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50 Insight | Airborne surveillance With a maximum endurance of 15 minutes, the Snipe has a line-of-sight range of 1 km, and it can operate in temperatures of between -32 and 49 C and in wind gusts of up to 20 knots. It is being considered as part of the US Army’s Solider Borne Sensor competition. Capabilities such as these allow micro- and nano-UASs to be carried by ground assault teams, who could use them to gather intelligence about a target area, building or compound before deciding whether to launch an assault. A similar concept is being adopted by the German special forces, who are buying an undisclosed number of FLIR Systems’ Black Hornet nano-UASs for this purpose. Sources associated with the deal say operators would launch the vehicles over target areas to identify enemy forces, obstacles and any potential for collateral damage. However, according to Gitlin, arguably the greatest capability gap in the area of UAS growth is persistent surveillance over a large geographic territory. He says, “We consider this a great opportunity, as and when customers demand and are able to afford the capability.” Efforts to provide wide area surveillance package are being pursued by Northrop Grumman, for example, with its Global Hawk UAV, which has a top speed of 340 knots and a range of more than 22,000 km. It is designed to perform a similar role to the Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Also, Elbit Systems has designed a specialist wide area surveillance payload using multiple EO/IR cameras for its Hermes 450 and 900 UASs as well as other HALE and medium altitude long endurance airframes. Yair Ganor, senior director for wide area persistent surveillance (WAPS) solutions at Elbit Systems, says its SkEye WAPS concept comprises a single payload featuring about 20 EO/IR cameras. Described as “already operational” with an undisclosed armed force, it has also been integrated on board Hermes 450 and 900 UAVs as well as Twin Otter and Cessna manned aircraft. According to Ganor, SkEye provides operators with a coverage up to 100 km 2 from a single payload, allowing operators to conduct human/vehicle detection and recognition at tactical stand-off distances, conduct cross-border operations and avoid potential airspace restrictions. “The payload’s multiple cameras can be controlled simultaneously by multiple users on the ground for real-time events as well as being integrated with other command and control solutions,” Ganor says. Commercial applications Growth in the commercial domain remains less prolific compared to government sectors, with Insitu’s chief growth officer Jon Damush being quick to assert that potential use of UASs in a surveillance role remains at a relatively early stage. A Boeing subsidiary, Insitu supports the surveillance requirements of armed forces around the world, including the US Navy and Special Operations Command. Damush says, “The commercial domain is a step beyond start-up. Cost will become the primary driver, and at the moment the costs of operating a UAS compared with a manned vehicle are still a bit prohibitive.” Yet although the commercial use of UASs for surveillance missions continues to lag behind their military counterparts, the market is witnessing multiple growth paths, particularly across the commodities sector for example. “Small area or point inspections with a small UAS are quite cost-effective compared with trying to perform the same task with a [manned] helicopter,” says Damush. “On the other hand, the costs of putting a person in a Cessna [manned aircraft] to take some aerial images are quite low, and you get 100% access to all the airspace,” he adds, referring to ongoing airspace restrictions. However, Insitu continues to seek to expand its capabilities across various parts of the commercial sector, including support of search and rescue, disaster response, asset protection, wildlife monitoring, agricultural assessment and firefighting. With that in mind, aircraft such as its ScanEagle fixed-wing UAV can be fitted with modular and scalable payloads according to the needs of the operating environment. Options include EO/IR cameras as well as payloads for wide area imagery collection, spectral imagery collection, synthetic aperture radar, visual December/January 2018 | Unmanned Systems Technology The Global Hawk is one of the largest surveillance airframes available for wide-area surveillance operations (Courtesy of Northrop Grumman)