Canadair CL-89 and CL-289 surveillance drones

Apophenia said:

Canadair CL-289 - UAV, intermediate-range surveillance drone, 1971

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Interestingly, that designation seems to have been reused for a late 1980s Canadair-Dornier reconnaissance/artillery spotter drone program for the German and French militaries. Or was it perhaps a revival of the same design?

CL-289

The CL-289 drone is a joint Canadian-German-French
venture. It was developed by Canadair and Dornier
(with the share financed by the Federal Ministry of
Defense amounting to roughly DM280 million or about
75 percent), while France funded the development of
SAT's IR line scanner. The drone has been in serial
production for the Federal Republic (11 systems ordered
so far for corps and division artillery) and for France
(three systems) since 1987 with a delivery date between
1992 and 1995. Excluding the IR line scanner, Dornier
will handle about 50 percent of the work including final
assembly of the missiles, completion of the drone front
end, payload integration and responsibility for most of
the ground station. The drone system is designed to be
fully mobile and, therefore, requires considerable personnel
and vehicle resources—analysis of the quantity of
information furnished by the drone alone requires five
vehicles. The T117 sustainer is supplied by KHD's
Aerospace Technology branch and the optical camera
comes from Zeiss.

The CL-289 flight almost hugs the terrain. The IR
scanner and the optical camera are activated at predetermined
points, and line scanner data can be transmitted
by radio to the ground station up to a distance of
roughly 70 km (depending on flight altitude). Special
emphasis is placed on rapid evaluation and dissemination
of reconnaissance data—values of 30 minutes or less
are quoted for the period between "drone above target"
and "target data available to artillery."

An increase in combat effectiveness is already being
considered. This could include increased range, integration
of a radar sensor and reductions in personnel
requirements by even more automation.

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http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA347583

EDIT: Via army-technology.com:

Probably the same program, as the CL-289 was a development of the earlier CL-89:

It is indeed the same. Both the CL-89 Midge (aka AN/USD-501) and the CL-289 (AN/USD-502) took a long time to see action. The Midge was an early '60s design but didn't see action until the '91 Gulf War.

CL-89 (AN/USD-501) Drone - Early Design, Test and Development

The initial CL-89 project was termed by Canadair as a “re-useable cruise missile”. The design concept would have a short cylindrical fuselage 2.6 m (102.5 inches) in length and of 94 cm (37 inches) in diameter, and it was to be propelled by the new Williams Research Corporation’s small WR2-6 turbojet engine. The main control system surfaces consisted of four rectangular cruciform wings located aft, and four small pitch and yaw control surfaces (canards) at the nose. Avionics included a programmer and an autopilot. Additional payload would also comprise two Carl Zeiss 70mm cameras, capable of day or night operation with film storage and processing during flight when required. The exposed film cassette would be removed physically by a technician following the completion of the mission. Recovery of the “missile” would be via a small main parachute and an inflatable, aft-stowed, landing bag along with a very stout nose spike and associated crushable shock absorber concept. This vehicle’s recovery system was somewhat similar to those seen employed on the earlier X-7 and the Lobber air vehicle designs.

Revisions to the basic CL-89 design and recovery systems resulted in substituting a different method of recovery of the production drone to the ground. This new recovery system idea consisted of the use of a larger parachute along with fore and aft located inflatable landing bags to help cushion the proposed horizontal ground impact. A dedicated drop test rig and an airdropped vehicle were employed in 1961 and 1964 respectively to dynamically verify the designs of the landing bags and the overall recovery system.

Captions:
1. An early full-size cutaway model proposal, seen in January 1961.
2. An all metal CL-89 wind tunnel model in Britain, with blanked-over air intakes during airflow pattern studies at Mach 0.66.
3. A CL-89 drill drone is seen testing the drogue parachute deployment on a test track.
4. This was the proposed early production CL-89 concept’s fully descriptive nose-spike ground recovery system sequence.
5. Here is the much revised design method that was selected for the CL-89 (AN/USD-501) production drone recovery system.

CL-89 Recovery Systems Test Vehicle

Numerous drops of a weighted, representative CL-89 ‘shape’ at a dedicated tower facility erected behind Canadair’s Plant 1 facility in early 1961 first tested the landing bags durability and reusability. Due to the ground drop test rig facility and subsequent air drop test programme in the early 1960s, successful CL-89 recovery systems tests and design refinements eventually resulted in a very reliable and reusable drone landing system. With new materials and improved manufacturing techniques for the landing bags, additional drop tests onto various surfaces were performed at Canadair from a four-story high tower in the 1960s. Such a fully tested and refined drone recovery system was to be emulated similarly with the larger Canadair CL-289 surveillance system drone designed, tested and produced in later years.


