Drone Compendium 2013-14

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DRONES

2013-14

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03Compendium Drone 2013

The adventure in Afghanistan mayprove to have been the last majorcolonial-type war. The principalpowers will in all likelihood be

unwilling ever again to become involved onsuch a scale and for such duration. As alifestyle lesson in hopeless endeavours,Afghanistan may have succeeded whereVietnam failed.

However, the recent French-ledintervention inMali suggests that theneed forsmall, time-limited military assistanceoperations may continue indefinitely, sincemany developing nations simply cannotaffordthe internal securitymeasuresneededtocounter today’s armedandwiredextremists.

Without the prospect of large-scaleneocolonial actions, the massive military

demand for conventional armed Male(medium-altitude, long-endurance) dronescould be heading for free-fall, althoughmaritime surveillance andcommercial useofaircraft in this performance category willcontinue togrow.Employedbyarmed forces,suchaircraftwill alsobe able to flypeacetimeborder patrols, but on the outbreak of realwar would provide a turkey-shoot for anyturboprop trainerwith amachine gun.

If ISAF’s stay in Afghanistan had beenextended, the viability ofMale droneswouldprobably have ended with the arrival ofshoulder-launched Sams ‘liberated’ duringthe civil wars in Libya and Syria. The highlysuccessful employment of these large, slowaircraft over south-west Asia has beenpossible only through the absence of suchweapons on the ground. In the case ofAfghanistan, any remainingRaytheonFIM-92 Stingers (donated by theCIA in the 1980s

and mostly bought back post-9/11) weretime-expired.

Recent operations have also madeconsiderable use of tethered aerostats, butthe planned egress from Afghanistanappears to have made military plannerswary of investing in large drone airships.

Such aircraft may represent a low-riskapproach to a multi-sensor platform thatcan remain on station far longer than anymanned aircraft, and accommodate largeantennas that give better imagery than anysatellite. However, LTA (lighter-than-air)drones are scenario-critical, andintercontinental deployment would bedifficult, expensive and time-consuming.

I NEW SCENARIOSThe winding-down of ISAF will not heraldan outbreak of peace in south-west Asia, asIndia and Pakistan continue their decades-

EricBiass andRoyBraybrook

Not So Skyrocketing?Some of the commerciallymost successful dronemanufacturers, hit by the double-whammy of general defence cutbacks and the ending of Operation Enduring Freedom,are recognising that hard times lie ahead. The running down and subsequentwithdrawal fromAfghanistan of theNato Isaf (International Security Assistance Force),having attempted to bring peace and stability (and an absence of international terrorists)to that virtually ungovernable land,will mark the ending of an era inmany respects.

The Anka, with its almost 100% “Turkish inside”sounds like an interesting proposition for

those nations wishing to remain independent ofthe other two suppliers in that class

long rivalry (producing a booming localmarket for drones), and Iran continueswithits nuclear ambitions, perceived as a threatby Israel, theUS and otherswith interests inthis oil-rich region.Like North Korea, Iran is currently a

driving force behind the development ofless-observable surveillance drones,exemplified by the US Air Force LockheedMartin RQ-170 Sentinel, which wasdeployed toAfghanistan in 2007 and SouthKorea in 2009.The US Air Force currently appears to

have abandoned its plan for a seriouslystealthy, medium-size multirole drone(MQ-M) to replace its 4762-kg GeneralAtomics MQ-9 Reaper from 2020. Instead,attention has switched to acquiring areduced-signature jet-powered drone thatcan be developed quickly, accepting that itwill sometimes rely on penetration aids andsupport jamming, and may be viable foronly a limited period of time.Three examples (some stretched by 1.22

metres) of the jet-powered 8255-kgGeneralAtomics Avenger (Predator-C) are beingfinanced by themanufacturer. The first flewin April 2009, and the second in January2012. The Avenger has so far been tested toMach 0.60 and 45,000 ft. In July 2011 theUSAir Force ordered one (the fourth built) fordelivery in late 2014. The service isconsidering funding a larger derivative.Some might argue (and Alenia

