Nankeen

The Heron is built by Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) and is a one-tonne class platform (MTOW 1150kg) with an operating altitude of up to 30,000 feet and an endurance of more than 20 hours, and operates from a conventional runway. The IAI Heron is powered by a 115hp Rotax engine, and can carry a payload of up to 250kg comprising a selection of electro optical/infra red (EO/IR), Synthetic Aperture (SAR) or maritime radars, signals, communications and electronic intelligence (SIGINT/COMINT/ELINT) and sensors, as well as direct datalink and satellite communications (SATCOM) packages.

Apart from Australia, the system is also currently operated by Canada, India, Israel, Turkey and Germany.

The RAAF’s Heron system was stood up under a rapid acquisition program called Project Nankeen which was established in April 2009 by Air Force Headquarters (AFHQ) in conjunction with the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO). This was in response to an operational user requirement from the ADF’s Joint Operations Command (JOC) for an increase in the amount of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities available to Australian and Coalition deployed forces in Afghanistan.

“We were given an extraordinarily short timeframe to deploy a system for operations,” Project Nankeen’s team leader, WGCDR David Riddel told Australian Aviation. “With the support of the Capability Development Group (CDG) and Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), the small team within AFHQ did an analysis of the user requirements, in-theatre constraints such as basing and logistics, and consideration of staffing, training and sustainment issues to develop the subsequent systems requirement. Given the timeframe that we had available to establish the capability, it was resolved that there was only a very short list of viable options to deliver the desired capability within a manageable level of risk.”

The requirements called for a relatively long endurance platform able to carry multiple payloads, at heights and stand-off distances which made detection by the enemy difficult, so it’s reasonable to assume that other systems such as the MC-12 Liberty, MQ-9 Reaper, R/MQ-1A Predator and its heavy-fuel US Army derivative, the MQ-1C Sky Warrior were also considered, although the latter is still a developmental system and would not have met the RAAF’s short notice requirement. For stated commercial reasons, Defence has not been forthcoming with what other systems were considered.

Canadian Model

“From a shortlist we did an analysis and concluded with the recommendation to formally engage with Canada on the Heron I UAV system which they had deployed into theatre that January,” WGCDR Riddel continued. “The reason we went with Heron amongst other things is because Canada had made us an offer that we could come in under their wing and start learning from them, and to logistically and operationally leverage off their capability which they were in the genesis of standing up themselves at Kandahar. In the ‘crawl-walk-run’ philosophy, the Canadians enabled us to rapidly get to the ‘walk’ and be ready to ‘run’ within a fortnight of us receiving our own systems.

Importantly, it also gave Australia the ability to contribute to ISAF operations within 90 days of Government approval of the Project. I have heard that this is the first time since the RAAF took delivery of the Meteor in Korea, that we had established an air power capability in a theatre of operations without a significant period of prior establishment in Australia.”

Another reason for coming in under the Canadian contracted model was because Canada already had space at Kandahar airfield, anecdotally reported to be the busiest single runway airfield in the world. “As you can imagine, there are not that many airbases in Afghanistan and there are a lot of operations happening, so real estate was literally at a premium at these bases,” WGCDR Riddel explained. “So getting an invite to come in on the Canadian system was certainly welcome and went a long way for us to reduce the risk to rapidly stand up a capability in which Air Force has not previously had any appreciable practical knowledge.”

The Nankeen team began formal talks with the Canadian Department of National Defence in April 2009 and very quickly established a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to leverage off the Canadian capability. “We couldn’t have got where we were so quickly – our crews have been operating for over three months now using our own system – if it wasn’t for the Canadian support we received,” WGCDR Riddel continued. “It’s not just a matter of buying an airplane, throwing someone in behind the controls, and going flying – there’s a lot of effort that’s required in training, tactics development, sustainment, and logistics.”

Following the establishment of the MoU, AFHQ engaged Canadian firm McDonald-Detweiller Associates (MDA) to commence training for an initial cadre of RAAF Heron aircrew and support personnel. The first deployment to Afghanistan commenced immediately afterwards, with RAAF crews operating initially alongside the Canadians. “We had the cadre operating Canadian aircraft as embedded personnel within the Canadian organisation at Kandahar as crew members,” explained WGCDR Riddel. “But within a short time we had gained the confidence of the Canadians to be scheduled occasionally as all-Australian crews flying for the Canadians on ISAF missions and were soon making an impact – the fact that our guys and girls were making a such a positive contribution in such a short time was a testament to the quality of the Air Force and Army personnel that were selected and sent. It has been extremely rewarding that we could actually stand up that capability so quickly.”

By September, the DMO finalised a service delivery contract with MDA for the RAAF to stand up its own Heron capability, with the contract for an initial 12 months of operations beginning at the start of 2010, plus two single year options. The RAAF supplies the air vehicle and payload operators, geospatial imagery analysts and intelligence officers and liaison staff, while MDA provides flight line and maintenance support for the aircraft, and prepares the systems as per the Australian Joint Task Force’s tasking schedule. The aircraft, of which the second should be delivered at time of writing, is on the commonwealth register and carries the RAAF serial prefix, A45.

“In addition to the support that we were provided by Canada, Air Force could not have stood up the capability in Afghanistan in the short time that we did without the very hard work of HQJOC and Joint Task Force 633,” WGCDR Riddel added. “The contract currently is in its first year, and it gives us the opportunity to learn and understand the system and the mission. It’s a relatively low investment as far as the manpower and the other fundamental inputs to capability are concerned.” The RAAF is also generating its ‘raise, train, and sustain’ Heron capability by the establishment at RAAF Base Amberley of 5 Flight, a subordinate unit of 82WG within Air Combat Group.

