The UAV as sensor platform -- from pioneer to global hawk: the development of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) has witnessed some important successes, but also many failures, and much remains to be accomplished. Armed services want real-time imagery, a quantum reduction in drone attrition rate and operators who do not need pilot ratings. Users also need to decide who is to receive UAV imagery and how it is exploited. (Complete Guide).From the mid-1960s the use of UAVs for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance may refer to:
South-East Asia south n → Südostasien nt South-East Asia n → and the former Yugoslavia. Drones (then known as RPVs, i.e., remotely-piloted vehicles) played a comparatively small part in the 1991 Gulf War, because the US services had begun to take a serious interest in their use less than ten years earlier, following losses of manned reconnaissance aircraft over Lebanon. The principal UAV UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV Unmanned Air Vehicle UAV Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle UAV Unmanned Airborne Vehicle UAV Uninhabited Air Vehicle UAV Urban Assault Vehicle UAV Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle (less common) employed in Desert Storm was the IAI IAI Infection And Immunity (journal) IAI International Alliance for Interoperability IAI Institut für Angewandte Informatik IAI Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research IAI International Association for Identification Pioneer, produced under licence by AAI AAI American Association of Immunologists. , and operated by the US Marine Corps. Six Pioneer units with a total of around 30 aircraft were deployed: three with USMC ground units, one with the US Army and two on Navy battleships The list of battleships includes all battleships since 1859, listed alphabetically. The list also contains battlecruisers which share most of the characteristics of a battleship or have otherwise been referred to as battleships. . They flew a total of 1560 hours in 483 sorties, but there were insufficient UAV assets to provide the continuous cover desired. Two Pioneers were lost to anti-aircraft artillery fire and five to non-combat causes. Of 19 more that suffered combat or non-combat damage, 13 were repaired in the field and six were returned to the AAI factory. The massive reduction in Pioneer availability was an important lesson of the Gulf War, but it appears to have been largely overlooked, perhaps because the Pioneer was regarded as only an interim system. Other UAVs then employed by the US were the BAI n. 1. a language spoken in the Dali region of Yunnan. Noun 1. Bai - the Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Dali region of Yunnan Baic Aerosystems BQM-147A Exdrone and the electrically-powered, hand-launched AeroVironment FQM-151A Pointer. Five Pointer systems with a total of 20 aircraft were deployed to the Gulf (some by Federal Express) to 'serve with USMC and Army units. The Pointer was very reliable, but its range of only five kilometres, its lack of GPS, its black-and-white video camera and difficult handling in high winds restricted its usefulness. If the ground war had been prolonged, Egypt's jet-powered Teledyne Ryan (now Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. ) Model 324 Scarab would also have been pressed into service. Allied Force The Kosovo operation of 1999 brought some more capable UAVs into play. The US services employed two new types: the Air Force's General Atomics General Atomics is a nuclear physics and defense contractor headquartered in San Diego, California. Among other things, it is the manufacturer of the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). RQ-1 Predator and the Army's IAI/TRW Hunter, while the Navy continued with the well-proven Pioneer, now jointly supported by IAI and TRW TRW The Real World (TV reality show) TRW The Right Way TRW Tactical Reconnaissance Wing TRW The Retriever Weekly (University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD) TRW Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc . America's UAVs provided target-location data and near real-time battle damage assessment The timely and accurate estimate of damage resulting from the application of military force, either lethal or nonlethal, against a predetermined objective. Battle damage assessment can be applied to the employment of all types of weapon systems (air, ground, naval, and special forces for Nato's Combined Air Operations Center See: tactical air control center. (CAOC CAOC Combined Air Operations Center CAOC Chief Acquisition Officers Council CAOC Combined Aerospace Operations Center CAOC combat air operations center (US DoD) CaOC Cathodal Opening Contraction CAOC Constant Axial Offset Control ) in Italy. In addition, US Navy UAVs conducted surveillance of surface ships and coastal areas. However, the only UAVs in the area at the start of Operation Allied Force was a German Army Bombardier/ Dornier CL-289 unit, the 100th Drone Battery, which was based in Macedonia from the end of 1998. This situation arose because US Air Force Predators (deployed to Hungary in late 1998) had been withdrawn due to icing problems. Following the first Nato air strikes on March 24,1999, the Predators returned, operating from Tuzla AB in Bosnia and Petrovec airport in Macedonia, where the US Army sent some IAI/TRW Hunters. These were later moved to Albania, where the Central Intelligence Agency had earlier based its General Atomics Gnat-750s. The French Army deployed CL-289s to Macedonia, and the British Army The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with unification of the governments and armed forces of England and Scotland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. for the first time deployed the BAE Systems BAE Systems British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products. BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. Phoenix. The US Marine Corps employed ship-based IAI/TRW Pioneers for surveillance of naval vessels operating from Montenegro, and to provide targeting information for Boeing AGM-84 Slams fired from P-3Cs. The jet-powered CL-289 had the advantage of a short transit time transit time the time required for ingesta to pass through the gastrointestinal tract; a shorter transit time is seen in conditions associated with gut hypermotility, such as diarrhea. Delayed passage from any cause results in a longer transit time. , but could not be retasked in flight. Its Zeiss Krt 8/24D camera provided excellent still imagery, which could be passed to Nato's Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) in Italy by e-mail or high-quality fax. The Predator's colour video imagery was also highly regarded by Nato planners. Both the Predator and the Hunter could transmit near real-time imagery to ground stations by means of the Pentagon GBS See GB/sec. (Global Broadcast System), and this won popularity with CAOC. European systems may not have always received the attention they deserved. The availability of UAV imagery was limited in relation to the number of strike sorties (up to 300 per day), and introduced new problems. Following the accidental bombing of civilian targets, it was ruled that the identity of targets of opportunity found by pilots of combat aircraft had to be confirmed by a second source, such as an airborne Fac (forward air controller) or from UAV imagery. However, at America's insistence, the latter type of confirmation could be provided only by Nato's air commander at CAOC, not by a Fac at the UAV ground station. At times the shortage of airborne Facs and UAVs in the area led to long delays in target confirmation, with obvious consequences. Satellite links made American near real-time imagery widely available, but this created the risk of micro-management from Brussels, to the frustration of field commanders. In the future, Washington may likewise interfere with the day-to-day running of operations. Attrition This first multi-national employment of UAVs