The U.S. Army Aerostat detection systems

The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $383 million contract to maintain, operate and sustain the Persistent Threat Detection Systems (PTDS).

The tethered aerostat provides real-time, around-the-clock reconnaissance and surveillance of broad geographic areas for warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The availability of timely intelligence is vital to protecting deployed personnel and high-value assets," said Jim Quinn, vice president of C4ISR Systems with Lockheed Martin IS and GS-Defense.

"Our PTDS team will continue to provide mission critical support directly to our warfighters."

Equipped with multiple sensors, PTDS is an aerostat-based system that delivers constant day and night, 360 degree detection, surveillance, monitoring and force protection.

"Lockheed Martin has a 80-year heritage of providing lighter-than-air systems to the military, that provides a much needed capability to keep our men and women safe in theater," said Colleen Arthur, director of Integrated Defense Technologies for Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors.

"PTDS is a highly effective combat-proven system, and provides eyes-on-target and real-time situational awareness for our warfighter."

The Army's Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, Project Manager for Robotic and Unmanned Sensors, based at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., will provide program and acquisition management.

Russia's Augur-RosAeroSystems will finish in 2011 the construction of a third large-size tethered aerostat under a contract with a Chinese firm, the company's president said.

The Puma aerostat is primarily designed to carry an early-warning radar station, but could also carry other surveillance and communications equipment, which makes it a low cost alternative to satellites.

"We are not worried about China copying our design because we are well-protected by our technologies and know-how," Gennady Verba told reporters in mid-November, adding that two aerostats had already been delivered to China.

Puma tethered aerostats are platforms that carry early-warning radar stations. The aerostat is capable of providing 24-hour radar surveillance.  The aerostat could climb to altitudes of up to 16,400 feet and stay in the air for 30-35 days without landing.

The payload is located on a truss, suspended under the envelope in a protective soft-pressurized cockpit of an aerodynamic shape.

Apart from surveillance, the aerostat can be used in communications and other areas. Although Puma was designed to address specific air defense problems, it can also be used to provide highly-efficient communication, surveillance, area protection, etc.

RosAeroSystems is a leading Russian manufacturer of airships and aerostats. Foreign partners include Kubicek (Czech Republic), Voliris (France), and the U.S. companies Worldwide Aeros and General Aeronautics Corporation.

Russian military have recently been showing increasing interest towards the aerostat. The attitude towards the Puma aerostat system has changed for the better after it underwent tests with officials invited from the Defense Ministry.

Israel has also used aerostats called Stratus for a number of years. Designed for coastal, air and ground surveillance gathering and as a communications relay, the Stratus is easy to deploy and can provide coverage for up to 30 days.

Besides, an Israeli company is even proposing the separate deployment of a sensor platform originally designed for an Aerostat.

The mast mounted sensor group can be fitted with various sensors including a colour CCD and a FLIR fitted with a  1.4 magnification lens. A laser rangefinder/marker, a ground surveillance radar and electronic compass can also be installed.

In yet another indicator of the rapidly growing Indo-Israel defense relationship, the government has decided to purchase long-range ‘‘Aerostat Programmable Radars’’ from Tel Aviv.

The Aerostat radars, which basically include sensors mounted on blimp-like large balloons tethered to the ground with long cables, are a long-standing requirement of the IAF.

These radars, along with AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control Systems), will help bolster India’s air defense capabilities.

Indian officials are hopeful of getting at least three Israeli Phalcon early warning radar systems in the near future. Indian AWACS, as per plans, will have the Phalcon systems mounted on the Russian Ilyushin-76 heavy transport military aircraft.

Moreover, India also plans to procure more Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from Israel, as also look at its Arrow anti-missile systems.

Apart from augmentation of surface-based radars, India needs a mix of airborne surveillance systems which include the more expensive fixed-wing sensors like AWACS and cheaper platforms in the shape of Aerostat radars.

AWACS and Aerostat radars can act as major force-multipliers by detecting and tracking cruise missiles and low-flying aircraft much earlier than ground-based radars, which can then be targeted by air defense systems.

They can prove decisive during aerial combat operations by effectively positioning air defense fighters against hostile aircraft. AWACS, Aerostat radars and UAVs all act as ‘‘eyes in the sky’’ to increase the ‘‘situational awareness’’ of the theatre commander.

The phased array radars on Aerostats can be operated either in a 360 degree search mode or a sector scan mode. ‘‘Aerostat radars, which can stay afloat round-the-clock for four to five weeks at one go, are much cheaper and easier to operate than AWACS. They provide three-dimensional low-altitude coverage,’’ says an expert.

Moreover, they are not too easy to shoot down. With matching internal and external pressures, Aerostats can withstand several punctures and stay afloat. They can also be reeled in, repaired and then deployed once again.

Experts say in the long term, India will have to erect an effective theatre missile defense system, with an overlapping network of early-warning sensors, command posts and anti-missile land-and sea-based missile batteries.

It’s to know that during World War II the Japanese launched thousands of helium "fire balloons" against the United States and Canada. In Operation Outward the British used balloons to carry incendiaries to Nazi Germany.

Today large helium balloons are used by the South Korean government and private activists advocating freedom in North Korea. They float hundreds of kilometers across the border carrying news from the outside world, illegal radios, foreign currency and gifts of personal hygiene supplies. A North Korean military official has described it as "psychological warfare" and threatened to attack South Korea if their release continued.

And now let’s go back to Russia and see what else balloons can do.

So, want to put together your own fake army to fool all the dolts trolling Google Earth?  Try getting in touch with Rusbal, a Moscow-based company that produces inflatable, life-size replica of the usual implements of war, including big ass tanks, bomber jets and rocket launchers.

Used by the Russian Army to fool spy satellites taking aerial pictures of local areas, the blow-up contraptions are reportedly more realistic than older generations of dummy weapons, which were made from either rubber, plastic or plywood. 

Not only that, they irradiate warmth too (so heat-sensing drones should be easily fooled), along with radar and infra-red bands (just in case the enemy uses more tools than Google Earth, which they probably do).

In actual battle scenarios, fake military artillery serves to distract enemies, forcing them to use their available resources keeping tabs on dummy installations, instead of focusing on real combat units.  

According to reports, the army even sends in soldiers who pretend to operate and maintain the balloon equipment, so it looks like a real threat waiting in the wings (no, they don't create mannequin soldiers - too obvious).

But why blow-up balloons?  They are lighter and more portable than other types of dummies, allowing the army to set up a fake camp within minutes. The fake missile launcher reportedly pumps up to full size in five minutes, the sham battle tank in four.


Source: By Andrei Kislyakov - 4 December 2011 - Voice of Russia News (http://english.ruvr.ru)

Photo: U.S. Army Awards Lockheed Martin $383 Million to Provide Persistent Threat Detection Aerostat Systems (PTDS). (www.aerospace.firetrench.com)

(4.12.2011)