At the beginning of the 21st century, the United States began an "unmanned boom" that continues to this day. If the first UAVs were intended mainly for reconnaissance and surveillance, at the moment drones successfully destroy point targets, including moving targets, at any time of the day. This is made possible by miniaturization and improved performance of electronic components. Highly reliable small-sized digital control systems allow the UAV to fly in autonomous mode. The equipment for high-speed data transmission over a radio channel, in turn, makes it possible to control the drone in real time, and high-resolution optoelectronic devices control the space day and night. A significant role in the success of the UAV was played by the development of composite polymer materials and carbon fiber sticks, the use of which made it possible to significantly reduce the takeoff weight of unmanned aerial vehicles.
As you know, armed drones play a significant role in anti-terrorist operations conducted by the US armed forces and intelligence services. But before the Raptors and Reapers entered service, they all went through the Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB. The 31st and 452nd Test Squadrons, which are organizationally part of the 412th Test Air Wing, are testing drones. Before the start of work on unmanned vehicles, the equipment and personnel of the 452nd squadron were involved in providing tests of cruise missiles launched from B-52H and B-1V bombers, collecting telemetric information and monitoring the launches of ballistic missiles and spacecraft. For this, the squadron was armed with EC-18B Advanced Range electronic reconnaissance aircraft. Until now, to ensure testing of high-speed vehicles and cruise missiles, a Stratotanker converted from a KC-135R tanker and stuffed with various tracking and communication equipment EC-135 is used.
EC-18B
Since 2002, the personnel of the 452nd Squadron took part in the tests of the YAL-1A aircraft laser cannon on the Boeing 747-400F platform. Since 2006, the main task of this unit has been to fine-tune the heavy reconnaissance drone RQ-4 Global Hawk. All RQ-4 modifications: Block 10 (RQ-4A), Block 20/30/40 (RQ-4B), as well as the version for the US Navy passed through the 452nd test squadron, known as Global Vigilance. MQ-4C Triton and EuroHawk for the Luftwaffe.
RQ-4 Global Hawk
In the last decade, flights of unmanned aerial vehicles in the vicinity of Edwards AFB can be observed almost more often than manned aircraft. In terms of the duration and altitude of flight, the Global Hawk is seriously superior to other types of drones put into service. The personnel of the airbase and residents of the surrounding settlements are already accustomed to the fact that cruciform RQ-4s patrol in the sky for a long time. Flights of 12 or more hours are usual. So, on March 22, 2008, the Global Hawk circled over the vicinity of the airbase for more than 33 hours.
The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, which made its first flight in February 1998, was originally created as an unmanned replacement for the U-2S high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. The Block 40 UAV with a maximum take-off weight of 14630 kg is equipped with a Rolls-Royce F137-RR-100 engine with a thrust of 34 kN. Thanks to an economical turbofan engine, a lightweight and durable wing with a span of 39.9 meters, made of a composite material, the aircraft can float in the air for more than 32 hours. At an altitude of over 18,000 meters at a cruising speed of 570 km / h, the Global Hawk is able to fly from Sicily to South Africa and return without landing, surveying up to 100,000 km ² per day.
Unmanned aerial vehicles of the heavy class carry various reconnaissance equipment, the Block 40 modification is equipped with a multi-platform MP-RTIP radar with AFAR, which provides monitoring of mobile and stationary sea and ground objects. RQ-4 of the latest modifications are equipped with satellite communication equipment, which allows data exchange at a speed of up to 50 Mbit / s. The device is controlled from ground stations via a satellite or radio channel, and on the route, if the external one is lost, it is possible to switch to autonomous control. UAVs "Global Hawk" are able to land independently, guided by the signals of the global satellite positioning system.
To counter air defense systems, Raytheon has developed a set of AN / ALR-89 equipment, consisting of an AN / AVR-3 receiver that records laser irradiation, an AN / APR-49 radar radiation receiver and an electronic warfare transmitter. The kit also includes a towed false target ALE-50. In the past, the capabilities of self-defense equipment have been criticized by the military. According to representatives of the Air Force, the countermeasures installed initially are incapable of ensuring sufficient survival and can protect against outdated air defense systems of the C-75 family and their Chinese clones HQ-2. In this regard, an improved self-defense system was tested on the Block 40 version, the composition and capabilities of which are not disclosed.
To date, more than 45 RQ-4 unmanned aerial vehicles of various modifications have been built. As of March 2014, 42 units were in operation. At the same time, the specialists of the Northrop Grumman company introduce various improvements in the design and increase the capabilities of the on-board equipment. At the same time, a systematic reduction in the cost of a flight hour and ground service is being carried out. So, from 2010 to 2013, maintenance and flight costs decreased from $ 40,600 to $ 25,000 per hour of flight. The manufacturing company and the personnel of the 452nd Test Squadron are tasked with achieving a 50% reduction in the operating costs of the Global Hawk. At the same time, the cost of one heavy drone is about $ 130 million (together with development costs, the cost reaches $ 222 million).