demonstrated an attrition rate Noun 1. attrition rate - the rate of shrinkage in size or number rate of attrition rate - a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit; "they traveled at a rate of 55 miles per hour"; "the rate of change was faster than expected" that was on an order higher than that for manned aircraft. The Serbs claim to have shot down 25 UAVs over Kosovo alone, and others were destroyed over Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro (sûr`bēə, mŏn'tənē`grō), Serbian Srbija i Crna Gora, former country of SE Europe, in the Balkan Peninsula, a short-lived union (2003–6) of the republics of Serbia and the much . The best available estimate on the Nato side appears to be that a total of 27 UAVs were lost in the course of Operation Allied Force, including six in accidents. The combat losses are believed to consist of nine by the US services (five Hunters, two Predators and two Pioneers), five German CL-289s, two French CL-289s and three Sagem Crecerelles and two British Phoenix. Factors increasing attrition included the Serbs' experience in dealing with UAVs during the previous five years, topographical restrictions on UAV launch sites and entry routes, and unsafe operational techniques. For example, German CL-289s were reportedly launched at the same time each day, facilitating interception. Knowing the likely entry route, the Serbs could position an Mi-8 with a door-mounted 7.62 mm machine gun to attack the UAV. This led to the bizarre situation of UAVs being given fighter cover The maintenance of a number of fighter aircraft over a specified area or force for the purpose of repelling hostile air activities. See also airborne alert; cover. ! Some UAVs are believed to have been attacked with shoulder-launched Sams, leading to the idea that future drones should have flare-dispensers. Many lessons were learned over Kosovo, including the need for long-range UAV's if only to overcome the diplomatic problems of basing units in neighbouring countries that feared retaliation from Serbia. US Developments Ever since air-launched Teledyne Ryan AQM-34 Firebees were first employed over Vietnam in August 1964, the US has led in long-range UAVs. It may be noted that the sortie-based loss rate over Vietnam was approximately four per cent, and that the use of ISR Firebees was terminated in 1978, although their use as targets continues. In the 1980s the US purchased Israeli UAVs as an interim measure and planned more ambitious domestic developments;including a phased series of endurance drones, which would exploit increasing levels of stealth technology stealth technology, designs and materials engineered for the military purpose of avoiding detection by radar or any other electronic system. Stealth, or antidetection, technology is applied to vehicles (e.g. . Tier I is the Rotax-engined General Atomics Gnat-750, which first flew in 1989. The air vehicle has a unit cost of $1.2 to 1.8 million, depending on sensor fit, and the ground station is reported to cost between $ 5 and 6 million. From 1994 the Gnat-750 has been employed by the CIA CIA: see Central Intelligence Agency. (1) (Confidentiality Integrity Authentication) The three important concerns with regards to information security. Encryption is used to provide confidentiality (privacy, secrecy). in flights over the former Yugoslavia, operating from airfields in Albania and Croatia. A batch was sold to Turkey in 1993, and two air vehicles may well have been acquired by the UK. The series has been further developed into the Gnat-XP and the Ignat, and the latter (which has five external hardpoints) is in production for an overseas customer. Tier II is represented by the General Atomics RQ-1A Predator medium-altitude endurance UAV. It might be characterised as an enlarged Gnat with a more powerful Rotax engine. The baseline version is reported to cost around $ 2 million with a $ 350 000 sensor package mounted in a Versatron/ Wescam Skyball ventral ventral /ven·tral/ (ven´tral) 1. pertaining to the abdomen or to any venter. 2. directed toward or situated on the belly surface; opposite of dorsal. ven·tral adj. turret. Maiden flight Noun 1. maiden flight - the first flight of its kind; "the Stealth bomber made its maiden flight in 1989" flying, flight - an instance of traveling by air; "flying was still an exciting adventure for him" took place in 1994 and it was first deployed for operations over Bosnia in 1995. This series has now performed over 25 000 flight hours; including nine combat deployments to the Balkans and South-West Asia. The Predator has GPS and is routinely controlled by pilot-rated US Air Force officers, if necessary using Kuband satellite links for over-the-horizon operations. It has also been controlled from a submerged submarine, the crew of which were able to watch real-time EO/IR EO/IR Electro-Optical/Infra-Red imagery from the drone. Standard equipment consists of two colour video cameras, a flir and a Northrop Grumman ZPQ-1 Tesar (tactical endurance synthetic aperture radar Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Radar, airborne or satellite-borne, that uses special signal processing to produce high-resolution images of the surface of the Earth (or another object) while traversing a considerable flight path. ). The Predator is the only unmanned reconnaissance system in the US inventory capable of providing day/night all weather near real-time video imagery worldwide. General Atomics also offers the Lynx radar, developed in co-operation with Sandia Laboratories. Lynx gives a resolution of 3 metres at 160 km range, but can also provide a resolution of 0.1 metres over a reduced area. Lynx is available as a Cots (commercial off-the-shelf Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) is a term for software or hardware, generally technology or computer products, that are ready-made and available for sale, lease, or license to the general public. ) item. General Atomics is believed to have completed 72 Predators for the US Air Force, US Navy and CIA. Last March the company was awarded a contract for a further seven for the Air Force, with an option on seven more. Italy is to acquire five Predators (with an option on three more), of which four are to be assembled locally by Meteor. Under a technology demonstration programme sponsored by Eucom (US European Command) into the effects of attacks on chemical warfare chemical warfare, employment in war of incendiaries, poison gases, and other chemical substances. Ancient armies attacking or defending fortified cities threw burning oil and fireballs. A primitive type of flamethrower was employed as early as the 5th cent. B.C. facilities, it is planned to track the resulting plume by means of sensors mounted on a Predator and on small Finder UAVs carried by the Predator. The Finder is being developed by the US Naval Research Laboratory Noun 1. Naval Research Laboratory - the United States Navy's defense laboratory that conducts basic and applied research for the Navy in a variety of scientific and technical disciplines NRL . The Predator B is a growth version of the RQ-1 with a Honeywell TPE TPE Thermoplastic Elastomer TPE Terminal de Paiement Electronique (French) TPE Total Power Exchange TPE Twisted Pair Ethernet TPE Tampines Expressway (Singapore) TPE Therapeutic Plasma Exchange 331 turboprop turboprop: see turbine. turboprop Hybrid engine that provides jet thrust and also drives a propeller. It is similar to the turbojet except that an added turbine, behind the combustion chamber, works through a shaft and speed-reducing gears to turn a engine and increased wingspan. It offers a 50 per cent greater payload and almost double the cruise speed, giving much shorter deployment and repositioning times (e.g., from the Balkans to South-West Asia). The first of three prototypes had its maiden flight last February. One of the prototypes is to be equipped with a Williams FJ44 turbofan. Tier III was to have been a large, stealthy stealth·y adj. stealth·i·er, stealth·i·est Marked by or acting with quiet, caution, and