armed forces
The system consists of four aircraft and three ground
“the rest of the Armed Forces’ RPAS
do not have the capability to operate
in such a wide variety of spectrums
(visible, infrared and radar, day and
night)”.
GROUND CONTROL
Like its predecessor, the Phantom, or its
current “partner” at Talavera la Real,
the F-5B, the Predator also has two crew
members. However, they do not wear
helmets or anti-g suits because the
pilot and sensor operator of the NR.05
control stations
The new remotely operated Air Force aircraft is an eleven-metre long turboprop with a
wingspan of 22 metres, eight more than the F-5B trainer aircraft.
do not physically board the aircraft,
but rather operate from inside the
Ground Control Station (GCS). The
Air Force has two of these centres, also
deployable, and expects the arrival of
another one before the end of the year.
The pilot and the sensor operator
—an officer and a non-commissioned
officer, respectively— make up the
basic crew of a Predator. “This aircraft
offers many flight prospects, this is
why we have fighter, transport and
helicopter pilots in this unit”, explains
Captain Efrén Delgado, previously
assigned to the 801st Search and Rescue
Squadron in Palma de Mallorca at the
controls of a Superpuma. Next to him,
at the Ground Control Station, is First
Sergeant Alejandro Gutiérrez from
Torrejón air base, where he worked
in the Central Command and Control
Group, known as Pegaso.
This speciality, Command and
Control, and his status as a non-commissioned
officer, with proven
experience in Air Force units, define
the profile of the first sensor operators
of these aircraft. “Its handling is
totally new to us”, says Gutiérrez.
His speciality is very much focused
on providing support to the pilot,
since a lot of information has to be
managed, such as flight parameters,
air space conditions, communications
with the ground, aircraft data update
or assistance in case of emergency
or during landing and take-off, the
most critical phases of the aircraft.
Contrary to what happens when the
crew is on board, “Predator pilots learn
to fly before taking off and landing
the aircraft”, says Lieutenant Colonel
Terrados.
Depending on the type of mission,
the members of the basic crew may be
joined by satellite communications and
intelligence personnel (image analysts)
or by those in charge of maintenance
of the ground control station which,
in the case of a conventional aircraft,
would also be on board (for instance,
a P3 Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft).
However, in the case of a RPAS such
as the NR.05, it will be located in
different places on the ground, and
remotely coordinated.
JOINT OBSERVATION
What the pilot and the sensor operator
see on the cockpit screens is viewed
and analysed at the same time by
specialists from the 47th Air Force
Group at Torrejón air base (Madrid)
or from the Armed Forces Joint Staff
Intelligence Centre.
The Predators of the 23rd Fighter
Wing are a means of joint observation
that will preferably be used in purely
military operations but also, as
Lieutenant Colonel Terrados points
out, “in other missions assigned to the
Armed Forces in support of the state’s
action”, such as fires, natural disasters,
customs surveillance, control of illegal
immigration or drug trafficking in
collaboration with the state security
forces, damage assessment, search for
survivors, etc.
The Spanish Predator made its first
flight on 30 January, after passing
several tests on the ground, among
others, the engine, generator and
satellite link tests. Since then, it has
been flying virtually every day for an
average of six hours, carrying out the
so-called system acceptance tests to
verify that, as stated by Lieutenant
Colonel Terrados, “the system assigned
to this Fighter Wing meets all the
technical and mission requirements”,
in other words, its endurance,
persistence, precision and discretion
capacities.
José Luis Expósito
Photos: Pepe Díaz
28 Revista Española de Defensa December 2020