- 5 months ago
For educational purposes
Reconnaissance and intelligence aircraft are used for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, gathering information through various advanced sensors to support military operations and national security.
Examples include the Lockheed U-2 "Dragon Lady", a high-altitude spy plane for day-and-night surveillance, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) , which provide long-endurance ISR capabilities.
These aircrafts, both manned and unmanned, rely on sophisticated systems to collect and relay critical data in all weather conditions.
Reconnaissance and intelligence aircraft are used for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, gathering information through various advanced sensors to support military operations and national security.
Examples include the Lockheed U-2 "Dragon Lady", a high-altitude spy plane for day-and-night surveillance, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) , which provide long-endurance ISR capabilities.
These aircrafts, both manned and unmanned, rely on sophisticated systems to collect and relay critical data in all weather conditions.
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LearningTranscript
00:00:00THE END
00:00:30Almost every aircraft that flies today carries some form of electronic system.
00:00:39Two classes of aircraft, those for reconnaissance and those for electronic warfare, exist to carry nothing else.
00:00:46The world's first military aircraft was a reconnaissance machine, a balloon, which helped the French army to win the Battle of Fleurus in 1794.
00:00:56Since then, the world of reconnaissance and electronic warfare has grown to embrace aircraft of fascinating diversity.
00:01:05Here we look at those that are flying today, from the mighty AWACS, which can track possible intruders more than 200 miles away,
00:01:13to the Mach 3 Blackbird, taking photographs at over 90,000 feet.
00:01:17Perhaps the cheapest manned reconnaissance or electronic warfare aircraft today is the Pilatus Britain-Norman Defender,
00:01:26though it is quite a large machine with a span of 49 feet.
00:01:31There are several versions.
00:01:32This is the AEW, or Airborne Early Warning Defender, whose swollen nose houses a thorny MI Skymaster radar.
00:01:41This computer-controlled, multi-mode radar can look down and see targets, even if they are extremely small,
00:01:51and flying at a very low level against a background of clutter,
00:01:54the name for unwanted reflections from the Earth's land or sea surface.
00:02:00The operator can select different radar modes for either the AEW or Maritime Reconnaissance Mission.
00:02:07The basic Defender, powered by 320-horsepower Allison turboprops, is agile,
00:02:16can operate from very short, unsurfaced airstrips, and hardly costs any more than the radar.
00:02:22The result is the first completely affordable airborne surveillance platform for almost any kind of mission.
00:02:29In the MR role, it can detect and record imagery from ships, and from fast patrol boats,
00:02:35and even from the periscopes of submarines.
00:02:39In this role, the operator uses a non-coherent frequency agile mode,
00:02:44optimizing the radar to the detection of small objects out to the radar horizon,
00:02:50even in severe sea states.
00:02:54Highly reliable, the aircraft can lift the radar by day or night to a height of over 10,000 feet.
00:03:01In the air defense role, this increases warning time from 4 to at least 14 minutes.
00:03:08If the Defender carries the radar 100 miles towards the enemy,
00:03:13the warning time is further increased to 25 to 30 minutes.
00:03:18User-friendly, in that it is largely automated and simple to switch from one mode to another,
00:03:23the Skymaster radar can guarantee defending anti-aircraft forces adequate warning
00:03:28and information on the direction from which an attack is coming.
00:03:34The Defender's own radar signature is small, and it's protected by its own agility.
00:03:40It could also carry lightweight decoys and other defense systems.
00:03:45It has been estimated that putting a surveillance radar in a Defender
00:03:48multiplies its value to that of 10 similar radars on the ground.
00:03:54The 14-inch display presents information in full color.
00:03:58Raster graphics, resembling color television, can be used for some information,
00:04:02while cursive or stroke-written characters can be used for letters and numbers.
00:04:06The operator can use a rolling ball to put a small cursive box over any target
00:04:15and, for example, lock the radar onto that target and secure its identity.
00:04:21A second console is provided to increase operational flexibility and target handling capacity.
00:04:27Via a plasma panel, the radar can be used for navigation, IFF, identification friend or foe,
00:04:35or for the integration of ESM, electronic support measures,
00:04:40or an air-to-air or air-to-ground data link, all at the touch of a key.
00:04:46Operating horizon for Skymaster is about 130 miles.
00:04:49At the patrol area, the operator selects the appropriate mode,
00:04:58such as look down with frequency agility to defeat hostile countermeasures such as jamming.
00:05:08The radar can be made automatically to adapt to tracking any of several targets.
00:05:12And the data link or other communication systems can be used to control a direct response to a hostile threat.
00:05:33The computer stores files for all hostile and friendly aircraft.
00:05:37The operator can vector friendly attack aircraft over the best route to a target located perhaps minutes earlier.
00:05:46Alternatively, he can use the displays to track incoming hostile aircraft
00:05:50and vector defending fighters over the optimum path to effect an interception.
00:05:56At all times, a full range of facilities remains available in the surface targeting role.
00:06:01A much more powerful and more costly aircraft which flies the same mission is the Grumman E-2C Hawkeye.
00:06:12Originally built for the U.S. Navy as the standard AEW aircraft for carrier airwings,
00:06:18the Hawkeye today also operates from land airfields with the Coast Guard and Custom Service
00:06:24and with Israel, Egypt, Japan, and Singapore.
00:06:28It is powered by two Allison turboprops of up to 5,250 horsepower each
00:06:34and has a maximum take-off weight of 51,933 pounds.
00:06:40Despite its great complexity and the mass of delicate avionics carried inside it,
00:06:46the Hawkeye has to be built almost like a battleship.
00:06:49On every carrier take-off, it has to withstand the brutal power of the steam catapults,
00:06:56which could hurl it off the bows at flying speed even if the parking brake were left on.
00:07:06Hawkeyes can remain on station at about 30,000 feet for up to four hours,
00:07:11warning of intruders and directing friendly fighters.
00:07:14The advanced radar processing system has overland as well as overwater capability.
00:07:27It can detect targets as small as a cruise missile at ranges around 160 miles
00:07:32and cover over 3 million cubic miles of sky from sea level to 100,000 feet.
