Australian Army to grow, diversify its drone fleet

MELBOURNE, Australia — The Australian Army seeks to lean more heavily on aerial drones, with a comprehensive upgrade program for all size classes now in the pipeline, according to a service official.

“My prediction, ahead of any formal requirement being provided, is that future warfighting will see an increase in platforms with increased sophistication and capabilities,” Col. Helen Mammino, Director Battlefield Aviation Program of the Army Aviation Command, said here on Sept. 11 at the Australian Association for Uncrewed Systems conference, held in conjunction with the Land Forces 2024 event.

The opportunity arises because advances in robotics and autonomy are converging with new drone developments, according to Mammino.

“One of the key features for our objective-force operating environment will be the abundance and proliferation of uncrewed aerial systems,” or UAS, she added.

The ground service has combined various army efforts under the umbrella program DEF 129, divided into four size categories: nano-UAS, small drones (SUAS), SUAS-plus, and tactical drones (TUAS).

Beginning with the larger, brigade-level TUAS, the Australian Army is in the process of fielding Insitu RQ-21A Integrators to replace Textron’s Shadow 200 aircraft. “The delivery of the RQ-21 is currently underway, with an end state being a full complement of six systems introduced … by the end of 2025,” Mommino said. Each system contains four aircraft, with their indigenous content levels reaching 82%.

Concerning the SUAS-plus category for combat teams, Elbit Systems has been on contract since late 20222 for the Skylark I-LEX, but systems are only now reaching Australia. Designed for domestic use, they will be tasked with assisting civilian authorities, for instance.

The army also presently uses AeroVironment’s Puma AE in the same size category, and efforts to replace these will not occur before the early 2030s.

The DEF 129 program’s phase 4B targets the platoon-level SUAS segment, where the AeroVironment Wasp AE is being replaced by a mixed fleet comprising the Quantum-Systems Vector 2-in-1 for mounted operations, and the Sypaq Systems CorvoX for dismounted use. An contract exceeding $100 million Australian (US$68 million) announced in mid-July will see delivery of both types from the third quarter of 2025.

The Australian Army currently uses the Black Hornet 3 as a nano-UAS in infantry sections. Officials are also experimenting with numerous other types, and Mammino said ten nano variants would be in use by 2025.

Last year, the government suddenly canceled the Navy’s selection of Schiebel’s S-100 Camcopter. The Army is now responsible for the maritime UAS mission, and Mammino said her command is “working through the early stages of requirements for those systems, and understanding what the acquisition pathway will look like.”

Meanwhile, Army Aviation Command is also responsible for introduction of 29 AH-64E Apaches and 40 UH-60M Black Hawks into Australian service. Mammino said eight Black Hawks are already in Australia, with four more due before year’s end.

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

澳大利亚墨尔本——据一位军方官员透露，澳大利亚陆军正寻求更加依赖空中无人机，目前正在制定一项针对所有尺寸级别无人机的全面升级计划。

“我预测，在任何正式需求提出之前，未来的战争将会出现更多技术更加先进、能力更强的平台，”陆军航空司令部战场航空项目主任海伦·马米诺上校于9月11日在澳大利亚无人系统协会会议上表示，该会议与2024年陆军大会同期举行。

Mammino 表示，机会的出现是因为机器人技术和自主技术的进步与新型无人机的发展相融合。

她补充说：“我们目标部队作战环境的关键特征之一是无人空中系统（UAS）的大量存在和扩散。”

地面部队将各种陆军力量整合到 DEF 129 计划下，该计划分为四个规模类别：纳米无人机系统 (nano-UAS)、小型无人机 (SUAS)、SUAS+ 和战术无人机 (TUAS)。

澳大利亚陆军正从规模更大的旅级战术无人机系统（TUAS）开始，逐步部署Insitu公司的RQ-21A集成者无人机，以取代德事隆公司的Shadow 200无人机。“RQ-21的交付工作目前正在进行中，最终目标是在2025年底前完成六套系统的全面部署，”莫米诺表示。每套系统包含四架无人机，其国产化率高达82%。

关于作战小组的SUAS+类别，埃尔比特系统公司自2022年底以来就已签订了Skylark I-LEX的合同，但这些系统直到现在才运抵澳大利亚。这些系统专为国内使用而设计，其任务包括协助民事当局等。

目前，美军还在使用 AeroVironment 公司的 Puma AE 型无人机，而且在 2030 年代初之前，不会对这些无人机进行替换。

DEF 129计划的第四阶段B部分针对排级小型无人机系统（SUAS）领域，该阶段将用混合机型取代AeroVironment Wasp AE，其中包括用于机载作战的Quantum-Systems Vector 2合1无人机和用于步兵作战的Sypaq Systems CorvoX无人机。7月中旬宣布的一份价值超过1亿澳元（约合6800万美元）的合同将确保从2025年第三季度开始交付这两种机型。

澳大利亚陆军目前在步兵分队中使用“黑黄蜂3”纳米无人机系统。官员们还在试验其他多种型号的无人机，马米诺表示，到2025年将有十种纳米无人机投入使用。

去年，政府突然取消了海军选择希贝尔公司的S-100 Camcopter无人机的决定。现在，陆军负责海上无人机系统任务，马米诺表示，她的指挥部正在“着手处理这些系统需求的早期阶段，并了解采购流程”。

与此同时，陆军航空司令部还负责将29架AH-64E“阿帕奇”武装直升机和40架UH-60M“黑鹰”直升机引入澳大利亚服役。马米诺表示，目前已有8架“黑鹰”直升机交付澳大利亚，另有4架将于年底前交付。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。