Prabha Gopinath, Strategic Campaign Director for unmanned aerial systems, Honeywell, spoke at length to SP’s on the capabilities of T-Hawk micro unmanned aerial vehicle. Read on to find out the distinct characteristics of the UAV.

SP Guide Publications (SPs): Can you share the technical and performance characteristics of the T-Hawk micro unmanned aerial vehicle in detail?

Prabha Gopinath (Gopinath): The T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicle System comprises two micro air vehicles, a ground station and ground support equipment, although alternate configurations are available. It is portable by soldiers, back packable and does not require any special launch or recovery hardware.

The T-Hawk endures flight up to 50 minutes at sea level or 44 minutes at an altitude of 5,500 feet, for any combination of hover and forward-flight manoeuvres. Its service ceiling is 10,000 feet with a maximum forward speed of 40 knots. The T-Hawk supports line-of-sight operations to a range of 10 km, and detects and recognises a man-sized target at a slant range distance of 250 meters by day or 150 meters at night, with a target location error of 50 meters CEP.

E/O and Infrared cameras allow daytime or nighttime operations.

SPs: The T-Hawk MAV appears to have great potential for use by the security forces in homeland security scenarios such as fighting India’s internal Naxal violence. Could you throw some light as to how this vehicle could be gainfully employed by India’s defence/paramilitary forces?

Gopinath: T-hawk can be used by the CRPF in the following ways:

Deterrence: Simply by flying it along their route of manoeuvre, the T-Hawk gives clear indication that there are surveillance assets in use and that observation is under way. Attacks typically begin with the element of surprise either with an IED or an ambush. Using a T-Hawk would be a clear and effective deterrent and can deter the assailants.
Deception: A T-Hawk flying a secondary route deceives terrorists about the intent or the T-Hawk can be sent down a primary planned route to distract terrorists and allow government forces to surround them.
Detection: A T-Hawk can be sent in advance of a route to provide awareness of the territory about to be crossed. The T-Hawk would detect any enemy activity because typically assailants are within line-of-sight of common roads if waiting to ambush. The T-Hawk would easily spot anybody along the travel route.
Inspection: Once the T-Hawk detected indicators of enemy activity, it could be flown closer to confirm the evidence. If human beings were spotted, it could perform detailed inspection with its 10X zoom camera to confirm that the people observed were indeed enemies and not innocent civilians or tribals. Such early confirmation would give the CRPF time to employ common anti-ambush tactics or even set up a counter ambush.
Overwatch: Once the CRPF patrol is in contact with the enemy, the T-Hawk could provide overwatch while the CRPF units retreated into defensible positions. It would allow them to monitor the attack avenues and would also cover their flanks and rear from attack. In this capacity, it is a powerful force multiplier, since the effect of having a single T-Hawk would be equivalent to having additional companies of CRPF soldiers each oriented along the axes of threat.
Relief Column: After an attack, terrorists have been known to set up a secondary ambush to hit the relief columns. If the relief column had T-Hawks, they could be sent ahead to scout out the route, inspect the site of the original attack, give intelligence on enemy presence and deployments, and perform the above mentioned five missions for the relief column.

SP’s: What are the various sensors on board which give the T-Hawk the ‘hover and stare’ capability?

Gopinath: The hover capability is derived from the fact that the T-Hawk is a VTOL air vehicle. As such, it is able to move forward and then stop and hover anytime, much like a helicopter. The stare capability is derived from the T-Hawk’s cameras; daytime and infrared cameras that can be used to observe objects/people and perform detailed inspections as needed.

SP’s: Can the vehicle be operationally deployed in day/night all-weather scenarios?

Gopinath: Yes. The T-Hawk can fly day or night and has been tested to fly in rain, wind, dust and other typical combat conditions.

SP’s: Does the T-Hawk have the capability to see through thick foliage/forested terrain? Please elaborate.

Gopinath: The T-Hawk cannot directly see through thick foliage but it can detect thermal signature of activities going on under the foliage such as cooking fires or other warmth, for example. The T-Hawk performs well in mixed jungle areas.

SP’s: How do the vehicle’s sensors detect IEDs buried under the earth’s soil/roads/ tracks, etc? Please explain.

Gopinath: We cannot answer due to customer sensitivity; please understand that keeping some information private allows the T-Hawk to better serve Honeywell’s customers.

SP’s: Please explain as to how the vehicle is remote-controlled from the ground and how effective its sensors are at its peak operating altitude?

Gopinath: The vehicle is fully autonomous and can be pre-programmed with a flight path or can be flown manually as needed. There are communication links on pre-defined frequencies for the command and control and for the video down link.

SP’s: The T-Hawk is reportedly designed to be ‘backpack’ equipment. Could you explain as to how the vehicle is maintained under extreme field conditions?

Gopinath: The T-Hawk breaks down into a soldier-portable package or transport into the field. All spares needed for routine maintenance are packaged into the backpack. Normal maintenance is performed at 10-hour intervals and consists primarily of cleaning filters, camera lenses and fuel lines.

SP’s: In the event of the T-Hawk being selected for use by the Indian security forces how soon can the company start supplying the product to the Indian Government?

Gopinath: The T-Hawk is in production and several hundred units have been delivered to the US and foreign militaries. Honeywell can deliver units to the Indian military and paramilitary agencies within 6 months of the receipt of an order or ever sooner. We also have a pool of loaner vehicles for the forces to start developing tactics and procedures well in advance of production shipment.