00:07:38The system can automatically and simultaneously track more than 2,000 targets
00:07:45and control more than 40 airborne intercepts.
00:07:53The Lytton passive detection system emits nothing
00:07:56but listens through antennas facing all around the aircraft,
00:08:00especially on the sides of the tail fins.
00:08:02Every friendly fighter launched is sure to find its target
00:08:23if there is a Hawkeye in the sky.
00:08:26Here, a Hawkeye, the eyes of the fleet, directs an F-4 Phantom.
00:08:30Roger, report 2-5-0.
00:08:33Bogey, 1-9-5-6.
00:08:36A 1-0-2 has a contact 1-9-0 at 7 miles.
00:08:40That is your bogey.
00:08:41Roger, Judy.
00:08:431-0-2, starboard heart.
00:08:462-4-0.
00:08:47Fox 1, Fox 1, 7-3-0.
00:08:50Roger.
00:08:52Gary, 1-0-2 has a Fox 1 this time.
00:08:557-3-8 patrol, roger.
00:08:57Fox 2, Fox 2, 1-0-2, Fox 2.
00:08:59Without Hawkeye, the fighter has a vastly harder task
00:09:05and may well return without achieving an interception.
00:09:11At the end of a tough period on station,
00:09:14the Hawkeye is relieved by another and returns to the carrier.
00:09:17Once more, it endures the brutal slam onto the deck
00:09:21and the violent pull of the arrestor cable.
00:09:25Then, as quickly as possible, because it's all bustled on the flight deck,
00:09:29the big electronic station folds itself back into a ship-compatible package.
00:09:34Now the scene changes to the two-mile runways of the U.S. Air Force.
00:09:44Here, a big Boeing jet leaves black smoke as it takes off on a looking-glass mission.
00:09:50These missions, vital to the deterrent capability of the United States,
00:09:56aim to put into the sky a complete duplicate or mirror image of the command and control system
00:10:02that governs the massive bomber and missile forces of the USAF Strategic Air Command.
00:10:07The reason is that were an enemy to strike first,
00:10:11SAC's retaliatory command network might be destroyed.
00:10:15Therefore, since 1961,
00:10:18there has always been a looking-glass aircraft on station,
00:10:21high over the United States.
00:10:24On board is a general officer and a team of command and control specialists.
00:10:29All looking-glass aircraft have been designated as various subtypes of EC-135.
00:10:36All have high-frequency probe antennas projecting a head on each wingtip
00:10:41and many other antennas to serve the special communications equipment.
00:10:46While the EC-135 was derived from the KC-135 tanker,
00:10:51these equally special aircraft use the slightly bigger airframe of the Boeing 707 transport.
00:10:57Like the EC-135,
00:11:00they exist purely to carry electronics into the sky.
00:11:04But their mission is entirely different.
00:11:07The Boeing E-3's, name Sentry, describes its mission.
00:11:12And this is spelt out in the designation AWACS,
00:11:16from Airborne Warning and Control System.
00:11:20Again, like the EC-135,
00:11:23the avionics on board cost more than the aircraft itself.
00:11:27The main sensor is the powerful Westinghouse APY-2 radar,
00:11:33whose antenna is a giant beam carried on pylon struts above the fuselage.
00:11:38On the back of this antenna, which is scanned up and down electronically,
00:11:43are antennas for the identification friend or foe and data links.
00:11:47And the whole assembly, 30 feet across,
00:11:50is then streamlined by adding black fairings at front and rear.
00:11:55The result is called a rotodome.
00:11:58And in use, it rotates six times a minute,
00:12:01so that the beam sweeps to all points of the compass.
00:12:04On a typical mission, the E-3 climbs to 29,000 feet,
00:12:10takes up station 1,000 miles from its base,
00:12:13and then flies a repeated pattern,
00:12:15often like a typical holding pattern or racetrack, for six hours.
00:12:19On board are a flight crew of four,
00:12:24plus 13 to 17 AWACS operators and technicians.
00:12:28In one arrangement,
00:12:29the operators sit at 14 situation display consoles
00:12:33and two auxiliary displays.
00:12:36The SDCs provide the colorful human interface with the mighty radar,
00:12:41which can see virtually everything out to a distance of 240 miles.
00:12:46The operators can control the radar for surveillance over the sea or over the land,
00:12:51or to furnish extra range at the cost of not giving elevation data,
00:12:55as would be needed for aerial targets,
00:12:57or to look far beyond the horizon without elevation data,
00:13:01or even to track hostile electronic signals in a passive mode,
00:13:06in which the APY-2 radar receives but does not transmit.
00:13:11Its time on station can be extended to 20 hours or more
00:13:14by using flight refueling.
00:13:17One of the most important duties of the century is command and control,
00:13:22especially of friendly air forces.
00:13:24Like the smaller Hawkeye, it is a powerful force multiplier.
00:13:28The original E-3A became operational at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma
00:13:35in January 1979.
00:13:38These 707 size aircraft were once thought enormous,
00:13:42but since 1969,
00:13:45they have been dwarfed by the Boeing 747 jumbo jet.
00:13:49In that year,
00:13:50the U.S. Air Force began discussing how this monster
00:13:53could form the basis for the aircraft seen here,
00:13:56the E-4B, Advanced Airborne Command Post.
00:14:01Until the B-2,
00:14:03probably the most expensive aircraft ever bought by an Air Force,
00:14:07the E-4B uses the airframe of the 747-200,
00:14:11with General Electric CF-6 engines,
00:14:14each of 52,400 pounds thrust.
00:14:28Statistics about the E-4B are startling.
00:14:32On board are 13 separate communication systems.
00:14:35They need 46 antennas,
00:14:38ranging from a super high-frequency satellite dish
00:14:41in a doghouse fairing on top
00:14:42to a very low-frequency trailing wire antenna
00:14:45which can stretch five miles below the aircraft.
00:14:50To run these systems
00:14:51needs 1,200 kilowatts of electrical power,
00:14:55or about the same power
00:14:57as the engines of a World War II medium bomber.