Aermacchi and Eads/Cassidian may wellagree) that, in purchasing ISR drones foroverland operation, the major Europeanpowers should progress straight from thegeneration exemplified by the 550-kg ElbitSystems Hermes 450, 1022-kg GeneralAtomicsMQ-1Predator-A and 1250-kg IAIHeron I to a jet-powered, more survivabledrone, leapfrogging top-of-the-rangepropeller-driven designs.Instead, Britain is acquiring the Elbit

Systems/Thales U-Tacs Watchkeeper(Hermes 450 development) and increasingits fleet of MQ-9s, while France andGermany are torn between the MQ-9 andslightly lighter (4650 kg) IAIHeronTP.Althoughpropeller-drivendrones can be

upgraded with missile approach warningsystems and flare dispensers, they willremain vulnerable to gun-armed mannedaircraft. In its planning, Europe appears tobe thinking more of minimising aircrewlosses in neo-colonial interventions, ratherthan of drone attrition in a re-run ofDesertStorm (1991) orAllied Force (1999).

Stealthy surveillance platforms representonly one of several new categories of dronesthat will be required as the American-ledWest switches its gaze to the Asia-Pacificregion, which will include one near-peerandmultiple potential hybrid threats.In the longer term, stealthy deep-

penetration strike assets will be developed,probably including large optionally-

manned bombers, to defeat opponentswithanti-access/area-denial (A2AD) capabilities.Lower down the scale, the seven-tonneDassault Neuron, a joint Ucav technologydemonstrator project funded by France,Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden andSwitzerland, first flewonDecember 1, 2012.The eight-tonne BAE Systems Taranis,funded by theBritishGovernment, is due tofly before the end of 2013.In 2011 Sukhoi was awarded a contract

to develop a strike drone in the 20-tonneclass. Sukhoi will be assisted by RAC-MiG,since the latter’s ten-tonne Skat (MantaRay)project of 2007 has been discontinued.

I NAVAL NEEDSThe US Navy is leading the Ucav field, as itlacks a first-day-of-war stealthy strikecapability, a deficiency produced by

04 Compendium Drone 2013

This US Air Force General Atomics MQ-9Reaper was pictured on patrol over southernAfghanistan, armed with four LockheedMartin AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and twoGBU-12 laser-guided bombs. (US Air Force)

Also known as the Eitan. the Heron TP is not justa larger Heron as its general outline mightsuggest, but a much, much bigger aircraft witha 26-metre wingspan and 14-metre lengthcompared with the Heron’s respective 16metres and 8.6 metres. This full-scale mock-uppictured at a Paris Air Show keeps goodcompany to a number of systems includingLahat air-to-ground missiles. (Eric H. Biass)

cancellation of themannedMDC/GDA-12Avenger II programme in 1991. The Ucas-D (Unmanned Combat Air System –Demonstration) programme is now beingperformed with the 20,215-kg NorthropGrumman X-47B, which is to be deployedaboard the USS George HW Bush (CVN-77) in April/May 2013 for the first at-sealaunches and recoveries.The X-47B is paving the way for the

Navy’s Uclass (Unmanned Carrier-LaunchedAirborne Surveillance and Strike)system, due to enter service around 2020.Uclass was formally approved by thePentagon in December 2012, and an RFP(requests for proposals) will be issued toindustry before the end of 2014. GeneralAtomics is expected to promote its SeaAvenger, with internalweaponbays, foldingwings and tail-hook.Emphasis on theAsia-Pacific regionwill

bring a need for maritime surveillancedrones to keepwatch on vast areas of ocean,andmore urgently on the highly populatedwaters around south-east Asia, as disputesover various island groups and offshore oilreserves escalate.TheUSNavyhas also taken the lead in the

context of overwater surveillance with the14,630-kg Northrop Grumman MQ-4CTriton,which is due to enter serviceunder itsBams (Broad Area Maritime Surveillance)programme in late-2015. The MQ-4Cseriously interests India, and may well alsosatisfy theneeds ofAsia-Pacific nations suchasAustralia and Japan. Elsewhere, itmaywellsuitCanada and theUK(amongothers).Britain accepted a capability gap in

