Fullscreen HTML5Med Res (??MB)HTML4

The Avalon 2013 Airshow The Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition By Dr DAVID MADDISON Held every two years, the Avalon Airshow features an impressive array of technology ranging from the USAF’s F-22A Raptor fighter aircraft to UAVs to robots, solar powered vehicles and satellites. Here’s a quick look at what was on display at the 2013 show. H ELD FROM 26th February to 3rd March at Avalon Airport in Victoria, Airshow 2013 was an important international airshow and aerospace, defence and related technologies exposition. Avalon is about one hour’s drive from the Melbourne CBD and is located in the Geelong area. An impressive range of high-tech equipment was on show this year, including general aviation aircraft, aviation-related equipment and services (both civilian and military), solar-powered vehicles, robotics, 3D printing, imaging technologies, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), air-traffic control equipment and satellites. These included many significant Australian contributions in various areas. Among prominent themes in the military components on show, apart from aircraft and related equipment, were digital battle-space management, imaging, situational awareness, anti-ship missile defence and UAVs. Once again, there were significant contributions in these fields from various Australian companies. It’s impossible to mention everything on display in this article, so we’ll just look at those most likely of interest to SILICON CHIP readers, starting with UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). UAVs Students from Mueller College show their winning entry for the 2012 Airborne Delivery Challenge. The UAV is operated by a pilot and a mission manager whose job is to deploy a payload. The mission manager is not allowed to see the aircraft so a 5.8GHz video downlink is employed. 70  Silicon Chip Northrop Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton was the largest UAV on display at this year’s show. This UAV is under development for the US Navy as a maritime surveillance platform and is expected to enter service in 2015. It has a wingspan of nearly 40 metres, weighs almost 15 tonnes, has a service ceiling of over 18,000 metres, a mission duration of up to 30 hours, a top speed of 575km/h and is unarmed. siliconchip.com.au Northrup Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance UAV. It’s unmanned but requires a four-man crew at the ground station. Note that this UAV should not be confused with the similar-looking but armed General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper or MQ-1 Predator. These latter vehicles are “hunterkillers” and are properly designated as Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles or UCAVs. Another UAV on show was the Heron from Israel Aerospace Industries. A number of these are used for supporting Australian soldiers in Afghanistan and are described by the RAAF as Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs), to indicate that they are piloted from the ground. They have a mission altitude of up to 10,000 metres (with typical payloads), a duration of 20-30 hours (or up to 52 hours of continuous flight with lesser payloads) and a mission radius of 200-300km. The Heron has a wingspan of 16.6m, a maximum take-off weight of over 1100kg and uses the popular Rotax 914 4-cylinder horizontally-opposed engine with water-cooled heads and a continuous power output rating of 73kW. It can either be directly flown from the ground by pilots in real time or it can automatically follow a pre-programmed flight path, including automatic take off and landing (with pilot oversight). An impressive array of sensors can be carried such as radar and infrared and visible light cameras, along with other intelligence systems. In the event of a loss of communications, the aircraft will autonomously return to base. All mission data can be viewed in real-time by the pilots at the Ground Control Station (GCS). second category is the “Search and Rescue Challenge” and involves searching a 1km x 2km area up to 6km from the aerodrome and delivering a 500ml bottle of water to the lost walker. The 2012 Airborne Delivery Challenge was won by students from Mueller College near Brisbane – see http://www.uavoutbackchallenge.com.au/ for more information. The Monash UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Team also displayed their UAV for use in the Search and Rescue challenge. On a somewhat different theme but still on UAVs, the Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation (ARCAA) conducts world-leading research into advanced automated aviation systems for safer use of civilian airspace. This project is a collaborative effort between the Queensland University of Technology and the CSIRO. Areas of research include advanced automated flight systems such as autonomous guidance; sensors for various applications such as infrastructure inspection and agriculture management; multidisciplinary design and optimisation such as human-machine interaction and aviation risk management; and regulation such as airspace integration and management. Another UAV on show was the AeroDrone MR4, made UAV outback rescue The “UAV Challenge – Outback Rescue” is a competition established by various government, industry and research organisations to promote civilian development and applications of UAVs in Australia. The challenge has two