By Geoff Fein
BAE SYSTEMS this week unveiled a new internally funded effort to develop a defensive weapon that will provide 360 degrees of suppressive fire for the V-22 Osprey.
The Remote Guardian System (RGS) is designed to be belly mounted on the Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT]-Boeing [BA] V-22. RGS is a turreted weapon system that consists of a turreted sensor and turreted Gatling gun, Clark Friese, vice president defense avionics for BAE, told Defense Daily in a recent interview.
“It has zero drag on the aircraft and does not intrude into the cabin, which was an important issue,” he said. “It gives a 360 degree field of view and field of fire.”
BAE displayed their V-22 weapon system for the first time at this week’s annual Modern Day Marine expo at Quantico, Va.
RGS will meet the full spectrum requirements for a defensive weapon system that was initially drafted by the Marine Corps, Friese added.
“That’s how we got into the program. A few years ago we realized [the Marine Corps] were going to have to go with this interim solution; coming up with a full capability was going to be very challenging,” he said. “Our company’s decision was to go ahead and fund an internal development program to come up with this weapon system.”
Currently, the V-22 uses a manned weapon that can be fired from the Osprey’s rear ramp.
RGS will use the Marine Corps’ GAU 17, 7.62 mm mini-gun and the Air Force Special Operations Command’s (AFSOC) GAU 2, Dave Adamiak, director of business development for RGS, told Defense Daily during the same interview.
After discussions with both the Marine Corps and AFSOC, BAE determined that both services wanted to have as much flexibility as possible with their sensors, so the company developed an interchangeable gun and interchangeable sensor system, Friese said.
“So if there is a desire to go to a higher caliber weapon we can do that, but at some point you begin to get long enough you have some issues,” he said. “With the sensor system, if there is a the desire to go to a more capable sensor, you could do that also.”
The current RGS uses an infrared (IR) charged coupled device and a laser range finder for the sensor. Friese said the company is finding the sensor to be a very capable system.
BAE will have to conduct flight tests and a number of other steps before RGS can be deployed on the V-22.
The company is hoping to conduct fit checks within the next 30 days, Adamiak said.
“We are doing some testing on a Humvee. We did some static testing to do some measurements as far as what the pressure field and vibration field around the weapon would be against the [belly of the] aircraft,” he said. “Today we are working on a moving Humvee and doing some firing tests to make sure the three-axis stabilization works the way we think it should. So far the results have been very promising, it looks very good.”
Although RGS can be fully integrated into the V-22’s avionics system, initially that won’t be the case, Adamiak said.
“The feeling initially was that [the Marine Corps and AFSOC] wanted to go with minimal integration because the more integration you do, the more time it takes, the more risk there is to the program, the more cost [to the program],” he said.
RGS will not replace the manned weapon currently deployed on the Osprey. Friese said RGS will be a complement to it. “I think that’s been the plan of the Marine Corps going forward as well. They are not looking for an either or type of solution going forward.”
BAE is also looking at a 50 caliber design and more advanced sensors for RGS, Friese said.
“I don’t think the V-22 is only aircraft or vehicle it will go on, but it is the one we are focused on right now because they have the need,” he said. “We looked at heavy-lift helicopters, especially special operations needs, and we believe we can cover the majority of all of their needs,” Adamiak added. “We are also looking at ground applications, maritime applications, and other applications.”