Page 68 - ICE BUSINESS TIMES February 2020

to watch the war they are waging on "General Atomics is the top vendor
having to fly their drones while sat in SEVERAL FACTORS ARE
a nearby manned aircraft. Moreover, the other side of the world, live on TV SAID TO DRIVE THE that owns more than a third of the
from anywhere in the world.
Defense market at more than $4
they were overshadowed by globe ANTICIPATED RISE IN
spanning satellite networks and much America’s drones started life as spy GLOBAL INVESTMENT billion," the research states. "Northrop
planes and were augmented over the
Grumman is a distant second with
advanced, supersonic manned spy
planes, such as the U-2 and SR-71 years to become assassination IN PREDATOR less than half of that capture.
weapons. They have been hovering up
Combined, these top two vendors
Blackbird. DRONES. ONE IS THAT
Major progress of drones came with information, feeding the military’s MANY ARMED FORCES account for more than 50 percent of
insatiable demand for battlefield
the UAS market. Textron owns 10
the help of an Israeli aviation genius intelligence, and finding and killing ARE ACQUIRING percent of the market, while Boeing
who in the 1970s started to develop terrorists and insurgents. rounds out the top four with seven
aircraft with glider-like properties. UNMANNED AERIAL percent."
Incredibly long, thin wings that could VEHICLES FOR THE
hold the plane aloft at altitude for THE INDUSTRY FIRST TIME AND
hours on end, on a more than 24 Global spending on unmanned aerial PURSUING NEW DRONE-BACKED
hours flight. vehicles is set for a major expansion CAPABILITIES, HE SAID. NATIONS
This endurance is a fundamental in the coming decade as militaries
reason why today’s armed drones, invest about $98 billion in new THE OTHER REASON IS According to a report from the Center
such as the General Atomics Reaper intelligence gathering and strike THAT THERE IS A for the Study of the Drone, predator
drone, are so in vogue. The key is capabilities, experts say. The Teal GROWING DEMAND drone technology has spread to 95
keeping the pilots on the ground: the Group, an aerospace and defense FOR INTELLIGENCE, countries, a massive increase over the
drones are lighter than manned industry market analysis firm, expects SURVEILLANCE AND only 60 countries that possessed this
aircraft and they don’t have to land worldwide research-and-development kind of technology roughly a decade
solution to the Zeppelin menace. In when they get tired, they just swap and procurement spending on RECONNAISSANCE ago. The U.S., Israel, China, Iran and
the autumn of 1916 these bullets seats with a fresh crew. predator drones to rise from a ASSETS AS NATIONS Russia are the superpowers that are
leading the race in terms of
were used to shoot down one of these Their ability to loiter proved projected $11.1 billion in 2020 to FOCUS ON
marauding airships, finally ending invaluable in the 1990s, during the $14.3 billion by 2029 — nearly a 30 INFORMATION developing and deploying predator
drones for their national interests.
their reign of total aerial supremacy. escalating conflict in the former percent increase. R&D spending is WARFARE.
The success of the bullets removed Yugoslavia. There was a dearth of forecasted to grow from $3.2 billion in Drones rapidly proliferated in a second
wave over the past five years, with
the need for an uncrewed aircraft to good intelligence about Serbian tank 2020 to $4 billion in 2029. According
attack airships. However, by then and troop movements. U.S. supersonic to Steve Zaloga, one of the company’s Pakistan and Turkey developing their
own programmes. Since 2016, Turkey
Low’s team had made such jets were struggling to spot the senior analysts, the U.S. is expected to
encouraging progress with their Serbian forces in the thick Balkan lead the race from the front, with R&D has used drones heavily, against the
separatist Kurdish PKK in its own
'drone' remote control system that forests but the drones could stay on spending increasing from an
the military continued to support this station for 24 hours at a time, and estimated $2.2 billion in 2020 to $2.7 country, in northern Iraq and more
recently against Kurdish groups in
innovative project. kept their unblinking eye on their billion in 2029, and procurement
The first trial of the drone was held targets. ramping up from $2.5 billion in 2020 Syria. China, meanwhile, has begun
supplying a range of countries with its
on Wednesday 21 March 1917 at the Combining this loitering with the to about $3.3 billion by the end of the
RFC Central Flying School base at second crucial advance, the use of decade. Wing Loong and CH series drones,
including to the U.A.E – where they
Upavon on Salisbury Plain. The 'pilot' transmitters to send the footage Several factors are said to drive the
was none other than Henry Segrave, straight back to battlefield anticipated rise in global investment have been used in a string of deadly
strikes in Libya – as well as Egypt,
who would later go on to hold both commanders, is credited with in predator drones. One is that many
the land-speed and water-speed convincing Nato generals they needed armed forces are acquiring unmanned Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq,
although not every country has been
world records, not to mention a to start bombing the Serbs again, so aerial vehicles for the first time and
knighthood. The first drone failed to hastening the signing of the Dayton pursuing new capabilities, he said. able to deploy what it has bought.
Predator drones have already changed
launch correctly; but the second one peace accords. The other reason is that there is a
THE BEGINNING somehow managed to hover in the The U.S. has since taken those Balkan growing demand for intelligence, warfare, providing a more efficient
alternative to conventional aerial
The man responsible for creating the air. And that is how, 14 years after systems further. The signal to control surveillance and reconnaissance Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd., missions. But experts worry that they
Leonardo, Northrop Grumman,
first predator drone would be British the Wright Brothers’ flight and two them, and the returning video footage, assets as nations focus on Textron Systems. and Lockheed make it easier for countries to embark
are now transmitted through satellite
information warfare. Experts have
inventor Dr. Archibald Low. Dr Low was years into the first World War, the networks, not radio waves. In 2000 also speculated that drones are likely Martin are the companies that on wars and undeclared “shadow
recruited into the Royal Flying Corps to first ever radio-controlled drone the U.S. took the final leap forward to become “loyal wingman”, i.e. they dominate the industry of predator wars”, and put non-combatants at
develop the control system for an finally took off. first remote-controlled aircraft named when the Air Force and CIA became can accompany manned fighter jets drones. According to market research greater risk. So, while predator drones
Radioplane OQ-2. This is marked as
uncrewed aircraft, covertly named the first to successfully fit drones with into battle or conduct attacks on their firm Govini, General Atomics, are on the rise, we can only hope for
‘Aerial Targets’. In these desperate times DEVELOPMENTS the world’s first mass-produced missiles, as part of a failed CIA own. Northrop Grumman, Textron and the increase in usage of drones in the
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle product.
it was hoped that they would be capable Drones were still in their infancy attempt to kill Osama bin Laden. Despite being a mammoth industry, Boeing account for 66 percent of the ‘better’ aspects of life – delivering
of attacking the German airships that, stage during the Second World War Drones were still only a niche These satellite controlled hunter-killer the game is in the hands of a very few, $9 billion U.S. predator drone market. products, business, journalism and
technology during the Cold War. They
from 1915, flew regular bombing flights and during the Cold War. In the drones allow pilots to control their powerful companies. BAE Systems The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper even in humanitarian aid. Only then
over London. Archie Low was also set to Second World War, U.S. military were unreliable, small yet expensive, aircraft from half a world away and it Inc., Aerovironment Inc., Boeing, alone accounted for more than a shall we be able to do justice to this
and pilots had to be within range of
work assisting with the development of personnel Reginald Denny made the allows generals, spies and politicians General Atomic, China Aerospace, quarter of the market. invention.
an explosive bullet, another intended their analogue radio signals, often
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