categories, one open to high-school students and the other open to Australian and international university students and aerospace enthusiasts. The first category is the “Airborne Delivery Challenge” and involves delivering a small rescue package as close as possible to a lost walker located within a defined area, with an optional search component. The siliconchip.com.au An RAAF Heron UAV (Israel Aerospace Industries). It operates at altitudes up to 10,000 metres, has a range of 200-300km and can fly for up to 52 hours. May ay 2013  71 The AeroDrone MR4. Note the digital camera mounted in the payload area. by the Australian company Bask Aerospace. It is a relatively small quad rotor UAV that weighs 1kg without a battery and can carry a maximum payload of 0.5kg. It has a mission duration of around 15 minutes and can be fitted with various sensors plus whatever payload is required. An advantage of the design is that it can carry a fairly bulky payload beneath it due to its high ground clearance. Another interesting feature of this drone is the mission planning software which utilises Google maps and allows point and click entry of flight path waypoints. Along with the Heron, numerous other military UAVs were also on display in an enormous range of shapes and sizes and with various capabilities. Interestingly, the UAV concept has been around for some time. In 1915, Nikola Tesla first described the idea of an armed unmanned aircraft which could defend the United States. Two years later, in 1917, Englishman Archibald Low, regarded as the father of radio guidance, demonstrated remote control of an aircraft and later a rocket. Elmer Sperry, co-inventor of the gyrocompass, subsequently used an unmanned aircraft to sink a captured German battleship in 1919. Another interesting development around the time of World War I was the HewittSperry Automatic Airplane. You can read more about this aircraft in Wikipedia and elsewhere. included an RAAF Boeing 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft, also known as the E-7A Wedgetail. Australia has six such aircraft which typically fly at an altitude of 10,000 metres. At this altitude, the radar can track multiple airborne and surface targets within a radius of hundreds of kilometres, allowing surveillance of about 400,000 square km at any given time. It can fly un-refuelled for up to 10 hours and also has an air-to-air refuelling capability for much longer mission durations. The E-7A is also equipped with a number of selfprotection countermeasures, such as directed infrared, chaff and flares. The RAAF also displayed a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, one of six in its fleet. It can carry four times as much as a C-130J Hercules (also on display) and can even carry an Australian Army M1A1 Abrams tank (weight 62,000kg) plus support equipment. It is the second largest military transport aircraft in the western world and can carry a payload of over 77,500kg or 158 combat troops with their equipment (or various combinations of troops and equipment). The maximum take-off weight of the C-17 is over 265,000kg. F-22A Raptor One aircraft that attracted a lot of interest was a USAF Piloted aircraft Numerous aircraft were on display at the show, both as static ground displays and as flying displays. These Below, above right and right: these three small UAVs were also on display and are intended mainly for military applications. 72  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au The F-22A Raptor stealth fighter – on display but closely guarded. F-22A Raptor stealth fighter. This was on static display under high security and it also flew. The Raptor is the USAF’s (and arguably the world’s) premier air-to-air fighter and features low radar visibility (stealth), advanced sensors and impressive range, agility and speed. An old favourite at the show was a USAF B-52 Stratofortress, the example on display having been built in 1961. It is still in service and is expected to continue for at least another 32 years until 2045 (ie, 84 years total). “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” as the saying goes – a beautiful and superb aircraft. 2020 US dollars; not today’s dollars). Many of the problems were caused by the implementation of a high level of “concurrency” whereby aircraft are being simultaneously designed, manufactured, tested and flown. All military aircraft have a concurrent production strategy to a certain degree, otherwise the design process would take too long. It was the unusually high level of concurrency in the earlier part of the F-35 program that caused many of the problems, such as having to replace parts on already-built aircraft as the design specifications were altered. There is now also much more oversight of the contractors by experts within the US Department of Defense and all important decisions are carefully scrutinised. Software development has improved as well and the aircraft has around 10 million lines of code on board, as well as another 10 million lines of code on ground support equipment. General Bogdan said that around 95% of what was (optimistically) promised will now be delivered with the aircraft which will have much better stealth, sensors, payload and survivability than other combat aircraft (except for the F-22A in some areas). Anti-ship missile defence The Royal Australian Navy’s ANZAC Class Frigates are in the process of being upgraded with an improved anti-ship