News

Lockheed flags Medivac role for VUIT-2

April 08, 2009

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control is proposing fitting military medical evacuation helicopters with its Video from unmanned air systems (UAS) for Interoperability Teaming Level II or VUIT-2 system to facilitate rapid extraction operations for wounded personnel.

Joe Elmer, Lockheed's manager of international business development for rotary wing sensors and missiles, says the inherent risks faced by medivac aircrews during operations could be directly reduced by teaming with UAS to provide improved situational awareness.

"If I am a medivac pilot and I am flying out to pick up a hurt individual somewhere in the field I can actually get a UAS over station to show me what the situation is there on the ground so that I know what the best route of approach is to minimise the threat to my own ship.

"I can help direct where to take the injured personnel to again minimise threat to own ship and the extraction.

"Rather than taking a $40 million aircraft into the situation and fly around and put himself into a vulnerable situation, I am now putting the UAS in that position."

Elmer says that "if the UAS gets lost it is a loss but it is not a life. That is the real beauty of this approach and MEDIVAC can really take advantage of that."

VUIT-2 is currently deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq aboard US Army Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters, supporting strike operations in conjunction with AAI RQ-7B Shadow and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Warrior Block Alpha aircraft.

An enhanced version, allowing two way imagery transmissions between ground operators and multiple aircraft, is at an advanced stage of development. "Having everyone having a common operational picture is obviously very important in the field".

Elmer says the current Apache deployment is resulting in strong interest in the capability from other AH-64 users. "We are getting a lot of interest from other Apache users, particularly the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, because they are engaged in operations in Afghanistan."

VUIT-2 would allow the UK to develop linkages between its Watchkeeper UAS as that system advanced into operational service in 2010-2011 says Elmer. In the interim however, UK Apache's fitted with the capability "could also interface with the existing UAS that US forces have in the area."

He also says the US Marine Corps has been briefed on options for fitting VUIT-2 to that service's Bell AH-1Z helicopters. "We have briefed the Marine Corps and there is some interest in the capability".

VUIT-2 has previously been proposed by Lockheed as a capability option for utility and cargo helicopters supporting battlefield re-supply operations during fire fights.

By Peter La Franchi