maritime surveillance air assets in2010,withthe withdrawal of the Royal Air Force’sHawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2 andcancellation of the BAE Systems NimrodMRA4.TheUKDefenceReviewof2015maywell decide thatdumping this taskon its allies

canonlybe a short-termsolution. Orders forboth themannedBoeingP-8APoseidonandunmannedMQ-4Ccould follow.However, the Q-4 (Global Hawk) series

is expensive, having been developed as theTier II+of a three-tierUSAirForce systemofdrones. Tier IIIwas conceptualised as a trulystealthy aircraft that could penetrate hostileairspace undetected.To digress, as far as is known, the closest

thatAmerica came to that objectivewas the

Tier III-, the Lockheed Martin RQ-3DarkStar, which first flew in 1996. TheRQ-3 was stealthy, but — grossing only3860 kg — was too small to generate auseful payload-radius performance. It wasterminated in 1999.Nations such asArgentina, Brazil, Chile,

NewZealand and SouthAfrica have search-and-rescue responsibilities over large areas ofocean, but could not afford the Hale MQ-4C. However, they could all make good useof a high-performance, propeller-drivenMalemaritime surveillance drone.While not providing the high altitude

capability (and thus radar coverage) of anMQ-4C, aircraft suchas the4763-kgGeneralAtomicsPredator-BMaritimeConfigurationor Guardian turboprop would have anadvantage in operational flexibility, in beingable todescendand investigate radarcontacts.

After showing its ability to be catapulted into the air, the X-47B has passed another criticalmilestone onMay 4 at Patuxent Naval Air Station by showing its ability to catch an arrestorcable on landing. (Northrop Grumman)

The first catapult launch of the Northrop GrummanX-47B took place at the US Navy’s Patuxent River

Naval Air Warfare Center in Maryland on November29th, 2012. (Northrop Grumman/Kelly Schindler)

The first Northrop GrummanMQ-4C, serial168457, was unveiled at Palmdale, California,on June 14, 2012, when the US Navy formallynamed it Triton. Note the ventral radome,which (aside from the paint scheme)distinguishes theMQ-4C fromUS Air ForceRQ-4A/Bs. (Northrop Grumman)


General Atomics is now marketing theExtended Range Predator-B, with twoexternal tanks,wingtip extensions taking thespan from20.1 to 26.8metres, anda trailing-link main landing gear, allowing maximumtake-off weight to be increased to 5310 kg.These modifications would increaseendurance from27 to42hours, andprovideamission radius of 5375km in the ISR role.A rival to the ER Predator-Bmay appear

in the formof a newHale drone from Japan.Althoughoriginallymotivatedby theneed todetect and track ballisticmissile launches byNorth Korea and China, this aircraft is alsointended to monitor Chinese Navymovements in the East China Sea. It isexpected to remainon station for twodays ataround 45,000 ft. Service entry is plannedfor FY2020.Lower down the scale, Elbit Systems’

recent intensive promotion of its piston-engined 1180-kg Hermes 900 at Aero Indiamay be seen as evidence of a seriousmarketfor dedicatedmaritime patrol drones.France’s Sagem is now marketing the

optionally-manned 1050-kg Patrollerwith anew version of the Sagem Euroflir 350optronic pod, AIS receiver, and a distressbeacon receiver. The Patroller is based onGermany’s Stemme S15 motor glider, andprovides automatic take-off and landing. Ithas been extensively tested and can beconsidered mature for adaptation tocustomers’ needs.Havingdelivered the lastMQ-1BPredator

to the US Air Force inMarch 2011, GeneralAtomics now offers for export the unarmed

Predator-XP, with 35-hour endurance,automatic take-off and landing system(Atls),Lynx radar, high-definition electro-opticalsensor andupturnedwingtips.The basic Predator-A is used in small

numbers by Italy, Morocco and Turkey. ThenewunarmedPredator-XP is aimed initiallyat the Middle East, and only later at LatinAmerica.At IDEX inAbuDhabi inFebruary2013, General Atomics showed a full-scalemockupof theXPandannounced the sale tothe United Arab Emirates of an unspecifiednumber for approximately $ 200million.