missile defence (ASMD). This upgrade includes the Active Phased Array Radar System from F-35 Joint Strike Fighter USAF Lt General Chris Bogdan (Program Executive Officer of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program) gave the media an update on the F-35 fighter. Australia intends to purchase 100 of these aircraft by around 2020, to replace its original F-18A Hornet fighters. Whilst the F-35 JSF program has had various development problems and critics, he said that it is now largely on-track and that costs are decreasing (eg, the unit cost of the aircraft is now 50% of its projected cost five and a half years ago and each production lot will be cheaper than the last). The General said that he expects Australia will pay US$92 million for each aircraft ($80 million per airframe plus $12 million per engine) in 2020 (ie, in The Australian-built Aerosonde G UAV is designed for military reconaissance and data gathering. An RAAF E-7A Wedgetail. This Early Warning & Control Aircraft can maintain surveillance over an area of 400,000 square kilometres at any given time and can surveil up to 4,000,000 square kilometres on an unrefuelled mission. siliconchip.com.au May 2013  73 and can also share information with other ships in a task force, including those of our allies. Solar-powered vehicles The massive cargo bay of the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III can carry four times as much as a Hercules C-130J. The RAAF operates six of these aircraft. Australian company CEA Technologies and comprises the CEAFAR Active Phased Array Radar and the CEAMOUNT Active Phased Array Continuous Wave Illuminator. This radar system is capable of simultaneously tracking multiple sea, land and air threats, including incoming missiles which, along with other threats, can be designated for destruction. The upgrade involves removing the existing aft mast and replacing it with an entirely new structure comprising six fixed CEAFAR antenna faces and four CEAMOUNT illuminator fixed antenna faces. Since phased array radars are electronically steered, they are mechanically very simple and much more compact than traditionally steered radar antennas. The system is fully integrated with the ship’s combat system Getting away from aircraft and avionics, the show also featured some impressive solar-powered vehicle technology. SolarDog is an Australian-developed solar-powered vehicle that’s designed to be driven from Union Glacier to the South Pole and back again. The “dog” in SolarDog, by the way, is a reference to the dog sled teams of the past. The journey length is approximately 1100km each way and is expected to take 10 days in each direction. Apart from being a unique challenge, it is intended to demonstrate the feasibility of using solar-powered vehicles as a substitute for fossil-fuelled vehicles which are expensive and difficult to refuel in Antarctica. This work also opens up the possibility of solar-powered autonomous vehicles roaming around Antarctica, taking measurements for research purposes. For more information see http://www.solardog.com.au On a related theme, the Aurora Vehicle Association is a non-profit independent body of enthusiasts dedicated to “promoting sustainable mobility”. Their “Aurora Evolution” solar car successfully competed in the 2009 World Solar Challenge from Darwin to Adelaide, coming second in its class, and this vehicle was also on display. The Aurora Evolution has a lithium-polymer battery pack to power the vehicle when there is insufficient solar radiation. The battery alone can propel the car for around 500km. The association has a new vehicle, known as the “Aurora Solaris” under development for this year’s Solar Challenge. It will be road-registered and will also form the basis of a limited edition road-registerable car with an expected price tag of about $100,000. The production version will be a 4-wheel solar-electric hybrid sports coupe, Australian road-legal and with a seating capacity of two in a side-by-side arrangement. It will have a luggage capacity capable of accommodating two carry-on bags. Its range will be impressive for an electric vehicle and the claim is that it will be similar to a fossil-fuelled car. At 85km/h, using both the battery and the solar panel, it will have a range of about 675km and with battery only, a range of 425km at 100km/h. Its maximum speed will be 150km/h while the cruising speed will be 100km/h. The vehicle’s dimensions will be 4.5m long and 1.8m wide. For more information see http://new.aurorasolarcar.com/ Finally, the Victorian Model Solar Vehicle Challenge aims to have school students participate in fun engineering projects, building various types of solar-powered cars, boats and Mars rovers. For more information see http://www.modelsolar.org.au Robotics SolarDog is an Australian-developed solar-powered vehicle that’s designed to be driven from Union Glacier to the South Pole and back again. The solar panel is mounted horizontally above the vehicle. 