00:14:59A 12-hour mission is routine,
00:15:13but using in-flight refueling
00:15:15with a high-speed boom thrust into a nose receptacle,
00:15:19the mission can be extended to 72 hours.
00:15:28Therefore,
00:15:29the crew need all the facilities of a luxury hotel,
00:15:32and this is made more difficult
00:15:34because there can be 94 men on board,
00:15:36on three decks.
00:15:53In contrast,
00:15:55luxury for the crew of the Navy E-A-6B Prowler
00:15:58means being strapped into an ejection seat,
00:16:01fastened to an aircraft
00:16:02that is flung off the deck by a catapult,
00:16:04and brutally slammed back on
00:16:06at the end of each mission.
00:16:09But the builder,
00:16:10Grumman,
00:16:11is known as the Iron Works
00:16:13from the sheer strength of its aircraft.
00:16:15The E-A-6B was derived from the A-6 Intruder
00:16:20two-seat attack bomber,
00:16:22and it inherits the same high-lift,
00:16:24long-span wings,
00:16:26which bear the take-off weight
00:16:27of up to 65,000 pounds,
00:16:30much heavier even than the bigger Hawkeye.
00:16:33Despite this,
00:16:34the Prowler can be barrel-rolled like a fighter,
00:16:36and because of its job,
00:16:38it is a popular aircraft on board.
00:16:42The E-A-6B carries no weapons,
00:16:45but is packed with avionics.
00:16:47The system on board
00:16:49is the Eden Corporation
00:16:50ALQ-99F tactical jamming system.
00:16:54This is linked to a battery of antennas
00:16:57in a large cap fairing
00:16:58on top of the fin,
00:16:59which can detect almost every kind
00:17:01of enemy electronic emission.
00:17:04These incoming signals
00:17:06are classified and compared
00:17:07with signals stored
00:17:08in the computerized threat libraries on board,
00:17:11so that almost immediately
00:17:13the crew know what the emitter is
00:17:15and where it is.
00:17:17If the threat is serious,
00:17:19such as that posed
00:17:20by a surface-to-air missile guidance radar,
00:17:22then action will be taken immediately.
00:17:26In any case,
00:17:27the signals are displayed and recorded.
00:17:30All this needs a crew of four,
00:17:32the pilot,
00:17:32and three electronics countermeasures officers.
00:17:37If any signal has to be jammed,
00:17:39the task is assigned
00:17:40to one of the active ECM pods.
00:17:43These are hung on up to five external pylons.
00:17:48Each pod is powered by an electric generator
00:17:50driven by a small windmill in the nose.
00:17:54The jammers in each pod
00:17:55covers seven frequency bands.
00:17:58And as there are two transmitters
00:17:59in each pod,
00:18:00one facing to the front
00:18:02and the other to the rear,
00:18:03there are ten transmitters
00:18:04that can all be used at once.
00:18:07With five jammer pods,
00:18:09the prowler can fly 1,000 miles.
00:18:12But it can at any time
00:18:13swap jammer pods
00:18:14for drop tanks
00:18:15of 400 U.S. gallons capacity.
00:18:19Over many years,
00:18:20the EA-6B
00:18:22has been progressively upgraded.
00:18:24And at all times,
00:18:25the Navy believes
00:18:26it has kept abreast
00:18:27of hostile threats
00:18:28in its primary mission
00:18:29of protecting Navy combat aircraft.
00:18:32The prowler is probably
00:18:34the most expensive production aircraft
00:18:36of its size in the world,
00:18:38only rivaled by this gray-painted bird,
00:18:41its exact counterpart
00:18:42in the U.S. Air Force.
00:18:45This is also a product of Grumman,
00:18:47carrying a version
00:18:48of the ALQ-99 tactical jammer system.
00:18:53There, the likeness stops,
00:18:54because the 41 Grumman
00:18:56EF-111A Ravens
00:18:58were produced
00:18:59by completely rebuilding
00:19:00aircraft originally delivered
00:19:02as General Dynamics
00:19:04F-111A bombers.
00:19:06Thus, the Raven
00:19:07is a slick, supersonic aircraft
00:19:10with after-burning engines
00:19:11and pivoted swing wings.
00:19:14Like the prowler,
00:19:16the Raven groups
00:19:17its passive receiver antennas
00:19:18in the same large cap
00:19:20on the top of the fin.
00:19:22But unlike the Navy's aircraft,
00:19:24the Raven has the ALQ-99E
00:19:27jamming system.
00:19:29Instead of being fitted
00:19:30in up to five external pods,
00:19:33the active jamming equipment
00:19:34is installed internally,
00:19:36and the emitting antennas
00:19:37are mainly in a ventral radome,
00:19:39called a canoe radome
00:19:40because of its shape.
00:19:42The 99E is highly automated,
00:19:45so that instead of needing
00:19:47three electronic warfare officers,
00:19:49the Air Force aircraft
00:19:50needs only one.
00:19:53No other aircraft
00:19:54is known
00:19:55with quite the same
00:19:56computerized ability
00:19:57to listen and search
00:19:58for hostile emissions,
00:20:00compare them
00:20:00with a comprehensive threat library,
00:20:02and take appropriate action.
00:20:07If a signal
00:20:08is in the threat library,
00:20:10it will be jammed
00:20:11in a minute fraction
00:20:12of a second.
00:20:14If not,
00:20:15it will be analyzed
00:20:15and recorded,
00:20:16and jammed
00:20:17if considered hostile.
00:20:18At all times,
00:20:20the system continues
00:20:22to search for fresh emissions.
00:20:23Though it was originally
00:20:33a bomber,
00:20:34the Raven carries no weapons.
00:20:37Despite this,
00:20:38it can go to war,
00:20:39as in the Eldorado Canyon mission
00:20:41against specific targets
00:20:43in Libya
00:20:43in April 1986.
00:20:46Ravens accompanied
00:20:47attack F-111s from England
00:20:49to jam the hostile radars,
00:20:51a task that appears
00:20:53to have been performed
00:20:53with complete success.