secrecy intended to avoid notice. See Synonyms at secret. UAV, but this programme was cancelled in view of its unacceptably high cost. In its place the US launched two intermediate projects: the stealthy Tier III-Minus in the form of the Lockheed Martin/Boeing RQ-3A DarkStar (which first flew in 1996, but was terminated three years later) and the Tier II-Plus Northrop Grumman RQ-4A Global Hawk. Global Hawk The RQ-4A (see cover photo) is a high altitude Conventionally, an altitude above 10,000 meters (33,000 feet). See also altitude. endurance UAV, powered by a Rolls-Royce AE3007H turbofan, and capable of a maximum endurance of 42 hours. It is also designed to respond to an emergency by self-deploying over 8350 km in 14 hours, then remain on station for a further 22 hours at over 60 000 ft before continuing for five more hours to land at a forward operating base An airfield used to support tactical operations without establishing full support facilities. The base may be used for an extended time period. Support by a main operating base will be required to provide backup support for a forward operating base. Also called FOB. . Global Hawk first flew in 1998, and so far five have been completed, of which one crashed following the accidental transmission of a flight termination signal termination signal a specific sequence in DNA at which the RNA polymerase and the newly made RNA transcript are released from their DNA association. . The programme is currently in the EMD EMD Electromechanical dissociation, see there (engineering manufacturing development) phase, which runs until 2003, but the Lrip (low-rate initial production) contract is due to be signed in November. This will generate two aircraft per year, although this rate is likely to be increased. Unit production flyaway fly·a·way adj. 1. Made or worn loose or draped, as to allow or suggest fluttering in the wind: a flyaway coat; long, flyaway hair. 2. a. cost is estimated as $15.3 million. Standard equipment includes a Recon/Optical high-resolution digital optical camera and a Raytheon Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS ISS See Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). ), combining an EO/IR sensor (a Raytheon thermal imager and a Kodak digital CCD camera See digital camera. ), and a Raytheon Sar/MTI radar. The latter provides a resolution of one metre in the wide-area search mode, covering a ten-kilometre wide strip running parallel to the flight path, and offset by 20 to 200 km. In this mode it can cover more than 100 000 sq km in 24 hours. Resolution can be improved to 0.3 metres in the spot mode, searching a two-kilometre square. The Global Hawk has an aspect ratio of 25, and a maximum lift/drag ratio of 33:1. It has been flown for a distance of 25 000 km, a duration of 31.5 hr, and to a height of 66 400 ft. Interestingly, mid-air relights are not possible. In 1999 a Global Hawk flew from Florida to Portugal and back, without refuelling re·fu·el v. re·fu·eled also re·fu·elled, re·fu·el·ing also re·fu·el·ling, re·fu·els also re·fu·els v.tr. To supply again with fuel. v.intr. . In April this year one self-deployed from Edwards AFB AFB abbr. acid-fast bacillus AFB Acid-fast bacillus, also 1. Aflatoxin B 2. Aorto-femoral bypass in California non-stop to RAAF RAAF Royal Australian Air Force RAAF n abbr (Mil) (= Royal Australian Air Force) → australische Luftwaffe f Edinburgh, South Australia Edinburgh ' () is a northern suburb of Adelaide, in South Australia. It is an industrial suburb dominated by RAAF Base Edinburgh and DSTO Edinburgh. , in a 23.4-hour flight of almost 14 000 km. The series has now completed more than 1000 flight hours. A further demonstration deployment is planned for next year, in this case to Germany, probably leading to Global Hawk's debut at Berlin's ILA-2002 air show. It is anticipated that the Global Hawk will attain initial operational capability The first attainment of the capability to employ effectively a weapon, item of equipment, or system of approved specific characteristics that is manned or operated by an adequately trained, equipped, and supported military unit or force. Also called IOC. in 2003 at Beale AFB, California, alongside the U-2 that it may eventually replace. The current Block 5 RQ-4A is due to be superseded by the Block 10 with two underwing payload pods, and later by the Block 20 with a larger wing, more powerful engine and a larger payload capacity. Plans for further developments include an increase in electrical power, and the introduction of an improved radar, most likely the Northrop Grumman/Raytheon MP-Rtip (Multi-Platform -- Radar Technology Insertion Program). It has been proposed that the improved radar should also provide a limited air-to-air capability, since Congress is interested in using Global Hawk in drug-interdiction. Pentagon officials are talking of operating 30 examples of a dedicated signals intelligence version, in addition to 48 standard Global Hawks. Northrop Grumman currently lacks authorisation to market the aircraft, but the Australian Defence Ministry has already announced that it will seek price and availability data from the Pentagon, with a view to signing a contract for up to six Global Hawks in 2004/2005, and first delivery in 2007. The company is meanwhile studying with Eads a `Eurohawk' version with European sensors. US Army The US Army has suffered a long series of UAV setbacks, from the Aquila to the Outrider out·rid·er n. 1. A guide; an escort. 2. One that goes in advance; a forerunner. 3. A mounted attendant who rides in front of or beside a carriage. . The service currently operates one TRW/IAI Hunter system, but this is to be withdrawn, once the AAI RQ-7A Shadow 200 is established in service. At the end of 1999, AAI (a subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation), teamed with Raytheon, was selected to supply the Army's TUAV TUAV Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Tactical UAV). The first tour Lrip Shadow 200 systems for initial operational testing (testing) operational testing - A US DoD term for testing performed by the end-user on software in its normal operating environment. and evaluation (IOT&E) have been delivered, and in April the Army exercised its option for four more. Despite accidents in trials, the Army plans to acquire 36 additional systems over the next four years, each with three air vehicles. The Shadow 200 is launched from an inclined rail by a hydraulic catapult, and lands automatically by means of Sierra Nevada's Tals (Tactical Automatic Landing System). Its principal sensor will be the Northrop Grumman TUAVR TUAVR Tactical UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) Radar (US Army) (tactical UAV radar), derived from the Tesar used in Predator, and generating both Sar and MTI MTI Ministry of Trade and Industry (Singapore) MTI Metal Treating Institute MTI Moving Target Indicator (radar) MTI Magyar Távirati Iroda (news agency in Budapest, Hungary) imagery. The Shadow 200 is a lighter derivative of the Shadow 400, which is similar in size to the AAI-built Pioneer, and has been purchased by the South Korean Navy Korean navy may refer to:
. The Shadow 600, as operated by Romania, is the largest of the series, with a twelve-hour endurance. US Navy Following experience with the rail-launched IAI/AAI Pioneer (of which four systems are still in use), the US Navy developed a requirement for a VTUAV VTUAV VTOL Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (US DoD Fire Scout) (vertical take-off and landing UAV) that could operate from a shipboard ship·board n. 1. The condition of being aboard a ship: on shipboard. 2. Archaic The side of a ship. adj. helicopter pad, regardless of wind direction. The VTUAV will also be required to operate from unprepared landing zones close to the battle area. It is to carry a 90-kg payload and loiter loiter v. to linger or hang around in a public place or business where one has no particular or legal purpose. In many states, cities, and towns there are statutes or ordinances against loitering by which the police can arrest someone who refuses to "move along. for three hours at 200 km radius and at heights of up to 200 000 ft. In 1998 the US Navy funded a three-month test programme involving the Bombardier CL-327 Guardian, the Guardian, The formerly The Manchester Guardian Influential newspaper published in London and Manchester, Eng., considered one of Britain's best papers. Bell Helicopter Bell Helicopter Textron is an American helicopter and tiltrotor manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A division of Textron, Bell manufactures military helicopter and tiltrotor products in the United States (primarily in and around Fort Worth as well as in Amarillo, Textron Eagle Eye tilt-rotor, and the SAIC SAIC - http://saic.com. (Science Applications International Corp) Vigilante vigilante n. someone who takes the law into his/her own hands by trying and/or punishing another person without any legal authority. In the 1800s groups of vigilantes dispensed "frontier justice" by holding trials of accused horse-thieves, rustlers and shooters, and , an unmanned version of the two-seat Ultrasport 496 kit-built helicopter. In February 2000 Northrop Grumman was awarded a $ 93.7 million 42-month EMD contract for the Model 379 Fire Scout, based on the four-seat Schweizer 330SP helicopter and powered by a Rolls-Royce Model 250 turboshaft tur·bo·shaft n. A gas turbine engine that powers a rotating cylindrical shaft, as to a pump or a helicopter rotor. . This was followed in May 2001 by a $14.2 million Lrip contract. The Fire Scout VTUAV has an avionics suite that includes GPS navigation See GPS. , a laser-designator and an EO/IR sensor for which Northrop Grumman's Electronics Sensors & Systems Sector is teamed with IAI/ Taman. An attractive feature of Fire Scout is that a great deal of development flying can be carried out with a safety pilot on board. A late entry in the VTUAV contest was the Sikorsky Cypher The Cypher and Cypher II are types of unmanned aerial vehicles developed by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. They are vertical takeoff and landing aircraft which use two opposing rotors enclosed in a circular shroud for propulsion. II, a further development of the baseline ducted-fan Cypher See cipher. , with the addition of wings and a ducted propeller. The US Marine Corps ordered two prototypes under the designation Dragon Warrior, but lost interest when problems arose with the drive system. It is understood that the US Army Night Vision Labs will now use these vehicles as sensor testbeds. Tethered Attached to a data or power source by wire or fiber. Contrast with untethered. flight tests began in June. Another VTOL VTOL n. A convertiplane that can take off and land vertically. [v(ertical) t(ake)o(ff and) l(anding).] VTOL vertical takeoff and landing project is the Frontier Systems A160 Hummingbird, two examples of which are being constructed under Darpa (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), U.S. government agency administered by the Department of Defense (see Defense, United States Department of). ) funding in order to establish the feasibility of long-endurance VTOL UAVs. The A160 is intended to achieve an endurance of more than 40 hours. A more conventional approach to endurance UAVs appears to be planned for the US Navy's MRE MRE abbr. meal ready to eat (Multi-Role Endurance) vehicle programme. Small risk-reduction contracts were placed with Martin and Northrop Grumman in April 2000. The US Navy's Program Executive Office for Cruise Missiles and UAVs is also responsible for the Northrop Grumman BQM-145A Medium Range UAV programme, which was terminated in 1993, following cancellation of its Advanced Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance System Advanced Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance System (ATARS) is a system for image acquisition, data storage, and data link used by the United States Marine Corps on it F/A-18D Hornet aircraft. payload. First flight nonetheless took place in 1997, and the six vehicles built were used for a variety of tests. The jet-powered drone is still marketed as a means to provide high quality electronic imagery of heavily defended enemy territory. The low-cost BAI Aerosystems BQM-147A Exdrone has been built in hundreds, and is still operated by the US Army and the US Marine Corps. The latter is upgrading some Exdrones to Dragon Drone standard, which includes a 32-bit unified autopilot, an Inframetrics MILCAM-XP thermal imager, an ALST ALST Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto (Canada) ALST Assistant Life Support Technician ALST All Stations laser rangefinder A device which uses laser energy for determining the distance from the device to a place or object. and a new ground station. Dragon Drone is being used by the US Marine Corps in advanced warfighting experiments. BAI Aerosystems has recently been awarded a contract from NRL Noun 1. NRL - the United States Navy's defense laboratory that conducts basic and applied research for the Navy in a variety of scientific and technical disciplines Naval Research Laboratory to manufacture the Dragon Eye This article is about a US Marine Corps unmanned aerial vehicle. For the manga by Kairi Fujiyama, see Dragon Eye (manga). The Dragon Eye Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is a 2. mini UAV system for the US Marine Corps Warfighting Lab. Although developed primarily as a high altitude research There are a wide range of potential applications for research at high altitude, including medical, physiological, and cosmic physics research. High altitude medical research UAV, the General Atomics Altus has recently been employed in medium altitude signals intelligence and surveillance trials off the California coast in support of US Navy and Marine Corps operations. Israel The Malat division of IAI traces its experience back to the IAI Scout of 1976. This led to the Scout II of 1981, and four years later the IAI/AAI Pioneer, of which over 200 examples were purchased by the US Navy. The Ranger (another twin-boom, single pusher pusher Drug slang 1. A person who sells drugs, especially the 'heavies'–eg, heroin 2. A metal hanger or umbrella rod used to scrape residue in crack stems engine design) was developed through the co-operation of Swiss companies This is a list of Swiss companies, currently active and former ones: : A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z See also External links A
In late 1995, a contract was signed to purchase four Ranger systems for the Swiss Army (designated ADS 95), each with seven air vehicles and two ground control stations. In 1999 the Finnish Ministry of Defence ordered one Ranger. The deployment in Finland will take place in fall 2001 while the deployment in Switzerland was completed in 1999. The Ranger system has thus far completed over 1500 flight missions with more than 2200 total flight hours. The Ranger employs an automatic take-off and landing system based on a laser tracker A device which locks on to the reflected energy from a laser marked/designated target and defines the direction of the target relative to itself. , and the UAV's can be launched either by hydro-pneumatic catapult (no pyrotechnics pyrotechnics (pī'rōtĕk`nĭks, pī'rə–), technology of making and using fireworks. Gunpowder was used in fireworks by the Chinese as early as the 9th cent. ) or conventional wheeled take-off. The recovery is by skids or a wheeled landing. An electro-optical TV/Flir payload provides for both day and night intelligence capabilities. A Sar sensor is in the making, and other sensors for mine detection, gamma radiation gamma radiation, high-energy photons emitted as one of the three types of radiation resulting from natural radioactivity. It is the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation, with a very short wavelength (high frequency). measurement and Elint missions are supposedly in an advanced project stage. Basic system characteristics include a range of 180 km, a maximum