74  Silicon Chip Moving along now to robotics, OzBot is a “ruggedised mobile platform” for use by military and law enforcement authorities. Developed by Deakin University’s Centre for Intelligent Systems Research (CISR), it can siliconchip.com.au The top side of Aurora Evolution Solar Car with its solar panel raised for interior access. relay video and audio streams to a hand-held controller. In addition, auxiliary devices can be attached to the vehicle such as an X-ray scanner to view the inside of a suspicious package (the X-ray scanner package requires the use of two vehicles). Typically, it’s designed to be used in applications such as under-vehicle inspections and site inspections where the area may be contaminated or hazardous. The device can navigate over rough terrain and can also climb stairs. On the education front, Robogals is a scheme that uses university student volunteers to introduce school girls to engineering and robotics, to encourage interest for their future careers. It has chapters in Australia, UK, USA and Japan. For more information see http://www. robogals.org/ Another scheme, RoboCup Junior, is an Australiawide competition for schools whereby students build and program robots and then compete against each other. There are three separate divisions comprising (1) Dance (in which robots are programmed to dance to music), (2) Rescue (in which a robot must follow a winding line and navigate obstacles before effecting a rescue) and (3) Soccer (in which two teams with two robots each compete on a field the size of a table tennis table). For more information see http://www.robocupjunior. org.au/ This interior view of the Aurora Evolution shows the rectangular battery pack on the left, the various control electronics and the cockpit. tion Suite). INTAS combines flight and operational data, surface surveillance radar and voice communications into an integrated layout. It also serves to replace paper “flight progress strips” with electronic versions. Satellites BLUEsat (Basic Low-Earth-Orbit University of NSW Experimental Satellite) is an all-student project of the University of NSW. Its function is to act as a digital amateur radio satellite. Intended to replace other amateur satellites which are now ageing, the new satellite is cube-shaped, measures about 260mm per side, and has a weight of 14kg. It will be placed in polar orbit at an altitude of around 750km, will orbit every 90 minutes and will utilise a passive stabilisation system. This system uses on-board magnets which cause the satellite to align itself with the Earth’s magnetic field. Voice and data files will be able to be uploaded to the satellite and retrieved by others, either in real time Imaging Some of the latest FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) technology was on display, including two examples from FLIR Systems, one an analog system and the other digital. Analog FLIR units can be used on small aircraft and boats which either lack the necessary space for a fully digital system or simply don’t require a digital system. AEROmetrex is an Australian company offering aerial photography and photogrammetry. Their aero3Dpro product can take pictures from a variety of viewpoints and analyse the geometry of the image. It can then generate “geo-referenced” interactive 3D models which can be used for a wide variety of purposes. Air traffic control Airservices, an Australian-government corporation, displayed their new suite of air-traffic control tower technology known as INTAS (Integrated Tower Automasiliconchip.com.au The OzBot mobile platform can relay video and audio streams to a hand-held controller. May 2013  75 Above: RoboCup Junior students display their robots. RoboCup Junior is an Australia-wide competition for schools in which students build and program robots and then compete against each other. Two FLIR units from FLIR Systems. The top one is an analog unit while the bottom one is digital. The AEROmetrex aero3Dpro unit takes photographs from a variety of angles and uses these to generate interactive 3D models, including both outline and solid models as shown in this reproduction. where line-of-sight exists between two ground stations or later when a communications link can be established. For more information, go to http://www.bluesat.unsw. edu.au/ Also under development at the University of New South Wales is their QB50 CubeSat. QB50 is an international collaborative project involving the simultaneous launch in 2015 of 50 cube satellites made in various locations around the world. These satellites will be placed into a circular orbit in a “string of pearls” formation and will be at an initial altitude of 320-380km at an inclination of 79° in a circular orbit. They will be used to research the lower thermosphere and will also be used for re-entry research to validate various re-entry predictive models. For more information, see http://www.acser. unsw.edu.au/projects/QB50.html CubeSats, by the way, are a standardised type of lowcost satellite the size of a 10cm cube although they can be multiples of 10cm units in one dimension if extra size is required. A double-cube satellite is referred to as 2U (units) etc. The UNSW cube satellite will be 2U in size. In summary, the Avalon Airshow is of significant international importance and it helps Australia strengthen its contacts with allied nations. As well as involving major corporations, militaries and governments, it also showcases an impressive level of youth participation in SC various projects. Issues Getting Dog-Eared? Keep your copies of SILICON CHIP safe with these handy binders REAL VALUE AT $14.95 PLUS P & P Order now from www.siliconchip.com.au/Shop/4 or call (02) 9939 3295 and quote your credit card number or mail the handy order form in this issue. *See website for overseas prices. 76  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au