00:20:57It is again a reflection
00:20:58on the importance
00:20:59of avionics
00:21:00that these unarmed
00:21:01F-111s
00:21:02cost far more
00:21:04than those
00:21:04that carry bombs.
00:21:08Again,
00:21:09we have a complete contrast,
00:21:11and yet again,
00:21:12the aircraft
00:21:13was built
00:21:13by Grumman.
00:21:15The OV-1 Mohawk
00:21:17was designed
00:21:17in the mid-1950s
00:21:19to provide
00:21:20a reconnaissance platform
00:21:21able to survive
00:21:22in close proximity
00:21:23to land battles
00:21:24and furnish information
00:21:26quickly
00:21:26for U.S. Army
00:21:27field commanders.
00:21:29Powered by two
00:21:30T-53 turboprops
00:21:32of 1,100 horsepower each,
00:21:35it has about
00:21:35the same speed
00:21:36and agility
00:21:37as a wartime Spitfire,
00:21:39but it seats
00:21:39a crew of two
00:21:40side by side
00:21:42in the bulging
00:21:42bug-eyed nose.
00:21:43A crucial requirement
00:21:46was that the Mohawk
00:21:47should be able
00:21:48to operate
00:21:48from short
00:21:49and rough
00:21:49front-line airstrips.
00:21:52380 were built,
00:21:53and many played
00:21:54important roles
00:21:55in Vietnam,
00:21:56some carrying
00:21:57attack weapons.
00:21:59Today,
00:22:00Grumman has rebuilt
00:22:01and upgraded survivors
00:22:03so that the Army
00:22:04can maintain
00:22:04a force of 100
00:22:06OV-1Ds
00:22:07and 26 RV-1Ds.
00:22:10The RVs
00:22:10are configured
00:22:11for ELINT,
00:22:12or Electronic
00:22:13Intelligence Missions,
00:22:15gathering information
00:22:16on enemy signals
00:22:17of all kinds.
00:22:19The OV-1Ds
00:22:20carry a large pod
00:22:21under the right side
00:22:23of the fuselage.
00:22:24This can be an IRLS,
00:22:26an infrared line scanner,
00:22:28or it could be an SLAR,
00:22:30a sideways-looking
00:22:31airborne radar.
00:22:33Both types of sensor
00:22:34can transmit back to base
00:22:36a clear, real-time picture
00:22:38of enemy territory,
00:22:40even through fog
00:22:41or at night.
00:22:44Some reconnaissance aircraft
00:22:45are specially modified
00:22:47versions of fighters.
00:22:49Nobody needs telling
00:22:50that this powerful machine
00:22:51is an F-4 Phantom 2,
00:22:54but it may not be
00:22:55immediately obvious
00:22:56that it is a completely
00:22:57unarmed tactical
00:22:59reconnaissance platform.
00:23:00That was the start
00:23:04of a mission
00:23:04by the 10th
00:23:05TAC Recon Squadron
00:23:07based at Alkenbury
00:23:08in England.
00:23:10The U.S. Air Force
00:23:12bought 505
00:23:13of these RF-4Cs,
00:23:15and the Marines,
00:23:1646 very similar
00:23:18RF-4Bs.
00:23:20They transformed
00:23:21the world's ideas
00:23:22about what such aircraft
00:23:23should be like.
00:23:24With their Mach 2 performance
00:23:26and fit of sensors
00:23:27and other avionics,
00:23:28they are excellent
00:23:29even by today's standards.
00:23:32But RF-4Cs
00:23:33also served in Vietnam.
00:23:36One picture they took
00:23:38was of an SA-2
00:23:39guideline missile site.
00:23:47Another was of the
00:23:48Hanoi Thermal Power Plant
00:23:50before and after
00:23:52being bombed.
00:23:53Here, the destruction
00:23:58of the Don Fong Than
00:24:00Bridge is confirmed.
00:24:03Also, the demise
00:24:04of the Long Dai Railroad Bridge.
00:24:06And this was taken
00:24:18just 150 feet
00:24:20above a very active
00:24:2157-millimeter
00:24:22anti-aircraft gun.
00:24:25Well might the slogan
00:24:26of the RFs in Vietnam
00:24:27have been
00:24:28alone,
00:24:29unarmed,
00:24:30and unafraid.
00:24:34Even today,
00:24:35the RF-4Cs,
00:24:36first delivered
00:24:37in 1964,
00:24:39are among the very best
00:24:40in the business.
00:24:42The kit
00:24:43includes cameras,
00:24:44an infrared line scanner,
00:24:46a sideways-looking radar,
00:24:48an HF radio
00:24:49with intercontinental range,
00:24:51and batteries
00:24:51of chaff
00:24:52or flare cartridges
00:24:53for protection
00:24:54against enemy missiles.
00:25:01They can roar
00:25:02overhead
00:25:03at extremely low level,
00:25:05get their imagery
00:25:06by any of four methods,
00:25:08and transmit some of it
00:25:09during the mission
00:25:10by data link.
00:25:12Camera film
00:25:13is processed in flight
00:25:14and can be ejected
00:25:15in a capsule
00:25:16just where it is wanted,
00:25:18before the aircraft lands.
00:25:22This neat aircraft
00:25:23is also a version
00:25:24of a twin-engine
00:25:25supersonic fighter,
00:25:27but a much smaller one.
00:25:28It is the Northrop
00:25:30RF-5E Tiger Eye,
00:25:32most of which
00:25:33is identical
00:25:34to the F-5E Tiger II fighter.
00:25:37In the tip of the nose
00:25:38is a big forward oblique camera.
00:25:42This is imagery
00:25:43of a dam
00:25:43during a run
00:25:44at 200 feet
00:25:45at 600 knots.
00:25:47just to the rear
00:26:02of the oblique
00:26:03is a large bay
00:26:04which can accommodate
00:26:05several kinds of pallet,
00:26:07loaded with cameras,
00:26:09infrared line scan,
00:26:10forward-looking infrared,
00:26:11or two kinds
00:26:12of sideways-looking radar.
