1. M1400 Lighter-Than-Air Aircraft
WORLD’S MOST
AFFORDABLE ISR:
Meeting Today’s ISR
Demand with Innovation,
Integration, and Cost
Effectiveness
4501 FORD AVENUE SUITE 1320 ALEXANDRIA, VA 22302-1463
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2. M1400 Airship Characteristics
Largest UAV in the world
• Over 100K ft3 of available payload area: Maneuvering Engine
Turbine Propulsion
unprecedented mission flexibility
• Up to 6,500 lb payload weight capacity
• Eight (8) major independent ISR payloads
Most Bits per Dollar per Day
• Very low operating cost
Most powerful UAV-based computer in
existence
• Enables on-board processing
• Minimizes air-to-ground data
Semi-Automated sensor-to-sensor cueing for
enhanced threat detection
• Increases number of payloads that can be
simultaneously deployed and operated
Modular payload integration architecture
• Significantly reduces aircraft-payload Power Car + Diesel
integration time and cost 1,610 ft3
Main Drive Engines
Very long endurance
(23 ft x 10 ft x 7 ft)
• 2-7 days depending on payload & altitude
Payload Car Volume
Largest UAV electrical power generation
capacity (120 kVA)
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3. Blue Devil Block II: On-going USAF program
leveraging the Mav6 M1400 airship for
persistent intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance (ISR) operations.
“…at a 500-nautical mile combat radius, the Air Force’s BD2 would
have a payload-duration about 60 times greater than the Predator’s
and more than 10 times greater than the Reaper’s.”
Congressional Budget Office
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4. M1400 Operational Concept Example
Potential Coverage of SW Border
SENSOR COVERAGE
Operating 20,000 ft MSL
Altitude
EO/IR (Wide 110 mi radius (38,000 mi2
Aperture) coverage) @ 0.5m GSD
SAR-MTI Radar > 150 mi radius (> 76,000 mi2
coverage)
SIGINT 200 mi radius (125,000 mi2
coverage)
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5. M1400 Comprehensive ISR Capability
Hrs
Potential M1400 ISR Sensor Coverage A single M1400 can provide the types
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Operating of ISR capability of these 7 ISR systems
20,000
Altitude (ft) (SIGINT, COMINT, GMTI, EO/IR, HSI, etc.):
110 mi radius (38,000 mi2 simultaneously;
“Eyes”
coverage) at 3 to 10 times the duration; accomplish 12
200 mi radius (125,000 mi2 the processing on-board; and do it all for a
“Ears” fraction of the cost…
coverage)
32
12
?
80-120 hrs
On-station Vs=
.5
16
5
6. M1400: Value Proposition
SIGNINT + COMINT + GMTI + EO/IR + HSI
Days
1 2 3 4 5
12 hour endurance A single M1400 can provide the types
$42K/hr
of ISR capability of these 7 ISR systems (SIGINT,
Sorties overlap to maintain Persistent Surveillance COMINT, GMTI, EO/IR, HSI, etc.):
12 hour endurance simultaneously; at 3 to 10 times the duration;
$45k/hr accomplish the processing on-board;
and do it all for a fraction of the cost…
32 hour endurance
$32k/hr Days
1 2 3 4 5
12 hour endurance
$42k/hr
OR $4k/hr
120 hour endurance
12 hour endurance
$36k/hr
0.5 hour endurance
?
16 hour endurance
$4k/hr
12
54X
# of Aircraft 9
>$27M $0.5M
Required for
120 Hours of 6
Continuous
3
Coverage for 120 hours of Persistent Surveillance
for 120 hours of Persistent Surveillance
Time the cost Time
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8. M1400 Payload Options
M1400 can support the simultaneous deployment of a variety of mission payloads—
and integrate all with on-board computers, processing, and mass storage.
Wide-Area EO/IR Synthetic High Powered High Definition
Aperture Radar Full Motion Video
On-board Processing
High Bandwidth Weapons
Data Links Modules Multi-Mode Radar
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9. M1400 Key Elements
Innovation Integration Cost-Effectiveness
Adapted mature airship System-of-Systems Design: High payload/
design to achieve rapid Designed as a multi-INT Long endurance
deliverable: Leverages system from the beginning enables greater
traditional hull design with cost-effectiveness:
less complexity and fewer Mission-tailorable sensor Equivalent pound/hours of
moving parts than alternatives suite: Allows rapid ISR would require 10s of
reconfiguration in hours to multiples of other remotely
Open Architecture: Sensor variety of sensor or comm piloted aircraft
agnostic payload payloads
infrastructure Per flying dollar spent BD2
Moves data processing to delivers more ISR capability
Extensible Ground Segment: point of origin: Meets the per hour than other aircraft
Designed to meet tsunami of data challenge
expeditionary ISR
requirements with local multi-
sensor data management,
correlation, and storage
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10. M1400 Capabilities: Why it’s Unique
Provides persistence with largest multi-int payload in existence
Wide Area EO/IR with largest aperture EO/IR spot capability
Largest “real estate” for SIGINT antenna arrays on any ISR platform
Rapid tipping & cueing provides actionable ISR to users in seconds
Sharing of event and geolocation data across disparate sensors directly to users
Potential for automated sensor to sensor cuing (e.g. SIGINT to IMINT sensors)
Find, fix, identify, and track HVI/HVT with HD sensing and SIGINT queues
On-board processing = more info to users with less bandwidth
Moves data processing from ground to air reducing sensor-to-shooter latency
Potential as focal point of an ISR constellation integrating multiple platforms
Multi-sensor processing ground station
Multi-sensor C2 and visualization in the field reduces sensor analyst requirements
Mission-tailorable sensor suite—in hours not months/years
Accelerates deployment and use of new sensing capabilities
Adaptability to situation not available with any other ISR asset
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11. M1400 Value Proposition
To keep 6,000 lbs of ISR equipment on
station for 78 hours it takes:
1 M1400
39 Current Fixed-
Wing UAVs
468,000 lb-hrs ISR ÷ 11,900 lb-hrs ISR = 39.3 MQ-series RPAs per M1400
OR
468,000 lb-hrs ISR ÷ 11,900 lb-hrs ISR = 39.3 MQ-series RPAs per M1400
6,000 lbs ISR equipment x 78 hrs = 468,000 lb-hrs 850 lbs ISR equipment x 14 hrs = 11,900 lb-hrs
of ISR Mission Capability per aircraft of ISR Mission Capability per aircraft
High payload/Long endurance
enables greater cost-effectiveness
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12. M1400 Value Proposition
Current Fixed-
M1400 Wing UAVs
7 times the ISR
mission payload 6,000 lbs of ISR equipment 850 lbs of ISR equipment
AT
5-6 times the
endurance
78 hrs 14 hrs
FOR 75% the cost per
flight hour
$1,117/hr $1,456/hr
( 6,000 lbs x 78 hrs ÷ $1,117/hr ) ÷ ( 850 lbs x 14 hrs ÷ $1,456/hr ) = 52.375
Per flying dollar spent you get 52 times more ISR per
hour with M1400 than current fixed-wing UAVs
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13. CBO Payload-Duration Comparison
300,000
Payload-Duration (Pound-Hours)
250,000
200,000
M1400
150,000
100,000
50,000
MQ-9 Reaper
Grey Eagle
MQ-1 Predator
500 1,000 1,500 2,000
Combat Radius (Nautical Miles)
Source: Congressional Budget Office based on data provided by manufacturers. 13