cockpit lighting compatible with night-vision goggles. The FLIR, mounted in a fairing above the nose of the aircraft, projects a green-and-white video image on the pilot's heads-up display (HUD). A color digital moving map display, using data stored on a laser disc, eliminates the hassle of fumbling with paper charts in a dark cockpit.
Even better things were to follow. With the Sea Harrier, the Royal Navy had already demonstrated that it was possible to fit a radar in the Harrier's nose. With the Harrier II Plus, McDonnell Douglas engineers did not just settle for a simple range-only or air-search radar. They essentially redesigned the airframe to accommodate the powerful Hughes APG-65, the same multi-mode radar used on the F/A-18 Hornet. This means that in the fall of 1996, the Harrier force will add the mighty AIM-120 AMRAAM missile to their weapons suite, making it one of the most dangerous birds in the sky. Since the radar adds some 900 lb/408 kg of weight, and extends the airframe by 17 in./43 cm, a completely new fuselage was fabricated, and a new engine installed. The last twenty-four production Harrier IIs were built to the Plus standard. After that, additional aircraft will be 'remanufactured.' To save money, the wing, tail surfaces, landing gear, ejection seats, and other major components of existing AV-8 Bs are being recycled to produce a new aircraft, at about two-thirds the cost of manufacturing a completely new aircraft. Italy (sixteen aircraft) and Spain (eight aircraft) are sharing in the development cost and production of the Harrier II Plus, under an agreement signed in September 1990. The Marine Corps plans to remanufacture seventy- three airframes to the II Plus configuration. The first Harrier II Plus made its inaugural flight on September 22nd, 1992.
Harriers will remain in service with the Marines well into the 21st century. Most likely, they will gradually be replaced sometime after 2010 by a variant of the Air Force/Navy STOVL joint strike fighter (JSF), which is currently in the early stages of development. Between now and then, the variety of weapons loads and mission capabilities are due to greatly increase. For example, there will soon be a competition for a laser targeting/designation pod for the centerline stores station, which will allow the Harrier to employ laser guided bombs and missiles by itself.
Pioneer Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
They used to be called 'drones' or 'remote controlled' (R/C) aircraft. Today we call them UAVs ('unmanned aerial vehicles') to emphasize that they operate without a human pilot on board. The idea of a pilotless aircraft makes many pilots feel uneasy. ('This machine wants your job… and it might cause a mid-air.') Since pilots become the Generals and Admirals who call the shots in military aviation, UAVs have had to overcome deeply entrenched institutional resistance to win acceptance. All the same, the advantages of a UAV are obvious. For one thing, compared to a manned aircraft, it can be made very small and cheap. For another, advances in software and miniaturized electronics have made it possible to provide relatively 'intelligent' autopilots. And the development of miniaturized video cameras in stabilized mountings ('steadicams') provides high-resolution imagery, day or night. Even if the enemy manages to shoot one down, it makes a lousy hostage.
In early 1996 the Pioneer is the only UAV operational with the U.S. Navy, Army, and Marine Corps. Pioneer was developed in the 1970s by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), and it played a key role in the 1982 Bekaa Valley air campaign, in which the Israeli Defense Forces utterly smashed Syria's advanced Soviet-made integrated air-defense system. In 1985, following our own miserable experience in Lebanon, Secretary of the Navy John Lehman ordered the immediate procurement of an off-the-shelf UAV, to be carried on board the newly reactivated and modernized Iowa-class battleships, where they were to be used for gunfire spotting, reconnaissance, and battle-damage assessment, which had so far been impossible in Lebanon. Pioneer won the competition, and entered service with the fleet late in 1986. The following year, the Marine Corps procured additional Pioneers to operate from LPDs or mobile ground bases. In 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, six Pioneer units deployed to the Persian Gulf, flying some 523 missions. One of these unmanned aircraft earned a unique place in aviation history when an Iraqi unit attempted to surrender to it.
