by Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
The massively increased US-Indian military cooperation continues to head in new directions with Naval cooperation, fighter-jet alignment possibilities, US-Army Stryker vehicles and now … Reaper drones.
The Indian Ministry of Defence has sent a special Letter of Request as part of a proposed deal for 31 MQ-9B Reaper drones, a specific element of growing India-US military collaboration cited in a June 22 US-India statement published during Prime Minister’s state visit, according to an interesting write up in Asia Nikkea.
Indian plans regarding the new drones have taken specific shape and “be assembled” in India. The Asia Nikkea essay says India has decided to allocate 15 drones for the Navy and eight each for the Indian Army and Air Force.
Of equal even greater significance, the Indian Reapers will not only be equipped with cutting edge surveillance technology for ISR but will also be armed with kinetic weapons, electronic warfare, defensive counter air and airborne early warning.
There are several critical variables to consider here related to the Reaper itself and the tactical or strategic circumstances surrounding the arrival of the drones. The General Atomics drones built for India will be “export” variants, meaning they will be tailored for India’s tactical needs and distinguish the Indian Reapers from the US force of Reapers. However, there are many impactful innovations and upgrades being built into US Reapers which may or may not be incorporated into the Indian variants. US Air Force Reapers now fly with a universal weapons interface enabling the drone to fly with a much wider arsenal of weapons designed to massively expand the attack envelope for the weapon. The Reaper now fires the AIM-9X in addition to the AGM-114 Hellfire missile, a 500-pound laser-guided weapon called the GBU-12 Paveway II, and GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions or JDAMs.
Reapers for India
It is not difficult to imagine the tactical significance Reapers would bring to the Indian military, particularly given the country’s need to surveil threat developments along the Line of Actual Control border between Northern India and Western China. The area has of course been a source of intense dispute between India and China which has even at times resulted in small “skirmishes” between India and PLA forces causing several deaths. Surveillance in the form of Reapers, however, could greatly improve India’s ability to detect threatening movements, actions or intentions from the PLA. Such ISR in this area is quite significant given China’s ambitious and aggressive militarization of Tibetan mountainous and plateau areas in Western China. The PLA has been building high-altitude capable mortar weapons and vehicles as well as combat vehicle platforms engineered specifically for tactical operations in mountainous plateau areas. Reaper drones, engineered with long-range EO/IR sensors could well be positioned to detect PLA movements on the Chinese side of the border. Medium altitude surveillance, such as that offered by the Reaper, could prove quite valuable in higher altitude mountainous areas where smaller, hand-launched or lower altitude drones might be challenged to gather imagery.
US Air Force Reaper Upgrades
The US Reaper also now incorporates technologies to “counter” enemy countermeasures by enabling its sensors, electronics and weapons to sustain functionality even in the event that an enemy attempts to hack, “jam” or disrupt its systems.
It’s called a “hardened targeting pod,” a technology with what an Air Force report calls an “electro-optical counter-countermeasure.” While many of the technical parameters central to the technology were not mentioned in the Air Force report, likely for security reasons, it was identified as a system that gives the MQ-9 Reaper an ability to find and detect threats in order to thwart jamming attempts or enemy EW attacks.
The Reaper technology, identified as the Reaper Defense Electronic Support System (RDESS), is described as having successfully tested an anti-jam, anti-spoofing application which can utilize new aircraft antennas to make essential assessments. The Air Force report also said the new RDESS supports DoD’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, something which could suggest the new target hardening pod draws upon AI-enabled computer technology. It would not be at all surprising if AI-enable algorithms were used to help discern, organize and even deconflict parts of the spectrum to ascertain where the threats are and, if needed, recommend adjustments to protect against jamming. One of the ways the Air Force is countering enemy countermeasures is by engineering RF technologies capable of frequency hopping for weapons guidance systems. For example, should an enemy EW attack seek to jam the RF or infrared targeting guidance on an air-to-air weapon, targeting adaptations can switch or “hop” from one frequency to another to ensure continued guidance functionality.
The Reaper has even been armed with AIM-9X air-to-air weapons, a development which allows for a greater range of air warfare engagement possibilities. The new “hardending pod” can, along with other technical adaptations, enable the Air Force with the ability to improve survivability for the Reaper, a larger, less stealthy platform. The conceptual effort intended to make the Reaper survivably in a great power war also involves tactical adaptations, according to former Air Force Europe Commander Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian who told The Mitchell Institute that Reaper flight paths can become more varied and less “predictable” to an enemy, as a way to diminish the possibility of being shot down. The modifications include the integration of new infrared sensing technology and information assurance systems which may involve various kinds of hardening or data protection systems. Such an upgrade might further preclude the Reaper’s sensor feeds from being disrupted, jammed or hacked by an adversary or hostile force looking to derail drone missions.
The technical specifics of how Reaper data networks are being hardened were not made available in the Air Force report, likely for security reasons, yet an ability to avoid being jammed could introduce a breakthrough level of functionality and mission reliability for the drone as it transitions from years of counterinsurgency into preparations for major great power warfare in environment where adversaries are armed with advanced air defenses and air platforms in position to challenge a Reaper.
These threat circumstances may be one key reason why the Air Force has now armed the Reaper for the first time with an AIM-9X high-tech air-to-air strike missile. The AIM-9X, which also fires from the F-35, uses advanced guidance technology to adjust to and destroy enemy target.
Kris Osborn is President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University. < /p>