Baseline price for the XP should bearound $ 3.0 million, rising to $ 6.0 millionfor the fully equipped maritime patrolversion. For comparison, the final (FY2009)batch ofMQ-1Bs for theUSAir Force cost $190.5 million for 38 aircraft, indicating aunit cost of almost exactly $ 5.0million.Ina similar sizecategory,Eads/Cassidian is

currently promoting its Harfang (SnowyOwl) version of the IAI Heron, as currentlyin service with the French Air Force, as thebest interim system for other majorEuropean countries. This Harfang or Sidm

Bearing a civil registration but not anIsraeli Air Force serial, suggesting a trialsinstallation aircraft, this Elbit SystemsHermes 900 is equippedwith amaritimesurveillance radar in addition to its EO/IRturret. (Elbit Systems)

One of the principal contenders in themaritime surveillance category is the SagemPatroller, an optionally-piloted version of the

Stemme S15motor glider, with a SagemEuroflir 350 EO/IR sensor turret, AIS receiver

and distress beacon sensor. (Sagem)

This Israeli Defence Force IAI Heron is equippedwith an Elta Systems EL/M-2022Umaritimesurveillance radar, whichweighs 114 kg and transmits 2300Watts. (Israel Aerospace Industries)


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(Système IntérimairedeDroneMale) is boldlydescribed as the only fielded Male droneproduced by a European manufacturer, inservicewith aEuropeanarmed force.

I START-UPSSeveral hitherto unexplored categories havepotential to grow rapidly, though fromverylowbases.One such is the ship-based rotary-wing drone, which may have made a falsestart when the 1036-kg Gyrodyne QH-50Centered US Navy service in 1963. The highaccident rate suffered by this Dash (DroneAnti-Submarine Helicopter) programmeput acceptance of ship-based drones back bydecades. However, recent advances inrobotics and lightweight sensors andweapons have changed perspectives.

In the virtual absence of suitablehardware, navies have been slow to developoperational requirements for ship-baseddrones. Nonetheless, the US Navy has beenrunning sea trialswith the1430-kgNorthropGrummanMQ-8B Fire Scout, derived fromthemannedSikorsky/Schweizer 333.

It was earlier envisaged that the MQ-8Bwould lead to the farmore capableMrmuas(Medium-Range Maritime UAS), but thisprogramme has been terminated as aneconomymeasure, in favour of the 2720-kgNorthropGrummanMQ-8C.This transfersthe Fire Scout systems to an unmannedversion of the Bell 407, providing anintermediate level of capability.

The MQ-8C will evidently not enjoy amonopoly of the international market forship-based rotary-wing drones, sinceBoeing has been performing sea trials withthe 1610-kg Unmanned Little Bird (ULB).AgustaWestland (which now owns PZL-Swidnik), Eads/Cassidian and Saab (amongothers) also have serious interests in thismarket sector.

Britain’s Royal Navy has an urgentoperational requirement for a drone, able to“track fastmoving targets” andprovide eighthours on station at 75 km radius. The Coco(contractor-owned, contractor-operated)system is to be operated from its Type 23frigates andRFA support vessels.

Austria’s 200-kg Schiebel Camcopter S-

100 (already in ground-based service invarious countries, including China) hasbeen trialled by several navies, includingthose of France, Germany, Pakistan, Russiaand (reportedly) China. Schiebel iscurrently working on the installation of aheavy fuel engine, and integration of newpayloads, including the Thales I-Masterradar (see more on the S-100 further on ina section dedicated to light rotordrones).

Ona lighter scale, L-3Tactical Systemshasbeen running tests with the 95-kg Valkyrie,an unmanned towed gyroplane that isproposed to extend the visual/radar horizonof ships, primarily against the current piratethreat. The Valkyrie would typically carry a22 kg payload to a height of up to 1000 ft,extending thehorizon toover 60km.