In the past, RQ-4s have participated in various missions over Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. They were involved in the search for kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls in Africa, monitored the situation in the Fukushima nuclear power plant area and in various areas of the United States affected by natural disasters. It is reported that a variant of the EQ-4, designed for electronic reconnaissance and relaying radio signals, has been tested over the territory of Syria. It is also known that a version is being developed on the basis of the RQ-4 intended for refueling other unmanned and manned vehicles in the air.
Satellite image of Google Earth: RQ-4A in the NASA sector at Edwards AFB. Next to the UAV, elements of the launching solid-propellant boosters used earlier in the Space Shuttle program are visible.
In December, two RQ-4As were transferred from the US Air Force to NASA's Armstrong Research Center. These were the first and sixth examples of the Global Hawk to be tested. One of these vehicles is now in the NASA sector, which is in the northern part of the airbase. At NASA, the demilitarized RQ-4A participated in various kinds of research: they measured the thickness of the ozone layer and the level of atmospheric pollution and carried out weather observations. For this, one Global Hawk was equipped with a meteorological radar and various sensors. On September 2, 2010, a high-altitude drone reportedly successfully flew through Hurricane Earle off the east coast of the United States.
However, the Global Hawk was not the only contender for the role of a long-range high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. On June 1, 2012, a giant Phantom Eye UAV was launched from a dirt runway at Edwards AFB.
UAV Phantom Eye takes off
The unmanned aerial vehicle, built by Boeing's Boeing Phantom Works, is an impressive size with a wingspan of 46 meters. At the same time, the maximum take-off weight is only 6400 kg, and the empty weight is 3390 kg, which is a record for a structure of this size. Such a low weight was achieved due to the widespread use of carbon fiber, as well as due to the absence of a heavy chassis. The launch is carried out using a special trolley that remains on the ground, and landing is carried out on a light front wheel and side supports. The drone is equipped with two four-cylinder hydrogen engines with a volume of 2.3 liters and a power of 150 hp. each. For high altitude operation with low oxygen content, the engines are equipped with multi-stage blowers.
Satellite image of Google Earth: UAV Phantom Eye in the NASA sector at Edwards AFB
Phantom Eye testing at Edwards Air Force Base was carried out by the staff of the Amstrong Research Center. According to the design data, the drone should have a maximum flight altitude of 20,000 meters. Cruising speed - 278 km / h, flight duration - 96 hours. In addition to reconnaissance and surveillance, high-altitude vehicles with such flight data can be used to relay the radio signal.
According to information published by Boeing and NASA, the Phantom Eye has completed 9 flights. Upon returning from the first flight, the drone was damaged during landing, having buried its front wheel in a soft unpaved runway, after which the chassis was modified. Phantom Eye has made its last three flights in the interests of the US Missile Defense Agency, but details regarding these missions have not been disclosed. Experts suggest that a compact solid-state laser or a means of detecting launching ballistic missiles could be installed on board the drone.
Currently, the Phantom Eye UAV, after two years in the NASA storage facility, has been transferred to the Museum of Flight Test Flight. Boeing has announced its intention to build a drone conceptually similar to the Phantom Eye, but increased in size by 40%. At the same time, an unmanned vehicle with a payload of 900 kg will have to be able to stay at an altitude of 20,000 meters for 10 days, with a doubling of the load, the time spent in the air will be 6 days.
Headquarters of the 412th Test Air Wing
In addition to the already mentioned Test Pilot Schools, the 31st and 452nd test drone squadrons at the airbase, there are a number of units stationed here on a permanent basis:
411th Test Squadron (F-22A fighters)
412th test squadron (tankers KS-135R, transport S-135S and radio technical EC-135)
416th Test Squadron (F-16C / D fighters)
418th test squadron (aircraft for special operations forces C-130N, MN-130, S-17A, CV-22)
419th test squadron (bombers B-1B, B-2A, B-52H)
445th test squadron (training T-38A)
461st Test Squadron (F-35 fighters)
The 412th Air Wing is responsible for base operations, including infrastructure, communications, security, fire protection, transportation, procurement, financing, contracting, legal services, and recruiting. Various maintenance teams and numerous engineering services provide vital services to Edwards, and a number of structures are deployed at the airbase that are not under the command of the 412th Test Wing command. These include test squadrons of the US Navy and the USMC, as well as a unit of the Dryden Research Center - NASA Armstrong Research Center and a number of foreign military organizations of the US allies conducting their own research here. The airbase has a special hangar Benefield Anechoic Facility (eng. Benefield's anechoic chamber) - named after test pilot Thomas Benyfield, who died in the vicinity of the airbase in 1984 during the tests of the B-1 bomber.
