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Flight of the Extreme UAVs,
From Smallest to Deadliest
As unmanned aerial
vehicles, or UAVs, become a staple of modern military operations, their
uses and forms have grown more varied. Today they range from
slingshot-launched spybots to global guardians. In fact, the acronym
itself may be morphing into UAS (unmanned aerial systems) to indicate
that these are not just aircraft, but systems that include ground
stations and other elements.
It's not just the military
that uses them -- police use the same technology for surveillance,
while terrorists build flying suicide bombers. Check out the
stealthiest, deadliest and highest flying drones in use today, and the
UAVs that are most likely to be making tomorrow's headlines.
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Left: WASP is the smallest UAV
in use today, weighing less than 300 grams. The miniaturization is
achieved by the use of multifunctional components, like the combined
wing/battery. WASP is nearly silent and, when flown at night, it's
almost undetectable. The Air Force has just ordered several hundred for
reconnaissance and bomb-damage assessment.
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The MQ-1 Predator was an
evolution of the earlier Gnat-750. Originally intended purely for
reconnaissance, it was later armed with a single Hellfire missile. This
combination appears to be extremely effective at precision strikes
according to the Department of Defense, which claims a success rate of
"nearly 100 percent." Predators are used by both the Air Force and the
CIA.
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The MQ-9 Reaper is a
scaled-up version of the Predator, larger, faster and more powerful.
Reaper was designed from the outset as a hunter-killer. It can carry up
to 14 Hellfire missiles or other weapons such as the 500-pound,
laser-guided bombs shown. The 432nd Wing of the U.S. Air Force was
activated to operate MQ-9 Reaper on May 1, 2007.
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RQ-4A Global Hawk is the
Air Force's endurance drone, able to cruise at around 400 mph for 35
hours. It has an operational ceiling of 65,000 feet, and from this
altitude it can scan an area the size of Illinois (40,000 nautical
square miles) in just 24 hours. It is equipped with radar and infrared,
as well as optical sensors.
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The Joint Unmanned Combat
Air System demonstration program, or J-UCAS-D, is intended to be the
forerunner of the next generation of stealthy robot-strike aircraft.
Its geometry and radar-absorbent materials make it difficult to
impossible to spot on radar, as well as making it look badass.
Operating from aircraft
carriers, the UCAS-D could fulfill the Navy's goal of an aircraft that
can carry a payload (such as bombs) of up to 2,000 pounds, plus an
extra 2,500 pounds externally when stealth is not required. A typical
use would be to send unmanned drones in as a first wave to take out
enemy air defenses and clear the way for manned aircraft.
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The CQ-10 Snow Goose is a parafoil-wing UAV
for carrying medical equipment or other urgent supplies to Special
Forces operating in unfriendly territory. The flexible wings are made
of textile, like a parachute. The Snow Goose can be launched from the
ground or from the loading ramp of a transport aircraft. Range and
payload are inversely proportional; the CQ-10 can carry a 75-pound
payload for 200 miles, or 500 pounds for a shorter distance depending
on launch altitude and wind speed.
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The MIRSAD-1 drone has been
flown over Israel by the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah (mirsad
means "ambush" in Arabic). It may be armed; Hezbollah has claimed that
it can be loaded with a warhead of 40 to 50 kilos (90 to 110 pounds) of
explosives, turning it into a flying suicide bomber able to reach
anywhere. The Israeli Defense Force shot down two similar drones in
2006.
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HELIOS was NASA's
record-breaking solar-powered flight demonstrator. It achieved an
altitude of more than 96,000 feet -- the highest for any aircraft not
powered by a rocket. A combination of solar cells and fuel cells meant
it could, in principle; stay aloft for days, weeks or even months at a
time.
The vehicle broke up in
2003 during a flight near Hawaii when it hit turbulence, but the
military is rumored to be continuing research into solar-powered UAVs
with ultra-long endurance (vehicles capable of many hours in flight).
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The Battlehog 150 is
intended to meet the Marine Corps requirement for a vertical takeoff
drone capable of operating from aircraft carriers. It can fly at over
300 mph with a payload of 500 pounds, with armaments likely to include
Hellfire missiles, rocket pods and 7.62-mm mini-guns. The Battlehog
series is designed to be as robust as possible, being able to withstand
small-arms fire from close range. The drone is steered entirely by
moving the two wingtip fans, so there are no vulnerable flight controls.
Image: American Dynamics
Flight Systems Wingspan
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The Killer Bee is part UAV,
part missile. It's intended to be deployed in 'constellations' of many
vehicles working cooperatively. These swarms can be used for either
reconnaissance or for attack with up to 30 pounds of weapons per drone.
The Killer Bee is designed so several can be stacked together in the
cargo bay of an aircraft or in a truck, maximizing the number that can
be carried.
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The German-made Microdrone
is equipped with GPS, a camera and a loud-hailer to give instructions
to those on the ground, and is currently being tested by police in the
UK. This type of UAV is the one you're most likely to see hovering
around your neighborhood.
Its quad-rotor design is
intended to make it resilient -- Microdrone can return to base with
just two rotors. Law-enforcement officials hope the Microdrone can
carry out some of the tasks of police helicopters, but at a fraction of
the cost.
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The MQ-8 Fire Scout made by
Northrop Grumman is operated by the U.S. Navy and can make an automated
landing on a moving aircraft carrier. Typical missions include
surveillance, locating targets and directing fire. There have also been
weapons tests with a Firescout armed with 2.75-inch rockets. The U.S.
Army has now shown interest in having its own version.
Though nine MQ-8 vehicles
are in the flight-test stage, the model is not yet operational. The
Navy plans to eventually have a fleet of 168.
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The Honeywell MAV, or micro
air vehicle, will be an integral part of the U.S. Army's Future Combat
System, giving reconnaissance capability to front-line troops. The
small 'Class I' version seen here will be back-packable. It has a
planned weight of 20 pounds, and is capable of a 50-minute mission
spying on locations up to half a mile away. The vertical takeoff and
hovering capability make it well-suited to the urban canyons of the
modern battlefield.
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The morphing micro air/land
vehicle, or MMALV, is a hybrid that can fly, then land, fold up its
wings and crawl around buildings or other tight spaces. The MMALV
project is lead by BioRobots, in collaboration with the Biologically
Inspired Robotics Laboratory at Case Western Reserve University, the
University of Florida and the Naval Postgraduate School.
Photo: Richard Bachmann,
President of BioRobots
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Originally
used for tracking schools of tuna, the Scan Eagle drone is used by the
Marine Corps in Iraq, where various versions of the model have flown
several thousand hours of missions. It has a stabilized, gimbaled
camera turret that can be fitted with either daylight or infrared
imagers. No runway is required; instead it is fired aloft by a
pneumatic launcher and retrieved by a rope-and-hook arrangement where a
crane snags it out of mid-air.
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