Itmay be recalled that inWorldWarTwothe Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 Bachstelze(Wagtail) man-carrying gyroplane wastowed by some U-boats, rising to around400ft andallowingships tobedetectedatup to45 km. In the event of surprise air attack, theFa330 and its pilotwere tobe abandoned.

It may be noted that fixed-wing droneoperations fromsmall ships have beenmade

practical (for lightweights) by the Skyhookwingtip-to-vertical-cable engagementsystem pioneered by the highly successfulBoeing/Insitu 18-kg ScanEagle and 61-kgRQ-21A Integrator. A Chinese copyof ScanEagle is marketed as the CH-803,and Iran is producing its own version,both projects endorsing the quality of theoriginal design.

Darpa wants to take fixed-wing droneoperations fromships to a new levelwith theTern (Tactically Exploited ReconnaissanceNode) programme, aimed at Predator-likeperformance from 25,400-tonne LCS-2class ships. New launch and recoveryconceptswill be required to enable adrone tooperate from such ships, with a 270 kgpayload and a radius of 1110-1650 km.Ternis envisioned as a 40-month programme toachieve full-scale demonstrations.

Evenmore revolutionary is theZalaAeroTriton concept for a nine-metre unmannedtrimaran drone carrier, powered by two 150kWdiesel engines, and operatingwith up tofour air vehicles to a radius of 1400 km. Thefixed-wing drones would be launched bycatapult and recovered by net. All the Zala

Photographed during a demonstration for theRepublic of Korea Army, the Boeing ULB

(Unmanned Little Bird) is optionally piloted.Boeing is now promoting a growth version,

based on the AH/MH-6M, with a six-blademainrotor and four-blade tail rotor. (Korean Air)

In Russia, the Schiebel CamcopterS-100 is known as the Gorizont

A-100where it was tested by theRussian coast guards. (Schiebel)

fixed-wing series (including the 421-08 and-16E) are being adapted to net recovery.

A second new category with excellentlong-term prospects is the rotary-wing (orducted fan) cargo drone for frontlinedeliveries of essential supplies, such as food,water, ammunition and batteries, and withpotential for casualty evacuation.

Trials by theUSMarineCorpswith a pairof optionally-manned LockheedMartin/Kaman Unmanned K-Max aircraftin Afghanistan have recently exceeded1200-tonnes in terms of loads moved, andover 1200 flight hours. However, it mayprove difficult to maintain interest in thisprogrammeonce the fighting has stopped.

The next step appears to be the five-yearUS Office of Naval Research (ONR) Aacus(AutonomousAerial Cargo/Utility System)programme. Thiswill pave theway for fullyautonomous operations, the drone selectingits own route and landing point, andavoiding obstacles. Aacus will haveprovision for internal payloads and long-termpotential for casualty evacuation.

TheUSArmyCargoUAS concept is evenmore ambitious, being aimed at a larger,faster platform, probably using a newgeneration of rotorcraft technology, such as

the slowed rotor of the 2950-kg BoeingYMQ-18A (A160THummingbird).

Meanwhile, the US Army has loaned toSikorsky a UH-60M Black Hawk forconversion to fly-by-wire control. Thecompany hopes to use this aircraft todemonstrate optionally-piloted resupplymissions. Considering the number of olderUH-60s in storage, and the veryuseful size ofthis aircraft (grossing 10,660 kg), this couldwell lead to trials on amuch larger scale thanhas been possible with the two K-Maxaircraft.

I OFFENSIVEAthirdmarket sector possibly set for take-offis the one-way loiter-attack drone,pioneered by Israel Aerospace Industries

(IAI) with the Harpy anti-radiation systemand its Harop successor. Increasing interestin such aircraft is suggested by the BritishArmy’s IFPA (Indirect Fire PrecisionAttack) requirement, which led to the new200-kg Fire Shadowdrone being developedby a teampartneringMBDAandUK-MoD.

