The T-Hawk micro air vehicle has been proven in combat. In an exclusive interview with SP’s Aviation, Pritam Bhavnani, President, Honeywell Aerospace India, spoke about the unique characteristics of T-Hawk.

SP’s Aviation (SP’s): Can you briefly describe the primary features of the Honeywell RQ-16A T-Hawk and its roles? Apart from being a ducted fan vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) micro UAV, what are the special features of this UAV?

Pritam Bhavnani (Bhavnani): The Honeywell T-Hawk is another example of innovative technology initially created for defence purposes that can play crucial roles in humanitarian and disaster relief efforts. One of the unique aspects of this particular UAV is that from a logistics perspective, its size and weight provide tactical operators real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) benefits without the significant ‘gearfootprint’ required by other UAVs. The entire unit can be carried by one person into various locations or environments. Unlike other helicopter-like VTOL UAVs, its ducted fan design offers extreme stability under challenging wind conditions and allows it to carry a variety of sensors without any negative effects from air flow or rotor wash. The T-Hawk has been used in Iraq and Afghanistan to support counter-improvised explosive device (IED) and counter-insurgency missions.

SP’s: At what level of command or formation in the battlefield is the T-Hawk micro air vehicle (MAV) designed to be deployed and what has been the experience with the MAV in operational user trials so far?

Bhavnani: The T-Hawk is a tactical airborne ISR asset designed to be deployed at the platoon or squad level. In its current roles, it is asset-managed at the battalion level in a manner similar to special weapons such as crewserved weapons like heavy machine guns and mortars. Field experience with T-Hawks has been uniformly positive with deployed units having great success with route clearance operations, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) missions, infantry support, and base and perimeter security.

SP’s: Has the T-Hawk completed its developmental flight test programme? What are the plans and timeframes for its induction into the US armed forces?

Bhavnani: The T-Hawk micro air vehicle has been proven in combat with the US Army and Navy, with more than 2,500 combat missions flown and 2,000 flight hours till date in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, respectively.

SP’s: How does the T-Hawk decrease combat risk for troops while supporting counter-IED missions? What technology does it use for this mission?

Bhavnani: The T-Hawk reduces combat risk by giving tactical decision-makers more options in an often compressed operational timeline. It offers commanders an upper hand during counter-IED missions by providing information about how and when insurgents may have planted explosives along roads or on other targets. The T-Hawk is an airborne ISR asset used by route clearance units and EOD technicians to detect and positively identify IEDs. Unlike fixed wing UAVs, the T-Hawk can hover in place and inspect a suspicious object. The T-Hawk currently uses a suite of optical sensors operating in the visual and long wave IR spectrum. EOD technicians are able to deploy T-Hawks during a response mission or use them to gain visual context from above in a post-blast scenario.

SP’s: Are you thinking of using more sophisticated sensors in this micro UAV?

Bhavnani: While the current electro-optical (EO)/long wave infrared (IR) sensor payload gives tactical units a clear advantage, our development team knew that additional payload versatility would enable a wider span of ISR missions. With this in mind additional payloads including a true high definition EO camera, a high-resolution long wave IR camera, an integrated EO and high-resolution IR camera, a short wave IR camera, and various standoff real-time radiation and chemical sensors are considered for adoption.

SP: It seems that in our context it could be used in the Army at the Company/Platoon level and in counterinsurgency it could be used for homeland security.

Bhavnani: Precisely so. The T-Hawk’s broad range of realtime ISR capabilities increases the potential success across a spectrum of combat missions. Its ability to fly rapidly to a target and execute detailed inspection from various standoff distances, positions and angles, deliver high quality realtime video to the operator, and provide accurate position data even in cluttered urban areas is a force multiplier in both military and homeland security missions.

SP: What role did the T-Hawk MAV play towards disaster relief during the recent nuclear accident at Fukushima in Japan?

Bhavnani: Honeywell was contacted by several agencies about the suitability of using the T-Hawk to assist with exploration activities at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility. Honeywell made four T-Hawks available, to provide officials with immediate visibility deep into the reactor site and the surrounding area, where human access had been made impossible due to dangerous levels of radiation and the widespread infrastructure damage made it inaccessible to ground vehicles. Following some initial mission-readiness tests in Japan, the first flight over the actual mission site was April 10, when the team executed a 30-minute flight that provided key video footage back to officials on the ground. The video can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqCout-TbBw. The T-Hawk executed primary missions in support of the relief efforts at Fukushima Daiichi and the neighbouring prefectures. These missions were ISR in support of search and rescue teams, radiation monitoring structural inspections of the reactors, the sea wall, and adjacent buildings, and ISR in support of search and recovery teams.

SP: How are the versions of the T-Hawk designed for the US Navy and the Army different from each other?

Bhavnani: Weighing in at less than 20 pounds with vertical take-off and landing capability, the T-Hawk does not require a runway or large volumes of airspace to get into position. It has an endurance run time of around 40 to 50 minutes, an approximate working sphere of a 10,000-foot ceiling and an operating radius of about six nautical miles (11 km). The primary difference between the US Navy and US Army systems lies in the mission requirements. Both the Navy and the Army utilise the T-Hawk to perform a variety of missions, from reconnaissance to communications operations.