Europe’s most successful UAV helicopter is Austria’s Schiebel Camcopter S-100, of which over 100 units have been sold. This example is one of two operated over Ukraine for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. (Schiebel)
systems and an undisclosed Middle Eastern country a further six. I 9 to 25 Kilos
One leading example of a Pentagon Group II item is the 22-kg Insitu/Boeing ScanEagle, derived from the SeaScan that was developed to support commercial fishing operations. Thanks to its ‘SuperWedge’ pneumatic catapult and innovative ‘Skyhook’ recovery system with differential GPS for precision engagement, ScanEagle provides independence of runways. The ScanEagle entered US Navy service in 2005, and is now operated by the armed services of 15 nations. In October 2014 Insitu introduced the ScanEagle 2 with a heavy fuel engine and a range of system improvements, although endurance is reduced from 20 to 16 hours. The Iranian Aviation Industries Organisation (IAIO) produces a reverse-engineered ScanEagle under the name Yasir. Other UAVs in a similar size category include China’s 18-kg CAAA CH-803, Israel’s 20-kg Aeronautics Orbiter-III and 24-kg BlueBird Aero Systems ThunderB, and Russia’s 18-kg Vega/ STC Orlan-10.
the 6.53-kg RQ-12A Wasp III, although Israeli UAVs from various companies are not far behind. The Puma is currently used only by the US services, but the Wasp series is also operated by the Australian Army, the French Navy and all three Swedish services. The lightweight Raven is flown by 23 nations. The leading alternative is the 7.5-kg Elbit Systems Skylark I-LE, which is the IDF’s standard battalion-level UAV (operated by the ‘Sky Rider’ units of the
Artillery Corps) and has been supplied to over 20 services. In 2008 it was selected by France’s special forces after a contest involving ten types of UAVs. It has been employed operationally in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Russia’s lightweight UAVs include the Zala Aero’s 4.5-kg 421-04M Lastochka and 10.0-kg 421-16E, both of which are employed by the MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs). Kalashnikov has recently acquired a 51% stake in Zala Aero. The Ministry of Defence uses the 5.3-kg Enics Eleron-3SV. The 8.5-kg Irkut-10 is used by Kazakhstan and manufactured under licence in Belarus. Norway’s 16-gram Prox Dynamics PD-100 Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) is the first micro-UAV to achieve operational status, having been used by the British Army and several Coalition partners in Afghanistan. The upgraded PRS Block II was introduced in June 2014, followed by the PD-100 T with integrated thermal imager and daylight camera in October 2014. I Rotary-Wing
In the context of small vertilift UAVs for use by front-line forces, there is a clear case for the silent operation provided by battery-power. Notable examples include the ducted-fan Selex-ES 2.0-kg Spyball-B and 8.5-kg Asio-B, which are now being delivered to Italian Army infantry and cavalry units respectively.
I Nine Kilos and Less
The Pentagon’s Group I consists of UAVs weighing less than 9.0 kg, and are mostly battery-powered and hand-launched. This category is largely dominated by AeroVironment, with the 1.9-kg RQ-11 Raven, the 5.9-kg RQ-20A Puma AE, and
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armada
Compendium UAVs
2015
The Northrop Grumman R-Bat capitalises on more than two million flight hours by the Yamaha R-Max in agricultural operations. Gasoline-powered, it has an endurance of more than four hours. (Northrop Grumman)