RAAF Heron ‘pilot’ aircrew are currently dubbed Air Vehicle Operators, or AVOs, and have been drawn from RAAF fast jet, P-3 and C-130 ranks. The sensor Payload Operators have been drawn from F-111, P-3, Army Aviation aircrew and a previous Army UAV Troop Commander. “To date the AVOs have all been pilots, not least because we have to mix the circuit by remote control with fighters, C-17s, chartered Ilyushins and lots of helos, but we’re actively looking at increasing the selection pool for the AVOs by including suitably skilled F-111 and P-3 Air Combat Officers,” WGCDR Riddel said. “It’s one thing just flying an airplane from A to B, but then there’s a lot more in being capable of operating the actual system of systems in support of combat operations in real time. You need to have a lot of operational experience and training to be able to operate this system to its utmost potential.

“Bringing together the Offensive Air Support knowledgeable F/A-18 and F-111 Fighter Combat Instructors and other aircrew, ISR knowledgeable P-3 aircrew, a C-130 instructor pilot, Army Aviation and ScanEagle staff, as well as teams of talented geospatial imagery analysts (GIAs) and intelligence officers, and of course our tireless ops, log and admin support staff. Nankeen continues to go from strength to strength. The AVO, PO, GIAs and Intellos fly as a single aircraft crew – it’s really a team effort.”

Unlike the current Predator/Reaper family of UAVs which are flown with a joystick controller, the simpler Heron system is operated by a mouse and keyboard. “It’s a point and click on a map type of operations like you see on a lot of games interfaces – it’s essentially a windows based system which is quite intuitive. Once commanded, the Heron has an automatic take off capability, then you click a couple of buttons and designate a couple of waypoints, and track out to your area of operations. Establishing search patterns, orbits or route patrols is all sensor field-of-regard based. The system is built around the sensor, rather than an aircraft with a system added. At the end of the mission, the air vehicle can be commanded to automatically configure itself with flap and undercarriage, enter a landing mode, touch down, and automatically throttle back and apply brakes on the runway. Assuming the AVO and PO are fully brushed up with instrument flying rules, it’s a relatively simple system to fly safely, which is another reason we were able to stand the system up so quickly – the training overhead was actually fairly shallow as far as safety-of-flight physically flying the aircraft was concerned. Hence we have been able to spend a significant amount of time in tactics development for the direct support of Australian and ISAF ground forces.”

“The payload operators operate the various sensors on the system; the EO/IR sensors and other sensors onboard the system, as well as acting as ‘co-pilot’ for emergency situations,” continued WGCDR Riddel. “For us, we wanted to get the biggest bang we could get for our buck, so, with the contracted support of Geospatial Intelligence Pty Ltd, Carbine Securities, and KAZ Fujitsu, we’ve also stood up our own intelligence exploitation systems which are linked to the air vehicle systems. It is here that our GIAs and Intellos perform massive value adding to the raw information gathered by the AVO and PO, and then transmit it to various users within the theatre. We’ve been running our initial operating capability quite effectively and are routinely providing support to Australian and ISAF forces. That support includes transmitting real time video down to the troops in a similar manner to what the Reaper, Predator and the smaller ScanEagle does.”

Learning Experience

Nankeen is also being used as a learning opportunity for the ADF which will likely be introducing more unmanned systems to its force structure in the coming decades, but the RAAF has also leveraged UAS knowledge also within the ADF as well. “Obviously you’d be foolish to develop a UAV capability in rapid acquisition mode without utilising the knowledge Defence has gained already on other UAV systems,” WGCDR Riddel explained. “So we’ve had the UAS expertise of the Capability Development Group and Defence Science and Technology Organisation, as well as having the UAV Service contracting performed by subject matter experts within the same DMO office that looks after JP129 (Army tactical UAV project) and Air 7000 Phase 1 (AP-3C replacement project),.

“Air Force has also stressed from the start that we are a part of a joint force – we strive to integrate with our brother services. In this case, we have from the outset had full engagement with Army and have been learning from the ISTAR and Combat Support Group of their ScanEagle experience.”

But the RAAF is adamant that Nankeen is very different to JP129, a project which has unfortunately been delayed for several years following its cancellation in 2007 due to technical issues with the selected air vehicle, and which has since been re-started with a clean sheet approach. “This isn’t JP129, and it’s not using JP129 money or anything like that – it’s a higher Tier capability in its own right,” stressed WGCDR Riddel. “JP129 within the DCP (Defence Capability Plan) is for a Brigade level tactical ISTAR system to support the commanders in the field, with EO/IR full motion video to ‘see over the next hill’. Nankeen is a locally operated theatre ISR asset which, due to the size of the air vehicle, carries much greater performance sensors, enabling it to operate undetected if desired, and will have feeds distributed around the theatre and further afield”.

Moving forward, a decision on whether to activate the options in the contract is close, giving the ADF and the supporting contractor sufficient lead time to get people and other resources in place for 2011 and beyond.

“We don’t actually care much about the number of airframes we have,” WGCDR Riddel said in closing. “What we care about is the effect that we can generate, and that is directly associated to persistence and hence the hours we’ve contracted for, and whether the contractor has the ability to supply those hours. With the knowledge that MDA has been providing the hours at the same location for the Canadian contract, we are very comfortable about being able to realise our hours, and hence the effect that the Commander of the Joint Task Force requires. There are obvious pros and cons with a contract for service provision; however it is working for us, and this paradigm was the only way to get the capability quickly into ops. So, it’s a departure from how Air Force usually operates in theatre, and is not appropriate for most capabilities.

“Even though the Nankeen Heron has been quite a success to date, we certainly aren’t resting on our laurels, and will continue to develop the system to give the best possible capability that can be achieved with our resources to Australian and ISAF troops.”