The Harop, incidentally, is still beingused as part of a system initially called theWabep devised by Rheinmetall andinvolving the use of the KZO drone as thetarget identifier. Rheinmetall has sincedivested itself of all direct involvement indrones and has set-up a joint venture withCassidian, inwhichCassidian holds 51%ofthe stakes. To confuse everybody, thecompany is called Rheinmetall AirborneSystems, but squats Cassidian’s stands atexhibitions, notRheinmetall’s as instanced atthe recent Idex exhibition inAbuDhabi.

AskedbyArmadawhere this programmenow stood, a Cassidian said that the groundstation had been developed and tested andalthough the feasibility of the mission hadbeen fully demonstrated no order(presumably full-scale development) has yetbeenplacedby theGermanauthorities.

In Israel,Uvisionhas recently announcedthat itwasproducingmodernized versionsof

China’s only rotary-wing drone on themarketappears to be the 220-kg U8E, the existence ofwhich was revealed at Singapore in 2010,with only basic data and no indication of themanufacturer. (CATIC)

The Boeing/Insitu RQ-21AIntegrator weighs over twiceasmuch as the company’searlier, highly successful

ScanEagle. An Integrator isshown on the deck of the USS

Mesa Verde, amphibioustransport dock LPD-19, in

early 2013. (US Navy)

the Hero-30 expendable reconnaissancedrone, and the Hero-400 loitering attackmunition, “responding tomarket demand”.Improvements concern propulsion andpower generation.Formerly known as the Wasp, the Hero

30 is a three-kilo expendable recce droneparticularly designed for special forces. Ano-maintenance system, the electrically-powered Hero-30 is canister-launched a lamortar and provides its user a 30-minuteflight time.The larger Hero-400, for its part, is the

former 40-kilo Blade Arrow and, poweredby a petrol engine, can loiter “for hours”.Equippedwith an eight-kilowarhead, it canattack moving high-value targets at rangesof up to 150 km.In addition,Uvision is about to introduce

a commoncommandand control system forboth drones.In a much heavier class, China’s jet-

powered Casic WJ-600 looks like aTomahawk cruise missile with underwingweapons. It was unveiled in 2010, togetherwith a marketing animation showingoperation as a truck-launched attack drone

against ground and naval targets. Iran’sKarrar (Striker), unveiled in 2010, is claimedto be capable of carrying four lightweightanti-shipmissiles.Loiter-attack drones acknowledge the

major advances achieved in tactical airdefences, and could put air support back inthe soldiers’ own hands, possibly endingcomplaints that air forces are interested onlyin “wild blue yonder”missions.In December 2012 Boeing carried out a

demonstration of theULBdrone helicopterfor the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA).Two months later reports appeared thatSouthKoreawas considering developing anattack drone based on the 1360-kg MDHelicoptersMD500, ofwhich theRoKAhasover 200 facing retirement.The growing capability of small drones

has sparked interest in the concept of a

highly portable “winged grenade” that coulddeliver a smallwarheadwithprecisionover adistanceof several thousandmetres, possiblyloitering en-route, to takeout (for example) asniper or a light vehicle behind a building.This line of development began with

Darpa’s CCLR (Close Combat LethalRecon) project, described officially as a“hand-held, tube-launched, command-guided, loitering cruise munition that willprovide the warfighter unprecedentedability of non-line-of-sight targetprosecution in urban environments”. Thesystem included a “PDA-size soldierinterface device for flight planning… andstreaming video-viewing”.The CCLR evidently led to the US Air

Force’s Lmams (Lethal Miniature AerialMunition System), with a drone that was toweigh less than 1.4 kg and provide a one-metre accuracy. A 30-minute loitercapabilitywas desired.Theproducts shortlisted for Lmamswere

theAeroVironment Switchblade, the IATech(Innovative Automation Technologies)Point-And-Toss, and the Textron DefenseSystems BattleHawk, which appears to


Another advanced helicopter technology isillustrated by the Boeing YMQ-18A or A160THummingbird, which in cruise slows themainrotor to delay compressibility effects on theadvancing blade. (Boeing)

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combine aTextronwarheadwith the PrioriaRoboticsMaveric drone.

