Sky`s The Limit For Composite-intensive UAVs
Market growth is being spurred primarily by post-9/11 combat actions, homeland security and natural disasters.
By Sara Black, Technical Editor | May 2006
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are currently the fastest-growing segment of the aerospace sector, with a worldwide dollar value of more than $2 billion (USD). Half the nations on the globe produce or are starting to develop UAV models for a growing number of tasks, which range from military air strikes to high-altitude weather observation. Aerospace America, the magazine of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), reported in its September 2005 issue ("UAV Worldwide Roundup," p. 26) that 43 countries have gone on record as producing at least one UAV airframe, and more than 500 systems exist. With proven successes in war zones, combat UAVs or UCAVs make up about 85 percent of the market (see HPC May 2002, p. 18 and May 2004, p. 37). Civilian applications, such as reconnaissance and search and rescue, make up the rest.
Source: GA-ASI
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have matured to the point that more than 43 countries have systems. Worldwide value of the fast-growing UAV market segment is pegged at over $2 billion.
Composites are the materials of choice for these vehicles, which can range from a few inches in length to the size of a commercial airliner. High strength-to-weight and limited radar signature and signal transparency are the main drivers. Since pilot or passenger risk isn't an issue, UAV designers have a wider range of possibilities open to them to meet specific mission objectives. Military UAV programs are obviously highly sensitive and subject to the U.S. State Dept.'s International Traffic in Arms Restrictions (ITAR) export controls, so most sources were reluctant to go on record, but the following includes a representative sampling of the variety of programs currently in development and production.
A bit of history
The first recorded UAV was built almost a century ago. An "aerial torpedo" was flown automatically in 1916, when Lawrence and Elmer Sperry combined a stabilizing gyro and a steering gyro to control a small airplane. While that World War I-era flight showed the potential strategic value of UAVs, the technology did not take off in a serious way until the late 1950s, says a NASA report. During the Vietnam era, the Firebee and Lightning Bug reconnaissance drones were developed and flown by the U.S. Air Force for the purpose of collecting low- and high-altitude photos. In the 1970s, the U.S. and Israel started experimenting with small, slow and low-cost UAVs resembling large model airplanes and outfitted with new, real-time video cameras. Israel's tactical successes with UAVs during the 1980s led the U.S. military to push for unmanned programs, says NASA. More recently, the U.S. military deployed UAVs in Kuwait and the Balkan conflicts. NASA, meanwhile, funded the nine-year Envi-ronmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program, which helped foster development of engines, sensors and integrated vehicles on the commercial side, particularly for high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) missions.
In the past few years, UAV system growth has exploded worldwide. "The UAV has become an absolute necessity to warfighters of all nations, all services, all ranks," says the AIAA. China, France, Germany, the U.K., Italy, Japan, Pakistan, Russia and Taiwan are among the many that have fledgling or full-blown UAV programs. Notable among them are the six-nation European Neuron UCAV program, led by Dassault Aviation (Paris, France); the CL-289, a joint development of Canada, France and Germany, built by Dornier GmbH (Friedrichshafen, Germany, an EADS company) and flown successfully more than 450 times in the Balkans; Italy's Sky-X UCAV, first flown in July 2005 and built by Alenia Aeronautica (Pomigliano D'Arco, Italy); and the U.S./U.K. consortium-developed Watchkeeper, in which The Boeing Co. (Seattle Wash.) is a participant. And details are just starting to emerge about Britain's jet-powered, all-carbon Raven unmanned combat air system (UCAS) aircraft, built by BAE Systems (Samlesbury, U.K.), which has been flying since late 2003. Civilian UAV projects also are on the rise — recent natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina in the U.S., clearly demonstrated the immense benefits of unmanned surveillance for locating survivors under conditions too daunting for manned flights.
The rapid proliferation has raised concerns about overburdening already crowded airspace and attendant problems, such as a serious lag in the development of common communication protocols (see "Proliferation of UAVs in Limited Airspace," p. 51). Yet, even in light of these issues, a new aircraft market study by the Teal Group (Fairfax, Va.) estimates that the UAV market will more than double over the next decade to $4.5 billion in 2014. The study suggests that U.S. programs will account for about 90 percent of the worldwide spending on UAV technology over the next decade, and about 70 percent of the procurement.
Source: Northrop Grumman
The Hunter UAV is one of the oldest UAV systems but is still going strong with a recent structural upgrade.
"The most significant catalyst to this market has been the enormous growth of UAV funding by the U.S. military, tied to the general trend towards information warfare and net-centric systems," says study co-author and Teal Group senior analyst Steve Zaloga. These robust growth figures translate to solid demand for composite materials over the long term.