altitude of 15 000 ft and an endurance of up to 8 hours with a single ground station. Following the successful use of the landing System in Switzerland, Belgium and Finland, last May C.O.E.L. was awarded a contract by Ruag Aerospace for the development and delivery of next-generation optronics. The IAI/Malat series of single-engined drones led in 1988 to the Searcher, a multi-role, long endurance, high capacity UAV that provides day/night real-time imagery. The improved Searcher II is in service with the Israel Defense Force (IDF (Intermediate Distribution Frame) A wiring rack located between the MDF (main distribution frame) and the intended end user devices (telephones, routers, PCs, etc.). Cables run from the outside world to the MDF and then to the IDFs. See MDF and wiring rack. ), and is still in production for foreign customers. An example was shown at Le Bourget Le Bourget is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 10.6 km. (6.6 miles) from the center of Paris. A very small part of Le Bourget airport lies on the territory of the commune of Le Bourget, which nonetheless gave its name to the airport. last June equipped with an IAI/Elta AWL/M-2055 Sar, the first such installation in a UAV of that size. In 1987 IAI first flew the Impact, a twin-engined push-pull configuration For other uses of "push-pull", see Push-pull. An aircraft constructed with a push-pull configuration has a mixture of forward-mounted (tractor) propellers and backward-mounted (pusher) propellers. An early example of a "push-pull" aircraft was the Caproni Ca. , which served as the prototype for the Hunter. The US Army and Marine Corps adopted the Hunter in 1989 as their short-range system. It was subsequently ordered by the Belgian Army The Land Component, formerly the Belgian Army, is the land-based armed force of the Belgian Armed Forces. The current Commander of the Land Component is Major-General Eddy Testelmans. , which uses an automatic take-off and landing system similar to that employed for the Swiss Ranger. The Hunter has also been used by the French Army in a five-year trials programme (including operations over Kosovo) to evaluate its all-weather target acquisition and laser designation capability. Interest in long endurance UAVs led to the medium altitude IAI Heron The Heron or Machatz-1 is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle developed by the Malat (UAV) division of Israel Aircraft Industries. It is capable of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) operations of up to 52 hours' duration at up to 35,000 feet. , which first flew in late 1994. In the following year it made a 51 hr 21 min flight carrying a 200 kg payload. The Heron was used as testbed for the Elta EL/M-2022U maritime surveillance radar, which weighs approximately 40 kg, detects small ships at around 120 km, and can track 32 targets while continuing to scan. The Heron TP is a much heavier (3000 kg) turboprop derivative with a further increase in wingspan. Late last year the Indian Army This article is about the post-independence Indian Army. For the Indian Army under British rule, see British Indian Army. The Indian Army is one of the armed forces of India and has responsibility for land-based military operations. signed a $ 300 million contract for up to ten Searcher IIs and at least four Herons. This followed a smaller contract in 1997 for a 16-aircraft batch of Searchers and Hunters. Combining the long-span wing and the tail surfaces of the Heron with the fuselage of the Hunter produced the E-Hunter (Endurance-Hunter), which is intended to compete with the General Atomics Predator. The E-Hunter first flew in 1995. At Le Bourget in June, IAI showed the lightweight Aerosky, developed by Aeronautics Unmanned Systems, with which IAI has recently signed an agreement to co-operate on UAVs. The smallest of the IAI/Malat range is the 80 kg Eye View, which is distinguished visually by its inverted inverted reverse in position, direction or order. inverted L block a pattern of local filtration anesthesia commonly used in laparotomy in the ox. vee-tail. It first flew in 1996 and is one of the few UAVs ever demonstrated in flight at a major international air show (Fidae-98 in Chile). Eye View was designed to carry the Tamam Plug-in Optronic Payload (Pop), which combines daylight and infrared sensors. Malat is also developing a larger (130 kg) Eye View 2 derivative to accommodate heavier payloads. Air vehicles designed by IAI/Malat are now in service in fourteen countries. Reports from Israel suggest that the Eye View was designed as a rival for the 55 kg Mini-V developed by the Silver Arrow Silver Arrow might refer to
in full charge-coupled device Semiconductor device in which the individual semiconductor components are connected so that the electrical charge at the output of one device provides the input to the next device. video camera with a 50 to 300 mm zoom lens, and a 16 mm wide-angle still camera. On an increasing weight scale, the next air vehicle in the Silver Arrow range is the 155 kg Sniper. It is powered by a 28.3 kW Wankel-type powerplant produced by the UK-based UAV Engines, which is owned by Elbit. The Sniper is rail-launched and recovered by means of a parachute and air bags, although a wheeled undercarriage is available for training. The principal Silver Arrow endurance UAV appears to be the single-engined Hermes 450 (earlier designated 450S), which has a maximum flight duration of 20 hours. It is now operational with the IDF, as part of the service's modernisation programme. The airframe is largely of composite construction, and the Hermes 450 has an endurance of 20 hours. It is designed to carry such payloads as the Northrop Grumman Tesar synthetic aperture radar, E1-Op Compass, and the Controp DSP-1. The Hermes 450 was shown at Le Bourget in satellite communications configuration, with broadband systems to transfer real-time imagery to ground control stations. A differential GPS system is available for automatic take-off and landing. Whereas the Indian Army is receiving UAVs from IAI/Malat, the Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (भारतीय वायु सेना : Bharatiya Vayu Sena) is the air-arm of the Armed Forces of India and has the prime responsibility of conducting aerial warfare and securing the has reportedly ordered the Silver Arrow Hermes 450. The twin-engined Elbit Systems Hermes 1500, which is being developed jointly with the IDF, is much heavier (the Hermes model number indicating approximate gross weight in kilograms). The Hermes 1500 is, in fact, considerably heavier than the Predator, E-Hunter and Heron. Payload options include the Elta EL/M-2055 Sar. Elbit is responsible for the common ground control station (CGCS CGCS Council of Great City Schools CGCS Canadian Government Cataloguing System CGCS Centre for Global Change Science CGCS Central Gulf Coast Section (ASNE) CGCS Central Gateway Communications Subsystem ), which is based on that for the Hermes 450. Maximum endurance is 40 hours. The Hermes 1500 first flew in 1998. It has recently been announced that the wingspan is to be increased by 50 per cent to 15 metres, to enable it to meet IDF requirements. France In 2000, Matra BAe Dynamics Matra BAe Dynamics was formed in August 1996 by merger of half the missile business of Matra Defense of France and BAe Dynamics (a division of British Aerospace) of the UK and was Europe's largest manufacturer of missiles and UAVs. , Aerospatiale Matra (now part of Eads) and CAC See Consumer Advisory Council. Systemes formed a joint venture to combine their UAV interests. In the very short-range category (i.e. ranges less than 70 km and endurances less than four hours), this brought together the CAC Fox AT and the AeroVironment Pointer. In the short-range tactical category (70 to 300 km range, and five to ten hours endurance), the partnership brought together the Canadair/Aerospatiale CL-289 Piver (Programmation, Interpretation, Visualisation d'Engins de Reconnaissance) and the Eurodrone Brevel. In the medium-altitude long endurance (Male) category (200 to 1000 km range and 10 to 30 hr endurance) it introduced the Eagle 1 and 2, respectively based on the IAI/Malat Heron and turboprop Heron TP. In the high-altitude long endurance (Hale) strategic intelligence category (transcontinental range and an endurance of more than one day), effort was to be concentrated on the Aerospatiale Matra Fregate project, designed to fly for over 30 hr at up to 60 000 ft. In May it was announced that France's DGA DGA Directors Guild of America (movie directors union) DGA Délégation Générale pour l'Armement (France) DGA Directeur-Grootaandeelhouder (Dutch: Managing Director and Major Shareholder) (Delegation Generale pour l'Armament) had chosen the turboprop-powered Eads Eagle (derived from the IAI Heron TP) for the French Air Force's Male role, in preference to America's Predator, which had been promoted by Sagem. It is anticipated that up to five Eagle systems will be purchased. The air vehicle will be equipped with Sar/MTI radar, TV, flir and a satellite communications link. Sagem has marketed several foreign UAVs as alternatives to indigenous designs, but has also developed the Crecerelle. This has been used for several years by the French Army, which has recently ordered a communications jammer version. The Sperwer is a major improvement, with longer range and endurance, and is distinguished by its twin vertical tails. The Sperwer has been adopted by the Netherlands and Denmark, Sweden and France. Sweden operates a cold climate derivative under the name Ugglan (Owl). The three-nation export total is currently 60 air vehicles. Last year Sagem unveiled its hand-launched TMD TMD Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction TMD Theater Missile Defense TMD Transmembrane Domain TMD Temporomandibular Disorder TMD Tuned Mass Damper TMD Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co., Ltd. 3 lightweight UAV. Where the name Sperwer once designated a single aircraft type it now refers to a family of drones, since two new versions -- the LE for long endurance and the HV for high velocity -- were unveiled at the 2001 Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (Salon International de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace, Paris-Le Bourget) is an international trade fair for the aerospace business. It is held at Le Bourget airport near Paris, France every odd year, alternating both with the Farnborough International . Sagem's aim was to enable current users of Sperwer aircraft to opt for other applications and performance without needing to change either the existing infrastructure or ground station. Thus, not only is the same basic fuselage retained for the two new models to enable them to use the same catapult, but so are the internal guidance electronics, avionics and downlink systems. The Sperwer LE thus features a new 6.5-metre span wing. Its twelve-hour endurance was sought not for longer ranges but rather for longer loiter times. It can act as a data relay station, detect artillery fire and carry missile launch sensors. This bird should have its maiden flight by the end of 2001. The Sperwer HV, for its part, is a longer-term project. The airframe is subjected to more severe modifications since it will be powered by a Microturbo TRS See traffic engineering methods. TRS - term rewriting system 18-1 jet engine. Intended for high-speed (740 km/hour) low altitude penetrations and laser target designation, it is equipped with canards to enhance controllability. Springing off the catapult rail at about 100 knots, it will have a 200-kilometre, line-of-sight range. Dassault has embarked on a series of UAV technology demonstrators (the Petit/Moyen/Grand Duc series), and in July 2000 flew the stealthy twin-jet AVE (Aeronef de Validation Experimental). However, the company's emphasis appears to be on unmanned combat air vehicles, rather than ISR. France is cooperating with Germany in the Eurodrone consortium, in which Matra BAe Dynamics (now MBDA MBDA Minority Business Development Agency (US Department of Commerce) MBDA Michigan Broadband Development Authority MBDA Minnesota Band Directors Association MBDA Matra BAE Dynamics Alenia MBDA Magnolia Ballroom Dancers' Association ) is teamed with STN Atlas. The principal Eurodrone project to date is the Brevel, of which the German Army is buying 16 systems with a total of 80 air vehicles, under the KZO KZO Kleinfluggerät Zielortung (German army unmanned air vehicle) KZO Koninklijke Zout–organon (Dutch: Royal silk organisation; now: AKZO) KZO Koninklijke Zwanenberg-Organon designation. The Brevel is a stealthy reconnaissance drone with a high-definition thermal camera jointly developed by STN Atlas and Zeiss. The Tucan is a simpler, non-stealthy endurance UAV that is being offered for export. In 2000, STN Atlas Elektronik received a concept definition contract from the German Procurement Agency (BWB BWB Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung (German: Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement) BWB Blended Wing Body (flying wing) BWB British Waterways Board ) for an ESM (1) (Enterprise Storage Management) Managing the online, nearline and offline storage within a large organization. It includes analysis of storage requirements as well as making routine copies of files and databases for backup, archiving, disaster recovery, (electronic support measures) drone known as the Fledermaus (Bat). On a more modest scale than the KZO, the German Army in 1996 evaluated a number of lightweight observation drones under the Luna programme. In 1997 the Bavarian EMT See Efficient markets theory. company, which had earlier developed a target drone, was awarded a contract for four pre-production UAVs, designated Luna X-2000. The drone is bungee-launched from a rail and recovered by parachute. An unusual feature is that (having a sailplane-like wing) it can glide for a considerable distance, allowing its acoustic signature to be eliminated over the targeted area. Although not yet formally in service with the German Army, a prototype flew 27 sorties over Kosovo. Another potentially important German UAV is the Dasa Dornier (now Eads) Seamos, a VTOL radar platform that employs a coaxial rotor system (based on that of the Gyrodyne QH-50 drone helicopter). Seamos is intended to equip the German Navy's forthcoming K130 corvettes. Miscellany Austria's principal contribution to UAV development appears to be the lightweight Camcopter, manufactured by Schiebel of Vienna. It has been evaluated by the US Army and the German Defense Ministry as a means of detecting mines, and by a US Joint Interagency Task Force in operations from the Coast Guard cutter Valiant. The Camcopter has also been purchased by the Egyptian Navy. China is known to have copied the Ryan Firebee under the name Changkong, and at the Zhuhai airshow late last year some details were revealed of the current production version, with GPS/INS GPS/INS Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System navigation. It was said to have a range of 2500 km and a ceiling of 57 500 ft. Beijing Wisewell Avionics presented its Shark-2 and Merlin-2 surveillance UAVs, and the Nanjing Research Institute exhibits included the W-30 and W-50, with endurances of four and six hours respectively. Guizhou Aviation Industry, which is primarily concerned with two-seat derivatives of the MiG-21, is developing the stealthy, twin-jet WZ-2000. The Czech Republic's principal product in the UAV field is the Sojka (Jay), which was designed by the Air Force Research Institute 030 in Prague and has been in service with the Czech Army since 1995. It was later marketed by Hungary's AviaTronic. The standard payload is a black-and-white CCD video camera and an Intertechnique Camelia infrared line scanner. Italy's Meteor is part of the Alenia Difesa group, owned by the State agency Finmeccanica. Meteor is probably best known for its target drones, which have been widely exported, but it also produces the propeller-driven Mirach 20 and 26 and the jet-powered Mirach 150 reconnaissance