B-1B bomber in an anechoic chamber
The anechoic chamber is a large enclosed hangar, shielded from radio frequency radiation, where EMC tests are performed on various aircraft systems and the effects of frequencies of different spectra are investigated.
Until 2004, the oldest airborne bomber B-52B (tail number 008) operated at the Armstrong Center, which was used for air launch of various unmanned and manned vehicles. He dropped a large number of supersonic manned rocket planes and unmanned missiles, ranging from the X-15 to the X-43A. The aircraft is currently on display near the north gate of the airbase.
The B-52B bomber was not the only aircraft abandoned by the Air Force, but operation continued at Edwards AFB. As you know, the SR-71 Blackbird supersonic reconnaissance aircraft served in the US Air Force from 1968 to 1998. The main reasons for the rejection of the "three-fly" aircraft, more like a futuristic spacecraft, were the high cost of operation and the end of the "cold war". Despite the resistance of the Air Force, under pressure from the "unmanned lobby", the upgraded SR-71, which received new communication equipment for transmitting intelligence in real time, was finally dismissed.
SR-71 used in the SCAR program
Several "blackbirds" at the Edwards airbase have been re-equipped for use in NASA's research programs: AST (Advanced Supersonic Technology) and SCAR (Supersonic Cruise Aircraft Research).
According to the official version, the US Space Agency used the SR-71 as a flying laboratory for about a year after they were decommissioned by the Air Force, but a couple of "blackbirds" were parked for experimental equipment until 2005. Today, these machines are on display at the Edwards Air Force Base Memorial Exhibition.
According to official data, about 10,000 military and civilian specialists are serving and employed at the airbase. Edwards is the second largest US Air Force base. The military in this area is assigned 1200 km². This is not only the land on which the capital structures of the air base are located, but also the dry lakes Rogers (110 km²) and Rosamond Lake (54 km²), as well as residential camps for personnel, the Mojave desert adjacent to the air base, used as a training ground and a mountain range Harrow in the northeast. On the slopes of the ridge, there is a remote test station, where firing tests of rocket engines are regularly carried out at special stands. At one of the peaks there is a stationary radar post that monitors the air situation in the vicinity.
The main part of the airbase has three concrete runways with a length of 4579, 3658 and 2438 meters. All capital lanes are extended in the form of unpaved strips on Rogers Lake, which increases flight safety in the event of unforeseen incidents during takeoff or landing. In addition to concrete, there are 15 more unpaved runways laid along the bottom of Rogers and Rosamond Lake, with a length of 11,917 to 2,149 meters. In the northwest corner of Rogers Lake is the secluded North Base, home to secret test programs, with its own concrete runway, 1,829 meters long, that merges into an unpaved strip.
Satellite image of Google Earth: an exhibition of aircraft near the building of the Air Force Flight Test Museum
Organizationally, Plant No. 42 in Palmdale, California is considered part of Edwards AFB. The territory of the plant and two capital runways are owned by the state, but here, in addition to the Air Force hangars, there are private contractors, the largest of which is Boeing.
Satellite image of Google Earth: RQ-4 Global Hawk at Plant No. 42 in Palmdale
At the moment, the enterprise is undergoing repair, revision and modernization of various aircraft, which are subsequently tested at Edwards airbase, and UAVs are being assembled. In the past, in Palmdale, serial production was carried out: SR-71A, B-1B, B-2A, RQ-4 and many others.
Tens of thousands of people visit Edwards AFB each year. The southern part of the airbase is open to organized tourist groups for most of the year. And there really is something to see here. Edwards has carefully preserved many unique exhibits that have been tested here since the 50s of the last century. Visiting the Flight Test Museum is free, but a preliminary application must be made at least two weeks in order to form a tourist group. At the same time, foreign citizens may be denied entry to the airbase without explanation.
Satellite image of Google Earth: MiG-15 at Edwards airbase
On the southernmost concrete strip with a length of 2,438 meters, which houses historical exhibits, national air shows are regularly held, which attracts people from all over America. In addition to American-made aircraft, foreign-made aircraft, including jet MiGs, which are in the hands of private owners, participate in the static display and in flights.
Despite the fact that after the end of the Cold War, the United States closed many air bases and reduced funding for test centers, Edwards AFB has not lost its significance. Most of the unmanned and manned aerial vehicles adopted by the Air Force are still being tested here, and a number of promising research programs are underway. This is primarily due to the extremely favorable location of the Flight Test Center, a developed test infrastructure and the presence of numerous runways.
