Unmanned Warrior flying day starts in Scotland
A dour and 'dreach' day (Scottish for damp with low cloud) across the Western Isles greeted the dozens of range staff, RN augmentees and Joint Warrior liaison teams who turned out before first light on the first official Unmanned Warrior flying day and headed for the brightly lit Range Control Building 12 miles south of Benbecula on the island of South Uist.
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Time for morning range instructions and Joint Warrior integration but the upbeat Met forecaster opening the flying brief - at flying speed - assured the assembled Unmanned Warriors that matters would soon be improving and flying could commence on time.
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So it proved, with first launches being made within minutes by the Scheibel team’s Camcopter 100 (above), with radar pod and Boeing’s Scan Eagle (benefitting from a quick hair dryer blast over its wings before launch) hosting themselves into a slowly lifting gloom.
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These were swiftly followed by others sent to differing parts of the reserved airspace as per the complex matrix of the flight plan, carefully crafted to avoid the very real risk of autonomous collision in the skies.
Out at sea the assembled Joint Warrior fleet awaited the benefits of this energetic flood of unmanned reconnaissance with some interest, because a significant part of this business is understanding and learning the best way of Commanding and Controlling many systems, each looking out in different ways (radar, multi-camera, infra-red) and for different things.
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Yesterday the teams participating in the Unmanned Warrior exercise had moved north,
With over 400 participants and 150 invited high level visitors spread over NW Scotland there are a lot of moves to orchestrate.
The QinetiQ teams who run the ranges under the Long Term Partnership Agreement with MoD have turned themselves into a combination of Butlins Redcoat and serious scientist technician.
Not only have the autonomous demonstrations to be done and run smoothly but everyone will want to watch - and be told what they are watching (most of the systems are brand new) and well, generally hosted.
There are four ranges: Hebrides centred on Benbecula in the Western Isles and some extras being added in Stornoway further north, the underwater test centre (BUTEC) at the Kyle of Lochalsh by Skye with nearby Balmacara and further north at Applecross where dummy minefields have been laid for the Minehunting challenge.
Benbecula is no stranger to Unmanned Air Systems. Part of the Army testing facility in the 1960s the range tested the Canadair CL-89, later AN/USD-501. This was put in service by Germany and Britain as the ‘Midge’ operated by the Royal Artillery.
Operating in pre-GPS days the system used ground mapping to finds its way and produced visual observation on celluloid film in black and white. A later system was used in the intervention in Kuwait in 1990.
Today a sprawling camp lies near Benbecula Airport, with workshops and accommodation. Twelve miles away is Range Head and the imposing Range Control Building which has been turned into an Operational HQ with RN and industry personnel working together to link in with Joint Warrior.
This is the centre for the aerial side of Unmanned Warrior. As the winds eased at the weekend, time was put in to get the first UAVs into the skies in preparation for the week ahead.
First flights (in the UK) were the Schiebel ‘Camcopter S100’ mini helicopter, the US Navy’s NRQ 21 fixed wing system, the twin engined ‘Sea Hunter’ and a VIDAR (visual detection and ranging) fitted Boeing ‘ScanEagle’ (an updated version of the system seen in the film Captain Philips) and the Leonardo’s, formerly Agusta Westland, Solo helicopter, which can fly with a pilot on board - or not. Seventeen hours of flying. A great start.