FLUG REVUE January 2004: Global Hawk tested in Germany

GLOBAL HAWK FOR ELINT TESTS AT NORDHOLZ NAVAL AIR BASE

By Karl Schwarz

The three weeks of Global Hawk Air Vehicle 1's visit to Nordholz meant frequent early rises for the test crew of this first prototype of the high-altitude unmanned air vehicle (UAV), starting on 15 October with the 4am arrival of the Northrop Grumman RQ-4A at the naval air base to the south of Cuxhaven. For although Global Hawk does not have a pilot on board, the UAV, whose wingspan is longer than the Boeing 737's, never flies without human oversight. It is constantly monitored by a USAF pilot or weapons systems officer from the mission control station.

Global Hawk at Nordholz

“Of course we don't control the UAV manually with a joystick,” explained Lieutenant Colonel Guy Hooper of the USAF 12th Reconnaissance Squadron, the first unit earmarked to receive the Global Hawk. “Where necessary, we liaise with the air traffic control people by radio. Having a pilot's understanding of the weather or controlled airspace issues is very helpful when it comes to flight planning.”

Operating in Europe in particular required a lot of basic preparation. “We worked very closely with air traffic control in advance, to arrange frequency clearance and emergency procedures. Controllers from Maastricht, Bremen and Langen were here to personally gain a picture,” said Lt Col Michael Hain, describing the most important tasks. Hain is project officer C4I (command, control, communications, computers and intelligence) at the Bundeswehr general staff.

Nordholz is well positioned as regards airspace structure, since only a few kilometres separate its own control zone and the temporary reserved airspace (TRA) above the North Sea. “We always gave 50 minutes' advance warning of the flights to Eurocontrol,” said Hain. Naturally the plans also always allowed for an alternate aerodrome, in this case Neubrandenburg/Trollenhagen.

A base close to the North Sea was not helpful from the ATC point of view, but flying high over the sea it also provided a “dense” environment for the tracking, localisation and classification of radar transmitters by the electronic intelligence (ELINT) sensor developed by EADS in Ulm and Friedrichshafen. It meant that air, sea and land-based systems could all be involved in the trials.

The ELINT payload was a preliminary prototype, but despite this already featured essential capabilities, such as
   - an automatic mode for continuous monitoring of a wide area of the electromagnetic spectrum
   - a manual mode for detailed analysis of transmitters
   - a data recording system for deferred analysis of all the transmitters monitored

While the specialists from USAF and Northrop Grumman who had been flown in from California managed the air vehicle from the Mission Ops Centre, the EADS engineers were diligently analysing the radar frequencies received over the datalink.

Despite an initial problem with the datalink, all those involved were evidently very pleased with the results of the six flights at Nordholz. At any rate, Col. Scott Coale, USAF Global Hawk system programme director, called the deployment “an enormous success. We achieved or even exceeded all objectives.”

Comments like this are music to the ears of industry, for since EADS and Northrop Grumman launched the transatlantic “EuroHawk” project in July 2000, “we have invested a double digit million amount in the demonstration programme,” sighed Thomas Enders, Head of the Defence and Security Systems Division of EADS in Nordholz. “But that is an investment in the future, as this is another case of showing that industry is prepared to assume the risk and invest so as to offer the military customer tailored system solutions.”

Enders laid particular emphasis on the transatlantic nature of the programme. “In preparation for the next stage, we plan to establish the 50:50 joint venture company Euro Hawk GmbH with Northrop Grumman”

According to Lt Col Hain, the results of the demonstration in Nordholz will now be worked into the Bundeswehr's “final statement of requirements” for a new platform for long-range signals intelligence (ELINT and COMINT) and imagery intelligence (IMINT). First of all a successor is to be sought for the four Atlantic SIGINT aircraft operated by the German navy, which are due for replacement by the end of the decade.

It is not a matter of a 1:1 replacement of an old system. Rather, account must be taken of the new security environment, in which the Bundeswehr has to be equipped for deployment world-wide. “We need a balanced mix of reconnaissance capabilities, and a high-flying UAV could be a central element here,” says Hain.

On the other hand, although the A320 and Predator have been ruled out due, respectively, to inadequate range and inadequate payload, a Global Express business jet is still in the running as a possible SIGINT platform. “Of course at the moment a UAV would still have operational restrictions, and certification and deployment procedural issues would still have to be resolved,” said Lt Col Hain. “But on the basis of flying performance, I can achieve the same thing with a relatively small fleet of Global Hawks as with a manned aircraft. Besides, our studies show that this would bring a 40 percent cost saving.” A crucial point, given the present budgetary situation.

Whether the Bundeswehr can in fact afford a new SIGINT platform will become apparent over the next few weeks. Chief of Staff Wolfgang Schneiderhahn has been tasked by Defence Minister Peter Struck with developing a new planning concept for the Bundeswehr, covering structural, organisational, materiel and equipment aspects, by the end of 2003.

As significant cuts and a sweeping reorientation are the order of the day, there is a lot of internal wrangling going on over the details. Officially, everyone in the Ministry is thus keeping a low profile, with no information forthcoming at present on possible unit numbers, costs or timescales for a Global Hawk procurement. But one thing is clear: if a purchase goes ahead, the system must be able of providing round-the-clock surveillance of at least one far-flung hot-spot.

Global Hawk ELINT Tests

The ELINT system developed by EADS was tested with Global Hawk Air Vehicle 3 (the third prototype, designation AV-3) back in November 2002 at Edward Air Force Base, California. Then in August 2003 in preparation for the trials in Europe it was installed in AV-1, which also completed a test flight at Edwards. Integration testing was easier in California, as Northrop Grumman has its UAV integration facilities in the vicinity. The UAV was then flown to Nordholz without the sensor. The detailed ELINT tests series carried out was as follows:

Flight 1-42: launch at Edwards AFB at 23:05 hrs on 14 October. The route led along the Mexican border, above the Gulf of Mexico, then along the east coast of the USA and northwards past Scotland to Nordholz. It landed on 15 October at 4am after a 20h 55min flight.

Flight 1-43: departure 21 October 8.05am, return 12.50pm (4h 45min). The ELINT unit was tested.

Flight 1-44: another ELINT integration test followed on 23 October. Flight time 3h 30min from 13:15 to 16:45 hrs.

Flight 1-45: a further integration flight took place on 27 October, lasting from 13:09 hrs to 16:43 hrs (3h 34min).

Flight 1-46: the first mission demonstration was carried out on 29 October between 7:32 hrs and 14:08 hrs (6h 36min).

Flight 1-47: the second mission demonstration followed on 31 October. It was terminated early so as to land the Global Hawk before the onset of bad weather and demonstrate it to some visitors. Flight time 2h 55min, from 7.30am to 10.25am.

Flight 1-48: the final and longest mission, at 7h 33min, was flown on 4 November. Take-off 7:32 hrs, landing 15:05hrs.

Flight 1-49: finally, at 15.09 hrs on 6 November AV-1 took off for the return flight to Edwards AFB. After 21h 36min it arrived back in California at 3.45am on 7 November.

From page 64 of FLUG REVUE 1/2004

Last updated 9 December 2003

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