Captions:
1-2. This unpowered aerodynamically similar planform to the production CL-89 was used to prove the components of the conceived drone recovery system. The airdropped vehicle had an aerodynamically pointed nose cone with a forward cap, faired-over air intake ducts on the rear sides of the fuselage. The main recovery parachute system was bundled tightly in the tail cone. Drop tests were made from a Canadian military Canadair T-33 aircraft, conducted in the winter of 1964 over the snow-covered test range at the AETE Cold Lake in Alberta. Many of these test drops were flawlessly performed as advertised, as seen in the photo below showing the landing bags continuing to deflate and landing ‘chute being recovered.
3-4. The parachute and attachment lanyards are seen well packed in the tailcone, aft of the main wings, before a test drop in the photo at left. However, some drops did not quite go as planned. One such incident had the test vehicle leaving some major bits and pieces of itself spread across the frozen Alberta tundra as seen in the photo of the aft fuselage on the right.
5. Another drop test that didn’t fare very well either, although in this case it was simply a bounced landing as seen by the damaged nose cone. Note that the fuselage and the faired-over air intake ducts were wool tufted for aerodynamics studies.

Captions:
1. A CL-89 tubular shape is suspended on a framework between two high towers sometime in March 1961 during a series of drop tests to qualify the drone’s landing bags for use. Note that this is drop number “30” as seen on the sides of the bags.
2. A CL-89 drill drone is seen in a wind tunnel of the Royal Aeronautical Establishment (RAE) in Britain preparatory to a test run. The light-coloured circular area on the bottom of the nose cone is the dielectric panel for the drone’s X-Band receiver.
3. Seen here in this photo from January 1964, a full-scale cutaway model of the CL-89 along with its proposed support equipment, also in mockup form and labeled, are arranged on the Drone Launcher Pallet in a Canadian Army 2 ½ ton truck.
4. The fully self contained CL-89 Drone Launcher Pallet was also produced by Canadair to be capable of being installed upon any number of capable military flat bed trucks available to NATO forces. The stowed Drone Launcher is seen at lower right, nearest the camera. The compact fully equipped drone photo development and interpretation “shack” is seen positioned at the forward end of the pallet assembly.
5. Canadair’s very talented Graphics Department produced a descriptive cutaway in 1961 of the CL-89 (AN/USD-501) Drone.

CL-89 Midge

During 1991’s “Desert Storm” conflict, the British Army’s CL-89 Midge drone system finally made both its operational debut and its swansong with the Drone Troop 57 Locating Battery, after twenty-seven years of yeoman’s training service at home. Numerous and then somewhat secretive high quality reconnaissance photographic missions tasked to the Midge over enemy-held territory were in direct support of the British, American, and Egyptian military forces deployed in the Gulf arena. Following these highly lauded operational efforts, plans were already being implemented to introduce into service the newer GEC Avionics / Flight Refuelling (then later British Aerospace) Phoenix reconnaissance system as a direct replacement for the now aging CL-89 Midge drones.



CL-89 Post Development Services (PDS) Drone

The Canadair CL-89 PDS Drone, serial number S/N 1115, was mainly used to perform fit checks of new, modified, or improved components, or other developments prior to accepting such items for service use. Accurate wood / metal mockups of proposed new items were first produced by the Experimental Shops and physically checked on the PDS Drone. This ensemble was often arranged statically as for launch upon its dedicated, fully configured Launcher and was displayed at Canadair during annual Family Day activities and other related public relations events to great acclaim. On the 10 and 11 June 1994, an Open House was held celebrating Canadair’s 50th Anniversary. The Surveillance Systems Division provided a first time - probably last time - look at all their flying hardware. Actual flown CL-89, CL-289 and CL-227's were displayed with pride. It was eventually proposed and accepted by Canadair hierarchy personnel that these components were to be earmarked formally for display at the CAvM with a delivery on 9 November 1994. However, that never came to pass as the complete ensemble of CL-89 equipment was literally hijacked during final preparations to deliver the equipment to the CAvM by Canadian Army personnel and truck from Canadair’s Plant 4. A hurried call to DND in Ottawa by Surveillance Systems management for clarification had the military going back on their word and inexplicably dictating that the supposed display was to be at the Royal Canadian Army Museum, located in Shilo, Manitoba. There was no acknowledgement proffered from the military or appreciation ever received to all those who tried to preserve this hardware for posterity. Display in a public museum setting, readily accessible to all of those Canadair employees who had worked so hard on this vehicle system was simply the right thing to do. To date, the final disposition of the CL-89 PDS Drone and Launcher at Shilo is still unknown. Some have surmised that they are probably being used, or have been used, as artillery targets on the vast firing range. So much for the potential public display legacy of the first ever production drone-type to be accepted by NATO.


