NLR flies high as ‘eyes in the sky’
30-06-2009
The Dutch armed forces (Army, Navy, Air Force and Military Police) conducted joint military exercises during Purple Nectar 2009, a Ministry of Defence operation performed under experimental conditions. Test planes, Citation II and Swearingen Metro of the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) participated in this unique military exercise. This exercise differs from other exercises in that the various armed forces’ command and information systems are linked together, and the participants operated under ‘live’ conditions. Purple Nectar’s primary objective is to compose a Joint Common Operational Picture (JCOP). The JCOP is primarily used in a Joint Head Quarters (JHQ) for monitoring a mission on a strategic level. The system supports the commander in analyzing whether the mission is being executed according to the plan.
Multiple scenarios have been enacted in order to determine the extent to which it is technologically possible to link the various systems, as well as to determine what procedural changes are required to improve joint military operations. The Swearingen Metro, which was specially equipped with the TopLite III (an electro-optic infra-red camera system), served as Purple Nectar’s ‘eyes in the sky’. During previously conducted NLR research, called Outcast, a similar camera system was installed in the plane to prevent collisions between unmanned aircraft and other air traffic. The system’s onboard installation is installed in a short period of time during the NLR’s project Deep Impact. The NLR’s Citation II was deployed as a ‘high speed intruder’, which was then intercepted by Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) F-16s. QRA denotes an extremely high state of readiness, in which F-16s can be scrambled within a few minutes. The Metro and Citation II conducted 21 flights in total.
During these joint military exercises, TopLite III collected (video) imagery that was then disseminated to the various field units via ROVER terminals. The field headquarters received (video) imagery via a Tactical Common Data Link and secure landlines. The cameras could be controlled remotely from command headquarters via the NLR ground station. The NLR’s analogue telemetry system was also available as back-up during the operations, in case the digital data link failed.
The Ministry of Defence has since confirmed that the supplied (video) imagery information proved valuable for the operational field units, as was also previously demonstrated through the accelerated deployment of unmanned reconnaissance systems in Afghanistan. By participating in Purple Nectar, the NLR gained additional valuable insights into Airborne Surveillance and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations ranging from hardware requirements (e.g. computer network integration, electronics onboard aircrafts, antennas requirements, data links) to operational procedures. In addition, there emerged a clear operational need for further automation, for improving the camera’s remote-control function and the data compression of the video images.
TopLite III is a highly advanced camera system, for which the NLR also foresees other, non-military applications. The TopLite III can be deployed for civilian safety activities, such as a sensor for gathering geographical information for monitoring dikes or providing emergency assistance during natural disasters. The NLR is currently discussing possible future uses with the Dutch industry. Representatives of partner companies in the Business Park (GBP) in Marknesse and of Vigilance, which has an ‘ISR Academy’ (Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance) in Eindhoven, have expressed interest in TopLite III. In this way, the NLR fulfils it’s role as an independent research institute for both the Dutch government and the private sector.
