CASR  Background   ~  CF  UAVs

This CASR  Background Index covers Canadian UAVs – those unmanned aerial vehicles, uninhabited aerial vehicles, or what  you will.  Canadian industry had an early lead in UAVs resulting in some export successes. The Canadian military was less sure about the UAV’s value and their investigations dragged on for decades.

Yet another dragged-out DND procurement project sounds bad, but  it might not have been. Unpiloted military aircraft have been around since WWI  but, over all, UAVs remain an immature technology.  Indeed,  that  helps explain  the confused UAV terminology  –  ‘robot’ drones were replaced by remotely-controlled aircraft which, in turn, are being eclipsed by UAVs with computerized, onboard guidance.

In other words, fixed and pre-programmed flightpaths were replaced with radio or other remotely-linked control by human operator, and finally independant control through terrain-mapping or satellite-links –  or a mix of any of the above controls.

Note: Pages listed/linked below will be arranged by subject, not chronologically.

Background   —   DND / CF Project Articles Index

•  Canadian Forces UAVs  –  Introduction  and a  Brief  Historical  Background

The Canadian Forces Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Project
The Canadian Forces Experimentation Centre began UAV testing in earnest in April of  2002 at  CFB Suffield  (right). What emerged  from these ongoing trials  is a  CF require- ment for three distinct forms of UAV – the miniature UAV for short-range reconnaissance, tactical UAVs for overall battlefield awareness, and larger MALE (medium altitude, long endurance) UAVs to patrol Canada’s Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic coastlines.

Canadian UAVs and CF  Drone Use
The Canadian Army was one of  the first to field what would now be called a battlefield reconnaiss- ance UAV. A brief overview of  the Canadair CL-89 Midge and CL-289 tactical UAVs, and the ‘flying peanut’ CL-227 Sentinel.

•  UAV  Test-Drives  –  the Canadian Forces’  On-Going Experiment with UAVs

Canadian Forces Experimentation Centre  Trials Participants
Three different sizes and types of UAV were trialled by CFEC at CFB Suffield in 2002: FQM-151A Pointer,  I-GNAT, and  CL-327 Guardian. These non-operational trials employed leased UAVs.

CF UAV  –  Ongoing Developments and Trials Interim fixes –  German ISAF Luna X2000 mini- UAV held over in Kabul while Canada worked out Sperwer’s bugs. Maritime surveillance UAV demonstrations – CU-160 Eagle flying from Tofino BC, and  the  General Atomics CU-163 Altair on the east coast.

General Atomics  CU-163  Altair  A single CU-163 Altair (a long-span relative of the better-known US Predator) was leased for the duration of  ALIX, the Atlantic Littoral  ISR ( Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance)  Experiment.

•  JUSTAS  (Joint Unmanned Surveillance Target Acquisition System) Project

JUSTAS  –  the HALE / MALE UAV Project
JUSTAS is a $500M project to procure UAVs to patrol East, West, and  then Arctic coasts. High- & medium-altitude UAVs are reviewed and six candidate UAVs (one HALE and five MALE UAVs) are reviewed in detail.

•  Tactical  UAV   –   the  Canadian Forces’  SAGEM  CU-161 Sperwer  TUAV

TUAV – SAGEM  CU-161 Sperwer  Tactical UAV The CF’s ISAF Kabul deployment forced the issue of  tactical UAVs.  The French-made Sperwer were to prove crash-prone and a big  learning curve  for CF operators.  Despite this, five more were ordered  from their makers  in late 2005.

CU-161 Sperwer deployment  is covered separately. In Sept 2006, DND awarded a contract to SAGEM to “standardize” 10 ex-Danish Sperwer (called Kestrels or Tårnfalken). This will also be covered separately.

CU-162 Vindicator  Drone / UAV Trainer
The CU-162 Vindicator was designed as a target drone but also acts as familiarization trainers for the Surveillance Acquisition Group to practice spotting and tracking.

•  Mini UAVs   –   the  Canadian Forces’   Miniature  Tactical  UAVs

CF Trials  Mini UAV  –  ACR  CU-167 Silver Fox
In April  2004, DND bought Silver Fox mini UAVs and  their launchers  from ACR  for use in CF trials leading up to their miniature UAV contest (below).

Fly-Weights – the CF Mini-UAV Contest.  DND bought five Israeli Skylark mini UAVs in March of  2006 with options on a further five. On 29 Nov. 2005, a separate $10M contest was announced for 10  low altitude reconnaissance / surveillance mini UAVs. The outcome was predictable but we will look at the three candidates.

Mini UAV Candidate – IAI Malat I-View. The I-View 50 is a scaled-down, electric-powered version of the already-small IAI Malat I-View (right).  I-View UAVs are distinguished by a power-on landing technique, using a para-foil  for extra lift.

Elbit Systems  Skylark  Mini UAV.  Israeli mini UAVs dominated  the CF competition. Having already been  bought as Immediate Operational Requirements, Skylarks had a built-in advantage.  Skylark is a simple, hand-launch UAV with  podded sensors.

Boeing-Insitu ScanEagle.  The Scan- Eagle was the most radical  mini UAV candidate. A ScanEagle  has no con- ventional  landing gear.  Take-off is a normal enough catapult launch but ‘landing’ consists of  snaring a wingtip hook.