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The photographs in this post were taken by The Aviationist’s contributor Tony Lovelock at Cambridge airport on Jul. 5 and 7, 2017. They show one of the two Bombardier Global Express 6000 aircraft reportedly destined to UAE and being modified by Marshall Group into an ELINT/SIGINT platform, during flight trials flown as “UAE 1326.” As first unveiled by Aviation Week’s Tony Osbourne back in May, the aircraft is probably an advanced electronics and signals intelligence-gathering (elint/sigint) derivative of Bombardier’s Global 6000 business jet: it sports. “A large canoe fairing extends back to the center of the wingbox,” noted Osbourne. “Behind...

On September 10, only hours before the anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, President Obama summoned the nation to a renewed campaign against Islamic terrorists in the Middle East. Using one of several names for the fanatics who have seized large swaths of Syria and Iraq, the president said, “This counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL, wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground.” As the president’s words indicate, precise application of air power is crucial to this plan. The U.S. has already bombed over...

What Obama Could've Done in Libya October 24, 2012 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Laurie in Pittsburgh as we continue. Welcome to the program. Great to have you on the EIB Network. Hi. CALLER: Rush, I'm very honored to speak with you. Longtime listener. You truly changed my life. I was born a liberal. (laughs) I'm in central Pennsylvania and basically saw the light and I've since been conservative. I appreciate what I learn from you. I look forward to hearing your take on things. And I'd like for you, if you could today, to help to educate me. Here's my...

The US Air Force has completed an analysis of alternatives (AOA) for its next generation ground moving target indication (GMTI) radar aircraft fleet, but top service officials say the service can't afford to implement the study's recommendations. "The reality is there is not enough space to undertake a new start business-class ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] platform," USAF chief of staff Gen Norton Schwartz told the US Senate Armed Services Committee on 20 March. "We simply don't have the resources." The USAF approved the study in January and forwarded it on to the US Department of Defense's office of Cost...

Northrop Grumman Corporation is highlighting its industry-leading range of capabilities in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) including airborne early warning and control systems for maritime reconnaissance, fire control radars and unmanned aerial vehicles, at the Aero India 2011 exhibition and air show. Aero India, organised by the Defence Exhibition Organisation, Ministry of Defence and managed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), takes place at Air Force Station Yelahanka, Bengaluru, India from Feb. 9-13, 2011. The Northrop Grumman exhibit is at stand number E12 in Hall E. "ISR systems are critical to effective homeland security and our leadership in multiple-domain...

The same argument has been used to benefit defense by bringing the RAF imagery analysts from [39 Sqdn., operators of the Reaper, and 5 AC (Army Cooperation) Sqdn., which flies the Sentinel R1 Airborne Stand-Off Radar system] into TIW,” Stewart says. “So we have that umbrella organization that can provide far better output and support to operations and the development of capabilities.” The RAF’s operations go beyond fighters and are part of a service-wide focus on combat intelligence, surveillance, targeting and reconnaissance (Combat IStar). Since his appointment in July 2009, Air Chief Marshall Sir Stephen Dalton has made refocusing the...

The Air Force says three of the problems with its Gorgon Stare UAV camera system, according to DoDBuzz. Apparently, reports that the system suffered from numerous problems “was a draft memo that was later revised in January,” Buzz cites an Air Force spokesman as saying. The problems identified by Pentagon weapon testers are not likely to delay the fielding of the system, according to the service. Still, the project won’t be fielded until commanders downrange accept that it will work as promised: “The January memo includes three issues that we have identified and have fixes in place. The first was...

The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) was selected by the U.S. Army to develop the Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS). The company was awarded $88 million firm-fixed-price contract to develop and integrate the mission package, through the 24 month Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase, delivering up to 10 EMARSS systems. EMARSS addresses part of the operational requirements contemplated for the Aerial Common Sensor (ACS). It will be designed to operate as part of the Aerial Exploitation Battalions (AEB), which are assigned to the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM). When operated in support of theater commands, the...

More questions than answers are arising from the U.S. Navy/Air Force memorandum of agreement to coordinate efforts on their respective high-altitude reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Signed June 12 by the services’ chiefs of staffs, the agreement aims to produce operational and financial efficiencies in the Air Force Global Hawk and Navy Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programs, both of which are in development, though the USAF Global Hawk has a head start of many years on its younger cousin. Shared basing, maintenance, command and control, training, logistics and data exploitation are areas that could be ripe for efficiencies, says...

