09.00 Chairman’s Opening Remarks

09.10 Developing a Universal Ground Control Station for Multiple Small Unmanned Air Systems

• Overview of the various SUAS used by the US Army, and the difficulties associated with operating multiple platforms
• Origins of operational requirement for the creation of a Universal Ground Control Station
• SUAS payload and capability developments to support the tactical fight
• Emerging trends and a look to the future role of SUAS

Col Robert Sova
TRADOC Capability Manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems Division
US Army

09.50 Mini and Micro UAS in the German Army: Experiences, Challenges and Developments

• Training and Doctrine: Conceptual uses for short range UAVs
• The German Army’s experience of operating Short Range UAVs in Afghanistan
• Lessons from operations and emerging requirements

Lt Col Hans-Georg Neuhaus
Staff Officer for Army ISR Assets
German Army Office

11.00 Operational Feedback from Afghanistan: Lessons from the Danish Army’s Experience with the Raven Platform and Emerging Requirements for Gimbal and Multi-Sensor Payloads

• Utilisation of Raven in Danish Artillery operations
• Analogue vs Digital and attitudes towards encryption
• Emerging requirements: Gimbal cameras, multi-sensor payload packages and endurance improvements
• Training developments for the next generation of SUAS operators

WO Danny Andersen
Raven B UAS Subject Matter Expert, ISTAR/G5
Danish Army Fire Support Centre

11.40 Future Use of Short Range UAVs within the US Marine Corps: Payloads, Weaponisation, and Interoperability

• Analysing future capabilities of SUAS in theatre
• Joint operations with greater interoperability and cooperation amongst allied forces
• Weaponising tactical unmanned systems

Dr Bill Powers
Research Fellow,
Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, Centre for Emerging Threats and Opportunities, USMC Warfighting Laboratory

13.30 The Canadian Army Family of UAV Program: The War in Afghanistan and the Procurement Process to Respond to UOR

• The Canadian Forces transformation
• C4ISR, Network Enabled Operations and the Army ISTAR Project
• The Army family of UAV Project
• The procurement process of the Canadian Army Small and
• Mini-UAV Systems
• Rapid acquisition to fight the War in Afghanistan – The Procurement Strategy
• UAV operations in Afghanistan
• Lessons Learned and a look at the future

Major Roger Otis
Land Technical Staff Program, Project Director for Land Force Family of UAV Project, Director of Land Requirements
Canadian Forces

14.10 Developing Tactical ISR: Addressing Operational Requirements from Dutch Actions in Afghanistan with COTS Systems

• Overview of the Royal Netherlands Army operations in the ISAF mission prior to withdrawal
• Matching requirements to off-the-shelf SUAS systems
• Procurement process and envisioned distribution of Raven for ground operations

Lkol Muller
Netherlands Ministry of Defence

15.10 The Concept of a Gun Launched Micro Aerial Vehicle (GLMAV) for Military and Civilian Use

• The GLMAV project: Programme background and outline of supporting organisations
• Description of launch method, deployment range and method of control for operation by non-specialist users
• Providing flexible ISR: Incorporating the ability to move slowly, quickly, or hover with sufficient stabilisation to provide satisfactory imagery
• Assessment of the project to date and future milestones

Dr Patrick Gnemmi
Aerothermodynamics and Shock-Tube Laboratory
Institute Saint-Louis

15.50 PANEL SESSION: The Future of Short Range and Tactical UAVs: “Cheap”, Organic ISR platforms or Highly Capable, Short Endurance Systems?

Short Range and Tactical UAVs fill a vital niche in providing commanders and squadron leaders with a relatively cheap, organic ISR capability. As technology improves, these platforms have become capable of carrying more advanced payloads to expand their mission parameters, but increased capability inevitably leads to increased cost. This can result in fewer, more capable systems being procured in lieu of multiple, cheaper systems, moving these platforms away from the initial capability gap they were procured to fulfil.

However, if SUAS payloads are not improved, commanders risk not having access to more advanced capabilities due to the heavy demand placed on larger MALE and HALE assets in contemporary operations. This panel will examine how short range and tactical UAVs should best be developed and deployed to ensure they most effectively fulfil the role required of them by commanders on the front line.