Pioneer has a wingspan of 17 ft/5.2 m, and a length of 14 ft/4.3 m, Empty weight is only 2641b/120 kg, and maximum takeoff weight is 4291b/195 kg. A 26-hp 2-stroke piston engine drives the pusher-type wooden propeller, located between twin tail booms. The engine also drives an electrical generator to power the sensor package, flight controls, and data link. Pioneer can reach a ceiling of 15,000 ft/4,600 m, but missions are generally flown at 3.280 ft/1,000 m or less. Top speed is 110 kt/204 kph, but the normal cursing speed is 65 kt/120 kph. Mission endurance is around five hours, allowing a tactical mission radius of about 100 nm/185 km. Fuel capacity is 12 gal/49 L of 100 -octane aviation gasoline, mixed with a small amount of motor oil. Pioneer breaks down easily into modular components for storage in rugged shipping containers, which the crews call 'bird boxes.' For shipboard operations, Pioneer requires a rocket-assisted takeoff, which needs very little deck space. For ground operation, there is a truck-mounted pneumatic catapult. At the end of a shipboard mission, Pioneer is flown into a nylon recovery net rigged on the fantail of the ship, like a big volleyball net. When a runway is available, it can make a normal takeoff or landing on its fixed tricycle landing gear.
Pioneer can carry one of two standard electro-optical payloads, either of which can be swapped out in about an hour. The day package includes a stabilized, turret-mounted monochrome video camera with a full zoom. A full- color camera has been proposed as an upgrade, trading off contrast for color information. Color might also require a data link with higher bandwidth. The night package includes a high-resolution FLIR system, which can zoom to fixed lengths, and can be switched between 'white hot' and 'black hot' display modes. The radio command and data link uses the spread-spectrum technique, which is highly resistant to jamming. Since Pioneer is constructed from lightweight composite materials, it has a very low radar cross-section. It is equipped with a standard Mode 3 IFF transponder, allowing friendly aircraft to track it and avoid airspace conflicts. The system software automatically displays the time and date, geographic coordinates, and range to target on the imagery transmitted over the data link. It also generates symbology showing the aircraft flight direction and attitude, similar to the HUD (Heads-Up Display) of a fighter aircraft, but much simpler.
Four Landing Assault Ships (LPDs) are currently equipped to operate Pioneer. A UAV detachment consists of about thirty personnel and five air vehicles. The control station is an air-conditioned shelter with separate consoles for the flight operator and the sensor operator, who work under the supervision of a mission commander. The flight operator hands off control of an aircraft to a remote Portable Control Station for landings and recovery. A tracking technician operates the tracking and communication system, which requires a pole antenna and a steerable dish antenna, which may be installed on the ship, or mounted on a light truck. A recording technician operates the videocassette recorders, which can feed their signals to other ships and ground stations.
Pioneer has suffered some reliability problems due largely to insufficient procurement of spare parts. In operation, Pioneers often suffer minor damage when they hit the recovery net, and the complex sensor packages demand highly skilled maintenance. Nevertheless, they have proven to be invaluable national assets. So much so that additional vehicles are about to be procured. The Pioneer system will continue to serve well into the 21st century. The prime contractor is Pioneer UAV, Inc., a joint venture of Israel Aircraft Industries and AAI Corporation, located in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
Bell-Textron UH-1N Twin Harvey
Every American war has its distinctive icons in our collective historical imagination. For the Civil War, it's the forage cap and the 12-pounder bronze smoothbore 'Napoleon' cannon. For the Second World War, it's the Sherman tank and the GI helmet. For Vietnam it's the 'boonie hat' and the Bell UH-1 helicopter. Officially it's called the Iroquois, because the Army insists that helicopters should be named after Indian tribes. But to the troops, it will always be simply the 'Huey.' Based on a 1955 Army design competition, the UH-1 made its maiden flight on October 22nd 1956. Over eleven thousand have been produced in a dozen major models and countless variants. In 1996 it remains in production around the world.