The U.S. Air Force has confirmed to Aviation Week the existence of the so-called "Beast of Kandahar" UAV, a stealth-like remotely piloted jet seen flying out of Afghanistan in late 2007. The RQ-170 Sentinel, believed to be a tailless flying wing design with sensor pods faired into the upper surface of each wing, was developed by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP), better known as Skunk Works. An Air Force official revealed Dec. 4 that the service is "developing a stealthy unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to provide reconnaissance and surveillance support to forward deployed combat forces." The UAV had been...

8/24/2009 - NEW AL MUTHANA AIR BASE, Iraq (AFNS) -- Intelligence collection has become a valuable capability for the Iraqi air force in its push to provide security and stability. Unique to the Iraqi air force, the King Air Squadron 87 here boasts the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities necessary for detecting and deterring insurgent activity. For one advisor assigned to the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission - Air Force, part of the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq, this year-long deployment has presented the challenges of language and cultural barriers, as well as overcoming learning curves using certain technology....

/16/2009 - NEW AL MUTHANA AIR BASE, Iraq (AFNS) -- The Iraqi air force is taking shape under the watchful guidance and support of Airmen. A team of air advisors from the Coalition Air Force Training Team, part of Multinational Security Transition Command - Iraq, has introduced current intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology to the IAF by providing pilots and mission systems operators instruction in the Iraqi air force's state-of-the-art King Air ISR aircraft. The mission has added significantly to the Iraqi security forces' ability to harness and exploit intelligence and reconnaissance via collection on enemy operations. The current Coalition...

While Predator and Global Hawk drones cross the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan looking for insurgents or hunting for Osama bin Laden, thousands of kilometres away in Washington they have been dragged into a vicious turf battle.Resurrecting tensions over US airpower that have lingered since the Korean war, the air force is pushing to become “executive agent” for drones – unmanned aircraft – that fly above 3,500 feet. The army, navy and marines oppose the move, which would make the air force responsible for the acquisition and development of unmanned aerial vehicles such as the army’s Sky Warrior. As Gordon...

WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- A GOP presidential candidate has slammed the Pentagon for failing to develop effective intelligence and surveillance technologies. "The U.S. armed forces continue to need urgent upgrades in their capabilities for high quality intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, or ISR," Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and a conservative candidate for the GOP's 2008 presidential nomination, said in a statement Wednesday. "In the current threat environment, where our enemies hide among indigenous populations and in which targets may be fleeting, the importance of integrated, timely...

ST. LOUIS, July 6, 2005 – ScanEagle, a long-endurance fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by Boeing [NYSE:BA] and The Insitu Group, successfully completed sea trials aboard the USS Cleveland as part of the U.S. Navy-sponsored 2005 Joint Task Force Exercise The two week exercise off the San Diego coast tested and evaluated the battle group’s reaction to multiple wartime scenarios, and is the final certification prior to deploying. The trials verified ScanEagle’s shipboard launch and recovery capabilities as the UAV completed four launches and captures, as well at 68 approaches, aboard the Cleveland. ScanEagle also provided real-time video...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Broke and without enough money in the bank to pay its bills after the end of the month, the Florida Democratic Party has now been slapped with a lien by the Internal Revenue Service for failing to pay payroll and Social Security taxes in 2003. The state party's budget and finance committee voted Tuesday to ask for a new audit to account for more than $900,000 it believes somehow disappeared from the books during the 2003-2004 calendar years when the party was led by Scott Maddox, who is now seeking its nomination for governor. Maddox and successor...

St. Louis, April 28, 2005 – The U.S. Navy's P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) program has successfully completed its second major review since contract award and received approval from the technical review board (TRB) to proceed toward the design phase. "The MMA team was extremely well prepared," said Stu Young, chairman of the System Functional Review (SFR) review board and technical director for the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems division. "The TRB had no reservations about general preparedness to proceed to preliminary design. This team is setting the standard by which others should be judged. Their progress since award...

In March, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea fired its second missile in two weeks from Sinsang-ri over the East Sea. The first test launch in February failed due to faulty parts, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry. The tests were believed timed to coincide with the large-scale South Korea-U.S. joint military drill being held in March, and they coincided with increased tensions along the peninsula and the recent interception of a US E-3 aircraft by DPRK aircraft. In February, another North Korean jet violated the West Sea border with the South. Nonetheless, E-3 ISR flights are scheduled to continue...

The Pentagon is awash with talk about military transformation. An important part of that debate goes beyond transformation, however, and into a concept called 4th Generation Warfare (4GW). The urban battlefield is an important 4GW trend, and the USA will need to have the ability to deal with it. Some new U.S. experiments and lessons from Israel will help us get there... read all about it.