Captions:
1. A small British Army crew prepare a CL-89 Midge drone for launch during a tactical demonstration at a local woodland location somewhere in Britain during November 1982.
2. The CL-89 PDS Drone is on public display at the Canadair Family Christmas Party in December 1982. (Bill Upton Photo)

CL-89N

The CL-89N version was simply a study performed near the end of the 1960s for a naval variant equipped such that it would be a capable mimic of some typical Soviet anti-shipping missiles. Flight trials were held off Sardinia during 1971 proving that the CL-89 drone could be launched from a shore-based launcher and was capable of being recovered from the sea following its flight. Reusability was another question!



CL-89R

The “R” was simply a series of studies that investigated growth of the initial CL-89 vehicle to provide additional range capability. It was eventually superseded with the advent of the CL-289 drone system.



CL-89 / CL-91 Dynatrac and Naval Operations

Other launch system studies proposed that the CL-89 and the Canadair CL-91 Dynatrac articulated tracked vehicle be partnered for drone operations. The CL-91 was originally destined for the US Army, as the XM-571, being capable of traversing almost any type of dry, wet or rugged terrain. Different trailer configurations could be employed; one as a support vehicle to transport up to three flight-ready drones and one configured as the principal launcher platform. It was also determined that the drone portion of the system was readily adaptable to the target drone role, especially in the simulation of a cruise-missile type.

Additional development work resulted in the potential of a target drone variant for naval use at sea. A proposal was that two CL-89N drones could be carried readily on a small transport / launcher framework at the stern of a medium-sized, typical military fast boat. These studies were not proceeded with further.


Captions:
1-2. With the shoreline still in sight, a brightly red-painted and waterproofed CL-89 wallows flat in the sea floating on its dual inflated yellow landing bags after a short flight. The drone recovery team in a motor boat tows the waterlogged drone back for a full inspection and refurbishment as necessary. However, during this transit water eventually seeped in and the drone slowly upended leaving only the white-painted nose cone tip visibly bobbing for the team to effect the final salvage.
3-4. Here are two drawings depicting the CL-89 / CL-91 land system and the CL-89N sea faring proposal seen with their drones.

CL-289 (AN/USD-502) Drone - Early Design, Test and Development

In the early 1970s, Canadair undertook an extensive R&D programme as a follow-on from its successful CL-89 unmanned surveillance system. The first Advanced Design and Development Phase studies were of a CL-89 Mark 2 layout which was initially seen as a simple stretch of the CL-89 to give it more payload and range capabilities. While the concept was similar, the CL-289 was not directly a growth version of the CL-89 as has been commonly thought. In essence, the CL-289 was a larger air vehicle carrying more surveillance equipment and with greater range and performance capabilities. During a meeting in Germany, in September 1972, a proposal by Canadair and Dornier GmbH of Germany personnel was prepared for a study phase against a Corps Level Requirement for the German Army. This particular study eventually generated the CL-289 system which was all new technology, fully digital with an onboard computer controlling the flight of the drone, including automatic flight control, and mission profile.

The resulting new design, which was to meet a West German Army requirement, became an international collaboration between Canadair Limited, Dornier GmbH, and later, in March 1977 with the participation of the Société Anonyme de Télécommunications (SAT) of France. This design process culminated in the Canadair model CL-289 (NATO designation AN/USD-502) vehicle termed as an intermediate-range unmanned surveillance drone system.

Designed as the first ever corps-level unmanned drone system, this booster rocket-launched, Kloeckner-Humboldt-Deutz (KHD) T117 turbojet-propelled drone carried a standard tactical payload consisting of a Carl Zeiss KRB / 824D tri-lens reconnaissance camera. It could also carry in-situ an infrared Linescan (IRLS) system from SAT equipped with a real time data transmission capability. This was a significant tool to provide armies with a capability for obtaining reconnaissance information employing the new quasi-terrain following mode technology methods without putting any type of manned military aircraft in harm’s way in potentially hostile areas.

A pre-programmed autonomous flight profile enabled much greater range than its predecessor did and in addition, the drone had the ability to fly very low and then pop-up to seek information via its cameras and varied sensor suite. It then would dive back low in a quasi terrain-following mode to escape radar detection. The weight, speed, and range specifications of the CL-289 remain classified.