00:26:14This strange device
00:26:22is surely the world's
00:26:23smallest reconnaissance aircraft.
00:26:26Its tiny piston engine
00:26:28is started
00:26:28by an ordinary power drill.
00:26:44Then, after pulling off
00:26:52the tethers,
00:26:53the coaxial rotors
00:26:54start to revolve
00:26:55and reveal an RPH,
00:26:57a remotely piloted helicopter,
00:27:00named Sprite.
00:27:01The whole thing
00:27:02weighs just 79 pounds
00:27:04and can be lifted
00:27:05by one man.
00:27:07It can be flown
00:27:08in winds up to 30 knots,
00:27:10and the operator
00:27:11does not have to fly it
00:27:12with the skill of a pilot,
00:27:14but merely commands it
00:27:15to make particular maneuvers.
00:27:18The makers,
00:27:19ML Aviation of Britain,
00:27:21chose to carry one sensor,
00:27:23a TV camera.
00:27:25This sends back
00:27:26a digitized signal
00:27:27which enables the scene
00:27:28to be studied on the ground
00:27:30and also recorded on tape
00:27:32for subsequent
00:27:32detailed examination.
00:27:35Operating over the front line,
00:27:37Sprite can give
00:27:38a field commander
00:27:39an eye in the sky,
00:27:40from which he receives
00:27:41instant information.
00:27:44Such a machine
00:27:45might be thought
00:27:46very vulnerable.
00:27:47In fact,
00:27:48from little over
00:27:49a quarter of a mile,
00:27:50it is almost impossible
00:27:51to detect.
00:27:53Among its advantages
00:27:54are very low cost,
00:27:57reusability,
00:27:58and capacity
00:27:59to carry various loads.
00:28:01One is a laser designator
00:28:03to mark targets
00:28:04for strike
00:28:05by laser-guided rockets
00:28:06or shells.
00:28:08A useful group
00:28:09of electronic warfare devices
00:28:11such as chaff dispensers
00:28:12or jammers
00:28:13can also be carried.
00:28:16Sprite could operate
00:28:17from a very small ship's deck
00:28:19and in addition
00:28:20to naval roles,
00:28:22it could undertake
00:28:22drug enforcement surveyors,
00:28:24customs and excise
00:28:25or fishery protection patrols,
00:28:27or act as a communications
00:28:29relay station.
00:28:31Tests have been made
00:28:32with stabilized infrared
00:28:33or TV cameras
00:28:35with zoom lenses
00:28:36aimed by remote control
00:28:38through a conical field
00:28:39of 110 degrees.
00:28:45The nearly spherical body
00:28:47is only 26 inches
00:28:49in diameter
00:28:49and packed with equipment.
00:28:52The airborne sensor
00:28:54can be black and white,
00:28:55color, low light,
00:28:56or an infrared thermal imager.
00:29:05A precision laser altimeter
00:29:10can hold height
00:29:11above ground
00:29:11at any desired level,
00:29:13such as 200 feet,
00:29:15as here.
00:29:23And Sprite can hover
00:29:24only inches above its target
00:29:26if necessary,
00:29:27for example,
00:29:28to examine an unexploded bomb
00:29:30or a suspected terrorist
00:29:31booby trap.
00:29:32other applications
00:29:37could include use
00:29:38as a radio relay
00:29:39to increase the range
00:29:41of ground-to-ground
00:29:42communications.
00:29:51Once the engines stop,
00:29:53it takes only a few minutes
00:29:55to refuel Sprite
00:29:56or reload it
00:29:57onto its command vehicle.
00:29:58At first glance,
00:30:10this might be mistaken
00:30:11for Sprite
00:30:12because it is another
00:30:13coaxial remotely piloted
00:30:15helicopter.
00:30:17The Canadair CL227 Sentinel
00:30:19weighs 386 pounds
00:30:22and is powered
00:30:23by a small gas turbine engine.
00:30:25This gives it a speed
00:30:26of 70 miles per hour
00:30:27and it can lift
00:30:29a comprehensive package
00:30:30of sensors
00:30:30to a height
00:30:31of 10,000 feet.
00:30:35In side view,
00:30:36we can see
00:30:36the oppositely rotating
00:30:38rotors amid ships.
00:30:39the engine is in the domed
00:30:47compartment on top
00:30:48together with a fuel tank
00:30:50giving an endurance
00:30:51of about three hours.
00:31:00The pitch of the rotor blades
00:31:01can be controlled
00:31:02to make the sentinel
00:31:04rise or fall.
00:31:06Inside the bulging
00:31:07lower compartment
00:31:08are the sensors.
00:31:11These can be a camera,
00:31:12a TV,
00:31:13a low-light TV,
00:31:15an infrared imager
00:31:16and or a laser designator
00:31:18or an electronic warfare package.
00:31:26Canadair did extensive
00:31:28tethered testing
00:31:29to establish the best method
00:31:31of control
00:31:31and target surveillance.
00:31:33with the cavalry
00:31:36manuscripts.
00:31:36The Into Sack
00:31:38then sentinel was restrained
00:31:38a ship
00:31:41which nicely
00:31:41could find
00:31:42a bounced
00:31:42that haduna
00:31:44and the engineers
00:31:46could send
00:31:54the are good
00:31:55vehicles accordingly.
00:31:56The Endeavour
00:31:56and the next
00:31:57is standard
00:31:58to try and
00:31:58save their
00:31:58士.
00:31:58Make sure
00:31:59a cop
00:31:59that civil
00:32:01educated
00:32:01Sentinel was restrained by a single vertical cable, which could be useful for recovery
00:32:06to a small ship in stormy weather.
00:32:25Here we see a free takeoff from a field.
00:32:28The remote control is precise, even though Sentinel can be operated at 10,000 feet at a distance of 30 miles.
00:32:35It is reckoned that a Sentinel engaged in a wartime surveillance mission would be neither seen nor heard by an enemy.
00:32:43These pictures, taken in snowy weather, are typical low-altitude images of a kind impossible with a fast manned jet.
