Ya me imagino al pastor de vacas ése de hace tantos años que derribó un helicóptero de un cantazo frotándose las manos.

[champi]

Pues hay varios en ese nicho. Por ejemplo el Pulsatrix: http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/631782.html y http://home.janes.com/events/exhibition ... tack.shtml

Tuesday, 21 June, 2011
Gareth Jennings Jane's Aviation Desk Editor
Le Bourget, Paris

French systems integrator ATE is promoting a new light attack and armed reconnaissance platform that it has developed around a civilian glider-towing aircraft.

Speaking to Jane's on 21 June at the Paris Air Show, where the aircraft was on static display, Jean-Yves Bru, Project Director Research and Technology, said that the aircraft is currently a demonstrator designed to prove the concept.

Based on a Dyno-Aero light aircraft, the Pulsatrix concept has already received some international interest, Bru said, although he declined to specify.

Pulsatrix sees the twin-seat aircraft kitted out with a centreline under-fuselage mounted electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensor turret and two under-wing (one per wing) stores hardpoints. The aircraft that was on display at Paris was equipped with two 2.75 inch (70 mm) rocket pods and there were .50-calibre machine gun pods positioned close to the aircraft. It can also carry 20 mm cannons and Ingwe guided anti-tank missiles.

The aircraft is fitted with a largely digital 'glass' cockpit and is equipped with a head-up display for the pilot. It is powered by a single 180 hp turboprop engine.

Billed as a low-cost light attack and armed reconnaissance solution, ATE says the Pulsatrix can also provide a border patrol, coastal surveillance and site and convoy protection capability.

[poliorcetes]

Pues ya puede ser barato, y ya pueden ser "baratos" los pilotos, porque a la velocidad de ese pequeñí­n un tirador competente con HMG lo va a echar abajo. Incluso un paco con un tiro de oportunidad

[champi]

El AT-6 sigue realizando pruebas de armamento: http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... el=defense

Oct 11, 2011
By David A. Fulghum

The Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 light attack and armed reconnaissance aircraft, designed to meet the U.S. Air Force's Building Partnership Capacity needs including those of the Afghanistan air force, continues to move through its end-to-end weapons validation testing with the launch of four 500-lb. GBU-12 Paveway II precision-guided bombs last week, says Derek Hess, director of the AT-6 program for Hawker Beechcraft.

All weapons were scored as valid hits by the combined USAF-Hawker Beechcraft assessment team. The tests are part of an Air National Guard-sponsored project conducted at the ANG/Air Force Reserve Command Test Center in Tucson, Ariz. The program also includes completion of computer-aided weapons delivery-mode testing. The current competition between light attack aircraft for the Afghan contract is expected to end with a contract award on Oct. 31.

Validation testing of the AT-6 is continuing with employment of 250-lb. Raytheon Paveway II bombs and captive carry of the Raytheon 2.75-in. Talon laser-guided rocket. Follow-up testing will be conducted with laser-guided rockets, Lockheed-Martin's AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Raytheon's Griffin 35-lb. GPS/laser-guided bomb. Researchers are beginning to understand and define the applicability of small, smart rockets, Hess says.

In addition to the Talon, other competing 2.75-in. smart-rocket designs include the ATK guided advanced tactical rocket, BAE Systems' advanced precision weapons system and the Lockheed Martin DAGR.

[champi]

Raytheon presenta su STM como ideal para misiones COIN: http://raytheon.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1934

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is seeking to integrate its Small Tactical Munition onto a wide variety of light-attack aircraft.

STM is a new 12-pound, 22-inch-long, precision-guided, gravity-dropped weapon. Although initially designed for employment from unmanned aircraft systems, STM's small size makes it uniquely applicable to manned systems as well. STM is the smallest air-launched weapon in Raytheon's portfolio.

"STM's small size enables the warfighter to carry dozens of STMs on a multitude of light attack aircraft," said Bob Francois, vice president of Advanced Missiles and Unmanned Systems for Raytheon Missile Systems. "Instead of using an expensive system to destroy a target such as a lightly armored vehicle, the warfighter could use an STM, which costs roughly the same as a pickup truck and reduces collateral damage."

About Small Tactical Munition

STM has foldable fins and wings, which enable the weapon to be employed from the U.S. military's common launch tube. STM incorporates a purpose-built warhead designed by Nammo-Talley and features a Kaman Aerospace electronic safe arm and fire device.

* Smallest air-launched weapon made by Raytheon at 12 pounds, 22 inches
* Originally designed for unmanned aircraft but well suited for light attack aircraft
* Costs roughly the same as a pickup truck
...

Estadí­sticas de septiembre: http://www.airforce-magazine.com/datapo ... power.aspx