The flight hardware development and manufacturing phase began in July 1976 when Canadair was awarded a development contract to design, develop and test a prototype CL-289 / AN/USD-502 Surveillance Drone System. Individual component testing was carried out with or at outside support facilities. An all-metal, small-scale model – with and without a fully representative booster assembly, was tested in the National Research Council’s high-speed wind tunnel in Ottawa, Canada during January 1977. In March, a series of drop tests of the drone’s wrap-around Landing Bags configuration took place on a dedicated test fixture outside at Canadair’s Plant 1 facility. During August 1978, Dornier’s contribution towards component testing occurred with two live firings during Booster Dart Trials of a full-scale dummy CL-289 model. These tests were to prove the satisfactory dynamic firing of the rocket booster and its separation characteristics from the drone after firing. In January 1979, the first production KHD T-117 engine arrived at Canadair for a formal inspection prior to its installation in a drone. At the end of the month, the first Launcher Pedestal successfully passed its test and integration acceptance tests. These tests were performed at Canadair prior to airlifting the unit to Dornier.

On 17 April 1979, the first CL-289 drone was completed at Canadair and the first PR photos of it and the second-built Launcher along with Surveillance Systems engineering and manufacturing personnel were taken. Then, integration tests of these major components took place in preparation for their shipment to Dornier and final assembly onto the Pedestal and Launcher vehicle. The completed Drone Launcher assembly was then shipped via a Luftwaffe G.222 Transall transport aircraft from Dornier back to the Yuma Arizona test range for the CL-289 Contractor Flight Trials, scheduled to begin later in the year.

The formal so-called rollout of the first fully assembled CL-289 Drone and Launcher took place in late September 1989 at the Dornier GmbH plant in Germany. In November, the first shipment of flight drones, support vehicles and test equipment arrived at the familiar YPG facilities in Arizona from Canadair, Dornier and Hamburg. Using the flight designation “CT-“ for “Contractor Trials”, followed by a sequential series of double-digit numbers, the official flight test programme for the CL-289 began in 1980. These particular test and evaluation drones were painted in white and da-glo red rectangular sections along the length of the fuselage. This was to aid in their visual tracking during flight by ground-based observers and cameras. The swept cruciform wings located near the aft section were made of Kevlar composite material. These wings and the two pairs of yaw and pitch control canards on the nose were left unpainted as they were considered replaceable flight hardware items.


Captions:
1. This small-scale, early 1970s all metal wind tunnel model of the CL-289 displays an interesting kinked leading edge-wing design. This model has yet to be tested with the nose-mounted ADMU – the same unit seen employed on the earlier CL-89.
2. This CL-289 airflow pattern study model has a longer kinked leading edge-wing design.
3. A CL-289 model, with continuous straight leading edge wings, is seen in the high-speed wind tunnel at the National Research Council in Ottawa during January 1977. Tests concerned relocated sensor packages and engine configurations.
4. The Canadair’s Graphics Department produced a complete descriptive cutaway in 1979 of the CL-289 (AN/USD-502) Drone. By this time in the design process, the new configuration of the fully swept leading edge on the wings became standard.
5. Canadair / Dornier CL-289 Drone S/N 0001 painted in the high-visibility markings chosen for the initial flight trials, and the second Launcher Pedestal were unveiled in a formal ceremony at the Plant 1 Surveillance Systems’ manufacturing facility. The unpainted parts are of lightweight Kevlar composite material. These include the white-painted nose cone, canards, wings, dual intake ducts, tail cone, and the booster rocket fins. The airfoil-shaped items are considered disposable.

CL-389 Improved Drone Proposal

A preliminary engineering proposal was made by the Surveillance Systems Division in the early 1990s for an “Improved Drone” variant and the Canadair model number CL-389 was duly reserved for this new model design. This updated and modified drone would incorporate new avionics, new data recording, and new navigation systems all installed within and on the exterior of the revamped vehicle. No longer required units from the CL-289 included the Terminal Guidance Unit, Doppler Electronics Unit, Doppler Antenna Unit, Barometric Altitude Reference Unit, and the non-tactical GPS unit. Updated and improved units to be added to the Improved Drone included: Radar Altimeter Unit and antenna, Tactical GPS Unit and antenna, Video Tape Recorder, Strobe Light, and Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) Unit and antenna.

Despite a modest marketing campaign, there were no takers – domestic or foreign - on this new design towards commitments for future limited production, so the CL-389 remained simply just a paper exercise.


Caption:
The proposed CL-389 Improved Surveillance Drone did not progress beyond this drawing. (Modified drawing by Bill Upton)

All of the above posts are taken directly from the excellent publication CANADAIR CL-89 AND CL-289 AIRBORNE SURVEILLANCE DRONES (written by Bill Upton, published by the Canada Aviation and Space Museum).

I have only posted part of this 34-page PDF. All the testing phases and much of the operational career have been omitted.
You can download the entire file from here: http://documents.techno-science.ca/documents/CASM-Aircrafthistories-CanadairCL-89CL-289drones.pdf

Video and a brief description of the system in its CL-289/USD-502 form can be seen in this video from 32m59s:
View: https://youtu.be/B5LRAsj75yc?si=027-4rOhESa6Uq6l