UAVs. All three types are in service with the Italian Army. Following the Kosovo conflict, Meteor received additional orders for the Mirach 26 and 150. The company will assemble most of the Predators bought by Italy, build the control station and act as payload systems integrator. Meteor is also developing the medium-range Mirach 2000. Although Japan is not yet among the technological leaders in UAV development, it may be noted that the drone produced in the world's largest numbers is reportedly the Yamaha R-50 crop-spraying helicopter. There may be military uses for such a machine. Russia's reconnaissance UAVs go back at least as far as 1963.The jet-powered Tu-243 was developed for the export market, and the further improved Tu-300 was unveiled at the Moscow Air Show of 1995. The Yakovlev Pchela-1 is a short-range TV-platform. It entered service in 1997 as part of the Stroy-P reconnaissance system, which is believed to have been used in Chechnya. The same piston engine was used for the Kamov Ka-37 helicopter project, which appears to have been superseded by the Ka-137 with a more powerful Hirth engine from Germany. Sterkh is another reconnaissance system that is based on a piston-engined vehicle, reportedly the Yakovlev Shmel (Bumble-bee). In recent years Yakovlev has shown models of a series of UAV projects, from the Colibri of 1992 to the Expert and tilt-rotor Albatros exhibited in model form at Farnborough last year. The Ukraine's NPS NPS National Park Service NPS Naval Postgraduate School NPS Net Promoter Score (customer management) NPS Non-Point Source pollution NPS Native Plant Society NPS Norfolk Public Schools (Virginia) produces the Remez-3, a canard ca·nard n. 1. An unfounded or false, deliberately misleading story. 2. a. A short winglike control surface projecting from the fuselage of an aircraft, such as a space shuttle, mounted forward of the main wing and configuration UAV that made its Western debut at Eurosatory in 2000, and is in service with the Ukrainian Army and one foreign customer. The Kentron division of Denel produces the Seeker UAV family, which has been in service in South Africa for fifteen years. Operators include Algeria and the UAE (Uninterruptible Application Error) The name given to a crash in Windows 3.0. In subsequent versions of Windows, a crash was called a "General Protection Fault," "Application Error" or "Illegal Operation." See crash in Windows and abend. . Denel's Cumulus cumulus: see cloud. unit is responsible for the Goshawk goshawk: see hawk. goshawk Any of the more powerful accipiters (hawks in the genus Accipiter), primarily short-winged, forest-dwelling bird catchers. Best known is the northern goshawk, which reaches about 2 ft (60 cm) in length with a 4.3-ft (1. multi-sensor gyro-stabilised payload. The upgraded Seeker II has digital avionics, an improved communications link, better performance and the 410 mm diameter Goshawk 400 payload with optional laser ranging. The daylight video camera is unchanged, but Kentron's Kenis third-generation flir has been added. Parachute recovery and an electronic surveillance payload are available. Navigation is by DGPS/INS. The Ate (Advanced Technologies & Engineering) Vulture vulture, common name for large birds of prey of temperate and tropical regions. The Old World vultures (family Accipitridae) are allied to hawks and eagles; the more ancient American vultures and condors are of a different family (Cathartidae) with distant links to UAV was designed specifically to support South African artillery. It appears that the production model will be derived from the 25 per cent larger Super Vulture, with an endurance of eight hours, a new ground control station, a new datalink and a Kentron/Cumulus Goshawk payload. It is proposed to use rocket-assisted take-off and a laser-guided automatic landing system, opening the prospect of maritime operations. Although Britain has produced various target drones, its achievements in the field of reconnaissance UAVs have been limited. The Flight Refuelling Raven and the Meggitt Defence Systems Phantom and Spectre are all relatively modest propeller-driven aircraft. The first of 198 BAE Systems Phoenix UAVs entered service with the British Army in 1998, but the system appears to have had more than its fair share of problems. Upgrades currently planned include a more powerful engine and the addition of Symetrics/ARINC IDMs (Improved Data Modems) to the ground stations, enabling them to send imagery directly to the cockpits of fixed- and rotary-wing ground attack aircraft A ground-attack aircraft is an aircraft that is designed to operate in direct support of ground forces such as infantry, tanks and other fighting vehicles. Their use is therefore tactical rather than strategic, operating at the front of the battle rather than against targets deeper . Although much remains to be done in improving conventional UAVs, America is already investigating quantum leaps toward both micro-UAVs and large but stealthy air vehicles. It is hoped to discuss both of these lines of development in a future issue.
A Selection of Current Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Designation Manufacturer Overall Overall
Length Span
[m] [m]
A160 Hummingbird Frontier Systems 5.18 n/a
(rotor blades)
Aerosky IAI n/a 4.48
Altus 2 General Atomics, 7.20 16.86
Aeronautical Systems
ASN-206 Catic 3.84 6.04
BQM-145A Northrop Grumman, 5.49 3.20
Ryan Aeronautical
Camcopter Schiebel 2.68 n/a
Changhong IC People's Republic of 8.47 7.53
China
CL-289/CL-289 Bombardier/Dornier 3.51 1.31
Piver (Eads)
CL-327 Guardian Bombardier 1.83 4.05
Crecerelle Sagem 2.75 3.29
Cypher United Technologies, n/a n/a
Sikorsky Aircraft
Dragon Drone BAI Aerosystems 1.86 2.47
Dragon Warrior United Technologies, 3.05 1.83
Sikorsky Aircraft
Eagle I Eads, IAI 8.94 16.30
Eagle II Eads, IAI 13.00 26.00
Eagle Eye Bell Helicopter 5.46 4.63
Textron
E-Hunter IAI Malat 7.53 15.39
Exdrone BAI Aerosystems 1.86 2.47
(BQM-147A)
Eyeview 1 / 2 IAI Malat 2.93 3.96
Fox AT1/AT2 CAC-Eads 2.77 3.66
Global Hawk Northrop Grumman, 13.53 35.42
RQ-4A Tier II Ryan Aeronautical
plus)
Gnat 750 General Atomics, 5.49 10.67
(Tier I) Aeronautical Systems
Hermes 1500 Silver Arrow 9.39 15.00
Hermes 450 Silver Arrow 6.10 10.52
Heron IAI Malat 8.60 16.61
Heron TP IAI Malat 12.00 23.01
Hunter IAI Malat, TRW 6.89 8.90
I-Gnat General Atomics, 6.34 12.86
Aeronautical Systems
Ka-137 Kamov Design Bureau 5.30 n/a
KZO / Brevel STN Atlas/Eads 2.26 3.41
Luna X-2000 EMT 2.26 4.42
Micro-V Silver Arrow 2.74 3.66
Mirach 150 Finmeccanica, Meteor 4.69 2.10
Mirach 20 Finmeccanica, Meteor 3.60 4.15
Mirach 26 Finmeccanica, Meteor 3.78 4.72
Model 379 Fire Northrop Grumman 7.01 n/a
Scout (RQ-8A)
Pchela 1 Yakovlev Design 2.77 3.26
Bureau/Kulon
(Sys. Integr.)
Phantom Meggitt Defence 1.52 2.44
Systems
Phoenix BAE Systems n/a 5.49
Pioneer IAI/AAI 4.24 5.12
Pointer Aerovironment 1.83 2.74
(FQM-151A)
Predator (RQ-1) General Atomics, 8.23 14.84
Aeronautical Systems
Predator B General Atomics, 10.36 19.51
Aeronautical Systems
Ranger Ruag Aerospace/IAI 4.60 5.70
Scarab (Model Northrop Grumman, 6.16 3.35
324) Ryan Aeronautical
Seamos Eads 2.93 6.10
Searcher II IAI Malat 5.85 8.56
Seeker II Denel/Kentron 4.44 7.00
Shadow 200 AAI 3.75 4.27
(RQ-7A)
Shadow 400 AAI 3.82 5.15
Shadow 600 AAI 5.18 7.47
Shmel Yak-61 Yakovlev Design Bureau 2.77 3.26
(BumbleBee)
Sniper Silver Arrow 3.78 5.21
Sojka VTULaSTV 3.81 4.08
Spectre Meggitt Defence 2.71 3.26
Systems
Sperwer Sagem 3.51 4.21
Sperwer LE Sagem 3.51 6.49
Sperwer HV Sagem 4.11 3.35
Super Vulture Advanced Technologies & 3.89 6.52
Engineering
Tu-243 A.N. Tupolev ANTK 8.29 2.26
(VR-3 Reys-D)
Tucan STN Atlas/BAE 2.26 3.41
Vulture Advanced Technologies & 3.11 5.21
Engineering
Designation Body Launched Weight Powerplant
Diameter no booster
[m] [kg]
A160 Hummingbird n/a 1814 Piston engine, +300 hp
Aerosky n/a 70 n/a
Altus 2 .76 816 1 x Rotax twin turbo
ASN-206 n/a 222 Rocket Booster
BQM-145A n/a 907 1 x Teledyne CAE
F408-CA100 t-fan.
Camcopter n/a 68 1 x 2-stroke, 15 hp
Changhong IC .58 245 1 x WP6 tj.