00:32:51The day is surely coming when high-quality imagery will be sent back by free-flying aircraft no bigger than some birds.
00:33:00Canadaire also make a totally different reconnaissance machine with jet engines and wings.
00:33:15Here is the CL-289, called the USD-502 by the NATO armies which use it.
00:33:22The whole system was developed by Canadaire in partnership with Dornier of Federal Germany.
00:33:30SAT of France later joined to furnish an infrared sensor, as well as this radar which was used to track the speeding vehicle during development flying.
00:33:40Like all battlefield systems, the 502 has to be fully mobile.
00:33:46The basic vehicle is mounted on a rail launcher.
00:33:49It takes only minutes to attach the wings and control surfaces and check everything.
00:33:55On an operational mission, no radar is used, and the USD-502 flies a computer-controlled trajectory according to an accurately worked out flight plan.
00:34:08Then the launcher is adjusted to the correct bearing and elevation.
00:34:12The small turbojet of 240 pounds thrust is then started and run up to speed.
00:34:18When all is ready, the firing button is pressed.
00:34:25The rocket blasts the vehicle off the ramp and, at burnout, drops away to the rear.
00:34:43What is left is small, agile, hard to detect, and very fast.
00:34:50Cruising speed is around 500 miles per hour.
00:34:53On board are navigation and control subsystems which would do credit to many manned aircraft.
00:35:00They enable the vehicle to follow a flight plan worked out in exact detail both horizontally and vertically.
00:35:08A typical sensor pack has a three-lens Zeiss camera and an infrared line scanner, both giving image resolution as good as that from larger and more vulnerable manned aircraft.
00:35:21Real-time pictures are sent back by secure digital link so that the ground commander can study the enemy's activity without delay.
00:35:29The computer not only handles navigation but can also manage the sensors.
00:35:36To reduce vulnerability, this tiny jet aircraft can even hug the ground in a quasi-terrain following mode.
00:35:44On return, it detects and homes on a beacon near the launch site.
00:35:48A signal deploys a two-stage parachute.
00:35:52The CL-289 descends inverted and lands on two large airbags which cushion the impact.
00:35:59It is quickly recovered and driven away to be refurbished for another mission.
00:36:05In almost total contrast is the Harrier used by the RAF for both tactical reconnaissance and attack.
00:36:17Though primitive compared with the GR-5s and GR-7s now coming into service, the early model Harriers are flown by pilots of long experience.
00:36:26Here a mission is being flown by number four squadron.
00:36:31The pilot navigates with his moving map and head-up displays.
00:36:35Instead of weapons, his aircraft carries a belly pod containing five cameras.
00:36:41The pilot flies to the target manually, studying the familiar terrain and switching on the pod when necessary to record enemy activity.
00:36:51Harrier is the hardest manned aircraft in the sky to spot or shoot down.
00:36:56Being tiny, smokeless, an odd shape and very agile.
00:37:01For twenty years these aircraft have had the unique capability of requiring no airfield.
00:37:06And thus of surviving day after day in actual warfare when other aircraft would long since have been wiped out on the ground.
00:37:14They can be based so close to the front line that reaction time is very fast, with a high probability of catching the enemy unprepared.
00:37:24Under the belly are two 30mm cannon, while the wing pylons can carry tanks, rockets or bombs.
00:37:33Having secured his pictures, the pilot returns to his non-existent airfield.
00:37:38There, he makes a vertical landing.
00:37:41The aircraft rolls forward into a hide among the trees.
00:37:56Almost before the Harrier has come to rest, ground crew unload the magazines from the cameras.
00:38:06Within very few minutes the pilot is being debriefed.
00:38:09My main target, he can just be my main target, but it looks as though the main armour has moved to this area here.
00:38:15Your target is an infantry combat.
00:38:18Two fresh pilots are tasked with an attack mission on the armoured concentration he had discovered.
00:38:24That is about 12.
00:38:2612.
00:38:2712.
00:38:28This strike sortie involves two aircraft with a full rocket load, going out at Mach point nine and nearing the enemy rolling down almost to ground level to make their attack rounds.
00:38:45attack rounds.
00:39:15Another big contrast is the U.S. Air Force F-15E.
00:39:20This is the two-seat attack version of the Eagle.
00:39:24It is festooned with advanced equipment,
00:39:27most notable being the twin lantern pods.
00:39:31The name comes from low-altitude navigation
00:39:35and targeting infrared for night.
00:39:38Lantern has a navigation pod and a targeting pod,
00:39:42both attached under the fuselage.
00:39:45In combination with the radar and GEC head-up display unit,
00:39:49they enable the F-15E to navigate at a height of 200 feet by night
00:39:55or even in bad weather.
00:39:58The targeting pod gives a clear infrared picture of each target,
00:40:02for example, assisting the lock-on of a Maverick missile.
00:40:06The sensors in the navigation pod almost enable the pilot to dispense
00:40:15with any real forward vision.
00:40:17Instead, synthetic imagery is projected on cockpit displays
00:40:21and on the crucial head-up display,
00:40:24enabling the pilot to fly with greater precision
00:40:27and the pilot of a 1950s fighter on a clear, sunny day.
00:40:36Lantern is also carried by the F-16.
00:40:40And F-16s are also flying with a different
00:40:43and in some ways more advanced system called Pathfinder.
00:40:48More than a dozen companies around the world
00:40:51are producing advanced electronic systems
00:40:53to enable low-flying aircraft to make precision attacks
00:40:56around the clock, no matter what the weather.
00:40:59In most cases, these systems must solve the problem
00:41:03of bad weather landing.
00:41:05It is clear by now that reconnaissance sensors
00:41:10can operate in very different ways.
00:41:13Cameras are at one extreme of the spectrum, using light,
00:41:17while radars are at the other.
00:41:19In between come the infrared devices,
00:41:22and these are increasingly being recognized as of great importance.
00:41:26They emit no tell-tale signals, as do radars,
00:41:30and because their imagery records not colors but surface temperatures,
00:41:34they provide far more information.
