High-Performance VTOL For Over-the-Horizon Targeting

This paper presents an evaluation of manned and remotely piloted high-performance VTOL designed to operate from small surface combatants and provide over-the-horizon (OTH) targeting for surface-to-surface cruise missiles. Three system concepts are considered: a manned aircraft operating alone, a manned aircraft operating in conjunction with a remotely piloted vehicle (RPV), and two RPVs operating together. Representative mission leads are established for each vehicle. Mission requirements, in terms of radius and time-on-station, are derived according to the size and range of the target’s uncertainty area. Vehicle takeoff gross weights (TOGW) compatible with operations from small combatants and system life-cycle costs (LCC) are determined to satisfy the mission requirements. The three OTH targeting system concepts are compared on the basis of LCC for equal effectiveness and the advantages and disadvantages of each are summarized.