CL-289/CL-289 .40 240 1 x BMW RR T117 + solid
Piver booster
CL-327 Guardian .88 349 1 x Williams WTS 117-5
Crecerelle n/a 120 1 x reciprocating
engine
Cypher 1.90 136 UAV Engines AR 801
Dragon Drone n/a 43 1 x 100 cc, 2-stroke,
heavy fuel
Dragon Warrior n/a 109 n/a
Eagle I n/a 1150 1 x Rotax 914
Eagle II n/a 3600 1 x P&W Canada PT6A tp
Eagle Eye .76 1021 1 All Model 250-C20B
E-Hunter n/a 953 2 x 64 hp Dual
Exdrone n/a 41 1 x 8 hp 2-stroke
(BQM-147A)
Eyeview 1 / 2 n/a 104 1 x 25 hp Engine
Fox AT1/AT2 .46 113 1 x Limbach 22 hp
reciprocating
Global Hawk 1.46 11 612 1 x All AE3007H
(RQ-4A Tier II turbofan.
plus)
Gnat 750 .76 513 1 x Rotax 582
(Tier I)
Hermes 1500 .73 1497 2 x Rotax 914, 100 hp
(ea) rotary
Hermes 450 .52 449 1 x UEL AR-80-1010 52
hp rotary
Heron .85 1098 1 x 100 hp
Heron TP n/a 3502 1 x 1200 hp Turboprop
Hunter n/a 726 2 x 64 hp Dual
I-Gnat .76 635 1 x Rotax 914 gasoline
Ka-137 1.19 279 1 x Hirth 2706 P05, 65
hp
KZO / Brevel .37 161 1 x 30 hp reciprocating
Luna X-2000 n/a 30 2-cylinder 2-stroke
engine (5kW)
Micro-V .21 50 2 x 4 hp, 2-stroke
Mirach 150 .37 345 1 x Microturbo TRS 18-1
Mirach 20 .34 170 1 x 26 hp
Mirach 26 .37 200 1 x 28 hp
Model 379 Fire n/a 1157 1 x Rolls-Royce
Scout (RQ-8A) 250-C20W
Pchela 1 .31 130 1 x Samara / Trud P-032
re., 32 hp
Phantom n/a 29 1 x 2-stroke, 75 cc
Phoenix n/a 175 1 x WAE 342, 2-stroke,
25 hp
Pioneer .37 210 1 x Sachs SF2-350
Pointer n/a 3.60 1 x Astro 15 electric
(FQM-151A)
Predator (RQ-1) 1.22 862 1 x Rotax 914 gasoline
Predator B n/a 903 1 x ASE TPE331-10
Ranger n/a 274 1 x Goebler-Hirt 42 hp
2-stroke
Scarab (Model n/a 1077 1 x Teledyne CAE
324) 373-8C
Seamos n/a 1120 1 x All 250-C20
Searcher II n/a 426 1 x 73 hp Rotary
Seeker II n/a 240 1 x Limbach, model
H550E
Shadow 200 .34 138 1 x UAV Engines Ar 741
(RQ-7A) rotary
Shadow 400 n/a 203 1 x UAV Engines AR-741
Shadow 600 .46 264 1 x UAV Engines AR-801
rotary
Shmel Yak-61 n/a 129 n/a
(BumbleBee)
Sniper .52 155 1 x 38 hp
Sojka n/a 145 2-cylinder 2-stroke
engine (22kW)
Spectre .46 159 1 x TTL-WAE 342
Sperwer n/a 149 1 x 70 hp 2-stroke
Sperwer LE n/a n/a 1 x 70 hp 2-stroke
Sperwer HV n/a n/a 1 x Microturbo TRS 18-1
Super Vulture .88 309 n/a
Tu-243 n/a 1397 1 x Izotov TR-3-117
(VR-3 Reys-D) turbojet
Tucan n/a 160 n/a
Vulture .70 125 1 x TTL-WAE 342
Designation Payload
A160 Hummingbird Sar, EO/IR
Aerosky
Altus 2 Scientific (various manufacturers)
ASN-206 Day/night
BQM-145A Programmable (Tra)
Camcopter CCD camera (various manufacturers)
Changhong IC R/c (NAI)
CL-289/CL-289 Day camera, optical camera, IRLS
Piver
CL-327 Guardian Various (FSI, various)
Crecerelle Flir (Sagem)
Cypher EO, Flir, etc. (various manufacturers)
Dragon Drone Day color TV, laser (BAI Aerosystems)
Dragon Warrior EO/IR
Eagle I Customer defined
Eagle II Customer defined
Eagle Eye Mine detect, EO/IR (various manufacturers)
E-Hunter TV & IR, custom (IAI Tamam)
Exdrone Range finder TV, IR (various manufacturers)
(BQM-147A)
Eyeview 1 / 2 Day/night imager (various manufacturers)
Fox AT1/AT2 R/c, program, track. (CAC Systemes/various)
Global Hawk Sar/MTI, EO, IR (Raytheon)
RQ-4A Tier II
plus)
Gnat 750 Day TV, Flir (Wescam)
(Tier I)
Hermes 1500 EM, TV, Sar (various manufacturers)
Hermes 450 TV, Sar (various manufacturers)
Heron TV & IR, custom (IAI Tamam)
Heron TP TV & IR, custom (IAI Tamam, various)
Hunter TV & IR, (IAI Tamam)
I-Gnat EO, IR or Sar (Wescam)
Ka-137 Various (various manufacturers)
KZO / Brevel Flir (STN Atlas)
Luna X-2000 CCD camera (various manufacturers)
Micro-V CCD camera, Flir (various manufacturers)
Mirach 150 TV, IR, EW, Sar (various manufacturers)
Mirach 20 TV or Flir/Elint (Meteor)
Mirach 26 TV, LLTV, Flir, Elint (various manufacturers)
Model 379 Fire EO/IR, laser designator (various manufacturers)
Scout (RQ-8A)
Pchela 1 TV/IR linescanner (Kulon)
Phantom Camera or line scanner (Meggit)
Phoenix Infrared imager
Pioneer TV & Flir (IAI Tamam, Versatron)
Pointer Radio command (JR)
(FQM-151A)
Predator (RQ-1) EO, IR, Sar (Northrop Grumman, Wescam)
Predator B EO, IR, Sar (General Atomics, Wescam)
Ranger EO/IR sensor (II Tamam)
Scarab (Model Program command (Tra)
324)
Seamos Radar, EO, Flir (Dornier)
Searcher II TV & Flir (IAI Tamam)
Seeker II n/a
Shadow 200 Various (various manufacturers)
(RQ-7A)
Shadow 400 Customer defined
Shadow 600 Various (various manufacturers)
Shmel Yak-61 Day/night imager (various manufacturers)
(BumbleBee)
Sniper TV, Flir (various manufacturers)
Sojka CCD camera, IR (various manufacturers)
Spectre CCD camera, Flir, EW (various manufacturers)
Sperwer Flir, EW, Sar (Sagem)
Sperwer LE Flir, EW, Sar (Sagem)
Sperwer HV Sar, linescanner
Super Vulture n/a
Tu-243 Simultaneous TV (Aist-M) IR (Zima-M)
(VR-3 Reys-D)
Tucan IR/TV
Vulture Optronic day sight (M-Tek)
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