00:41:37An IRLS infrared line scan can sweep across a landscape by day or night.
00:41:43It defeats traditional camouflage.
00:41:46The resolution or picture quality is getting better all the time.
00:41:50Many companies are doing IR research.
00:41:54Here, a British Aerospace 748 is recording IR images on paper and on videotape.
00:42:01Look at this IR picture recorded as the 748 flew over a tank farm.
00:42:07An interpreter can see the exact fuel level in each tank,
00:42:12and can work out many other facts,
00:42:14even the rate at which fuel is being pumped in or out.
00:42:18The aerial line scanner can see far more than the manager of the tank farm on the ground.
00:42:24Here, we fly over a large tanker just offshore.
00:42:34We can stop the recorded image and enlarge any part of it.
00:42:41Here is a fast run over an airfield by night, and at a height of 600 feet.
00:42:46The amount of information that can be seen is amazing.
00:42:58This aircraft with cold, fuel-filled wings shows it has just landed from a high altitude,
00:43:04the place which an aircraft has just left,
00:43:06and a 707 with its left inboard engine running.
00:43:10As a contrast, this is a British housing estate.
00:43:14Detailed inspection would show which rooms were heated,
00:43:17which chimneys warm,
00:43:19places where cars had recently been parked,
00:43:21and cars whose engines were warm.
00:43:27One amazing reconnaissance aircraft that can use infrared sensors along with others
00:43:31is the Lockheed TR-1.
00:43:35This is almost indistinguishable from the U-2R,
00:43:38and both are enlarged, black-painted derivatives of the original U-2,
00:43:43flown in 1955.
00:43:46In the cockpit, the man garbed almost like an astronaut,
00:43:49as many clandestine missions were flown over unfriendly territory all over the world,
00:43:54with 98% of the atmosphere below the U-2's slender wings.
00:43:59Built secretly for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency,
00:44:03the original U-2 was an unprecedented kind of jet sailplane,
00:44:07designed to fly at extreme altitudes.
00:44:10Gradually, U-2's became more powerful, heavier,
00:44:14and able to carry more varied kinds of reconnaissance sensors.
00:44:18A crisis blew up on the 1st of May, 1960,
00:44:22when a U-2 was shot down over the heart of the Soviet Union.
00:44:26But in the autumn of 1962, a routine overflight of Cuba
00:44:31disclosed the unloading of Soviet jet bombers and long-range missiles.
00:44:35This posed an obvious and unprecedented threat to the United States.
00:44:40Many countries live under much worse threats,
00:44:43but President Kennedy was having none of it,
00:44:45and immediately demanded that such weapons be withdrawn.
00:44:49The U.S. Navy was ordered to turn back any ships heading for Cuba with such items on board.
00:44:56World War III seemed likely to start at any moment.
00:45:00At last, on the 28th of October, the Soviet Union backed down and agreed to remove the threat.
00:45:08And on the 5th of December, the last IL-28 bombers were pictured leaving the island.
00:45:15A great crisis had been disclosed and then averted by aerial reconnaissance.
00:45:21The U-2 and TR-1 are extremely difficult to land.
00:45:26A talk-down truck races after the landing aircraft, telling the pilot the exact gap between the front and rear wheels and the runway.
00:45:34When the ailerons become ineffective, the aircraft tips over on one of the electronics-packed wingtips.
00:45:47Every TR-1 pilot wears a pressure suit with a portable environmental control system, like an astronaut.
00:45:55Of course, the ECS is uncoupled once the pilot can connect up to the aircraft systems.
00:46:01Every mission is preceded by hundreds of man-hours of detailed preparation.
00:46:06The sensors can include multi-spectral cameras, a return-beam Vidicon, and a synthetic aperture radar that can bring back imagery of photographic quality.
00:46:17Altogether, the sensors can weigh over two tons.
00:46:23The engine is a J-75, once used in an F-105, but with the afterburner removed and completely refurbished.
00:46:33This thrusts the black monster skyward very quickly, the outrigger wheels dropping off the wings as soon as these flex upwards.
00:46:43Few people are allowed to know where the graceful bird is going, but it is assumed that in Europe the TR-1's mission is to fly just on the NATO side of frontiers with Warsaw-packed nations,
00:46:55and bring back detailed imagery of everything going on beyond the frontier out to a range of at least 60 miles, and possibly much further.
00:47:05This can be done from about 90,000 feet, from which height the visible horizon is 300 miles away.
00:47:13In February 1982, photographs were published by the U.S. Department of Defense showing the construction of a military barracks near Managua, the capital of Nicaragua.
00:47:28The barracks was Soviet in style.
00:47:43Soon, a giant airfield was observed, with runway extensions in progress, though there was no evidence to link this with military aviation.
00:47:55Then, Soviet T-55 tanks were seen.
00:48:05Even today, Nicaragua's frontier is routinely crossed by U.S. reconnaissance aircraft.
00:48:10These could be U-2Rs, or even the amazing SR-71A Blackbird.
00:48:17Like the U-2 and TR-1 before it, the SR-71 was designed in the world's most secret aircraft facility.
00:48:26Called the Skunk Works, it is part of Lockheed's complex of buildings at Burbank, Los Angeles.
00:48:32It has, for nearly 40 years, specialized in designing and building the most far-out and challenging aircraft for the U.S. government, and doing it in total secrecy.
00:48:43The Blackbirds resulted from the realization in the late 1950s that mere altitude no longer gave immunity from interception.
00:48:52Enormous speed was also needed, and Mach 3 was the target.
00:48:56A Mach 3, or 2,000-mile-per-hour aircraft, cannot be made of aluminum.
00:49:03New titanium alloys were needed, and fantastic efforts were required to fashion these very difficult metals into almost the whole airframe.
00:49:11Into this fantastic aircraft step a pilot and reconnaissance systems officer.
00:49:20Suited like astronauts, they must be able to escape at heights exceeding 100,000 feet.
00:49:26Every single thing was new, and had to be invented, produced, and tested.
00:49:39The hydraulic system had to be designed to work at temperatures much hotter than any domestic oven.
00:49:44Even the fuel had to be special, to remain stable at extremely high temperatures, and also serve as the cooling fluid for the avionics systems.
00:49:54Called JP-7, and fed by special KC-135Q tankers, it is proof against having lighted matches dropped into it.
00:50:03Not the least of the features of the Blackbird was that it was designed to be difficult to see on radar.
00:50:12It was, to some degree, the first stealth design.
00:50:16And not the least of the extraordinary aspects of this achievement is that it took only 22 months, and all was done in total secrecy.
00:50:25The first blackbirds were called A-12s. The first flight was made on the 26th of April, 1962, at a remote airstrip in the Nevada desert called Room Lake.
00:50:40Development was rapid, with up to 18 aircraft in the flight line.
00:50:44Two were prototypes of the YF-12A long-range interceptor, with a Hughes radar in the nose flanked on each side by infrared receiver sensors, which are absent from today's U.S. fighters.
00:51:01Underneath was a missile bay, from which could be fired the powerful AIM-47 missile, a giant successor to the AIM-4 Falcon family.
00:51:10The real need, however, was for the SR-71 strategic reconnaissance platform.
00:51:18This was made slightly longer and considerably heavier than its predecessors, mainly because of the fuel needed to fly long missions.
00:51:27One SR-71A was converted into this SR-71C trainer, and others were built as dual control SR-71Bs.
00:51:40All blackbirds are powered by the unique Pratt & Whitney J-58 turbo ramjet engine.
00:51:48At Mach 3, most of the thrust comes from the giant spike in the inlet.
00:51:54Nearly all the rest is contributed by the huge afterburner, which quickly becomes white-hot.
00:51:59Training missions have to teach the pupil, who probably has thousands of hours of combat flying, how to manage such frightening situations as engine inlet unstarts when the aircraft tries to swap ends at Mach 3.
00:52:20This SR-71B may be going to simulate such an event as it taxis past the single-plane hangars called Barnes of the 9th Strategic Recon Wing at Beale Air Force Base in California.
00:52:34Each mission costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.
00:52:44The inward sloping rudders are fully powered and can work in unison or in opposition.
00:52:50There are no fins.
00:52:52There is no discernment is created.
00:52:53There is no fear or in opposition to this mnie.
00:52:55There is no fear or in opposition to this other thing.
00:52:56There is no fear or in opposition to this country.
00:52:58There is no fear or in opposition to this discussion.
00:52:59Blackbirds are flown with respect, and not arrow-batted like a fighter.
00:53:01On landing, the 40-ton aircraft is slow in the middle of the Kamadosh had flown by a fighter.
00:53:02The bayon is on base in the air syndrome.
00:53:19On landing, the 40-ton aircraft is slowed by a giant drag chute.
00:53:24Take-off weight can exceed 70 tons.
00:53:31Before each mission, the crew eat a high-protein breakfast
00:53:34and again study the mission plan,
00:53:36which has been minutely refined over the past few days.
00:53:49At last, the pilot and RSO walk out slowly to their aircraft,
00:54:00which is being fussed over by mission specialists,
00:54:03concerned with the several tons of highly classified equipment on board.
00:54:19It has been said that the long-focus optical or low-rop cameras
00:54:27can take pictures from 90,000 feet
00:54:29in which you can almost read a newspaper.
00:54:33There are return-beam viticons and sideways-looking radars.
00:54:49Last tasks and checks are completed on the way to the runway.
00:55:19Power is unleashed
00:55:46and 172,000 pounds of black aircraft
00:55:50hurtles down the runway and up to the edge of space.
00:56:00Any day, a blackbird could, if it wished,
00:56:04beat the current world records for speed
00:56:06and sustained altitude for aircraft taking off under their own power.
00:56:11New York to London was once flown by an SR in one hour, 55 minutes.
00:56:16Today, blackbirds are 25 years old.
00:56:29But because of progressive updating,
00:56:32they can do their job better than when they were new.
00:56:35In particular, their sensors and protective systems
00:56:38are ceaselessly being upgraded.
00:56:40New York to London is now on the way to the ground.
00:56:42New York to London is now on the way to the ground.
00:56:44New York to London
00:56:46Blackbirds are mostly in storage,
00:57:01and missions are less frequent.
00:57:03But in April 1986,
00:57:05it was essential to photograph the targets in Libya
00:57:08struck during the Eldorado Canyon operation.
00:57:12An SR flew right over Tripoli and Benghazi in broad daylight
00:57:16while the Libyan Air Force fighters and SAM forces were on full alert.
00:57:21It came back with the necessary pictures.
00:57:25This was an unusual mission because today's frontiers are much more respected
00:57:30and the U.S. has no wish to provoke any crisis.
00:57:41THE END
00:58:11Occasionally SRs leave Mildenhall in England and various other bases
00:58:23but only to fly along frontiers, not across them.
00:58:28Of course, throughout its life, the Blackbird has been extra special.
00:58:33Whenever it appears in public, its huge size, jagged appearance,
00:58:37color, noise, writhing white vortices and afterburner flames
00:58:42and its reputation have made it a showstopper.
00:58:46Its most recent appearance was at the 1989 Paris Air Show.
00:58:51As the only in-service USAF aircraft present,
00:58:54the SR-71A attracted plenty of attention,
00:58:58especially from the large Soviet contingent.
00:59:00Pilot Major Jim Greenwood and RSO Captain Steve Grzyzybiniak
00:59:05spent upwards of an hour talking with the Russians in the friendliest atmosphere.
00:59:11They were, said Greenwood,
00:59:12very diplomatic in not asking any awkward questions.
00:59:17Sadly, the rumors have spread that these great aircraft
00:59:20will finally be withdrawn in October 1989.
00:59:22But already, another product of the skunkworks has taken over some of the SR's duties,
00:59:30although its range is somewhat shorter.
00:59:33Truly, the reconnaissance mission has come a long way
00:59:36since that observation balloon of 1794.
00:59:40five years later, they have to be anoticed helicopter
00:59:50in, maybe 1897.
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