One interesting project that failed tomake the cutwas theMBDATiger (TacticalGrenade Extended Range), with two 40mmDSEgrenades and an inflatablewing byILCDover.

The Lmams contest was won by the AVSwitchblade, which has reportedly beenpurchasedby theUSAirForce, theUSArmyand USMarine Corps (although it remainsabsent fromall theirwebsites).Aswithmanyspecial forcesprocurements, the true scale oftheseprogrammes anddetails of operationaldeployments are difficult to ascertain.

I MINIMALISMA fourth category that may experiencedramatic market growth is what might betermed “the seriously small drone”, since

“micro” and “nano” have become whateveranymanufactureroroperatordecides. Thesedeviceswill clearlybevery limited inmilitaryutility, but their small size and silent flightmake themattractive for covert operations.

The Darpa-funded Nav (NanoAirVehicle) programme began in 2005 andled to AeroVironment’s remarkableflapping-wing Hummingbird, whichweighs 19 grams with batteries, motors,radio and video camera, and can hover forelevenminutes.

Other manufacturers became interestedin ‘biomimicry’, and in early 2012 IAIunveiled its twelve-gram, four-wingButterfly. In 2009Norway’s ProxDynamicsdemonstrated during a UVS Internationalconference its 16-gram PD-100 DarkHornet miniature helicopter, which has anendurance of 30minutes.

In 2012 Dark Hornet entered servicewith theBritishArmyandRoyalAir Force inAfghanistan, validating itsmaker’s claim tohave produced “theworld’s first operationalNano (drone) system”. An initial batch of160 units was purchased by UK-MoD. Thetotal through-life cost, including logisticsupport, personnel training, documentationand attrition reserve drones is expected toamount to around $ 32million.

(At the endof 2012 theBritish drone fleetinAfghanistanconsistedof64BlackHornets,five Reapers, nine Hermes 450s, 239Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk IIIs and 18HoneywellRQ-16AT-Hawks.TheUK-MoDhas recently admitted that in theprevious fiveyears its drone losses in south-westAsiahaveamounted to oneReaper, nineHermes 450s,412 Desert Hawk IIIs and a combined totalof 25BlackHornets andT-Hawks).

While considerable efforts are nowdirected at measures (such as sense-and-avoid radars) that will allow drones tooperate in controlled airspace, somemilitary authorities are exempting aircraftbelow 50 grams from safety regulations. It isargued that the kinetic energy of suchdevices is so small that they are virtuallyincapable of inflicting damage.

The remainder of this report examinesthe principal current drone categories inmore detail, starting with long-endurancesystems that exploit fully the absence of ahuman crew.

One way to achieve extreme enduranceis to accelerate the platform to orbital speed.

The US Army-funded Northrop GrummanLemv (Long-EnduranceMulti-intelligenceVehicle) is a hybrid airship, combiningaerodynamic lift with buoyancy. Delays setit back too late to deploy to Afghanistan,and it was cancelled in February 2013.(Northrop Grumman)

TheMBDA Fire Shadow is a 200 kg loiter-attack drone developed for the British Army. It has amaximum endurance of six hours at 100 km radius. Deliveries began in early 2012, and anaval version has been projected. (MBDA)

The PrioriaMaveric is a lightweight tube-launched, command-guided air vehicle thatsends back imagery to the controller’s hand-

heldmonitor. It is used with a Textronwarhead to form the Textron Defense

Systems Battlehawk drone. (Prioria Robotics)

The Hero-400, fromIsrael, would be atypical commandodrone. It can loiter“for hours” accordingtomanufacturerUvision, before beingsent into a diveattack, even againstamoving target.(Uvision)

For example, Boeing has constructed two4990-kgX-37B reusable spaceplanes for theUSAir Force, although the purpose of thesedrones (beyond providing a technologicalbasis for future spaceplanes) has not beenrevealed. Launched by a United LaunchAlliance SaturnV rocket from theKennedySpace Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida,these X-37Bs have carried out severalmissions, including one by the secondvehicle (OTV-2) that ended in June 2012after 469 days in low earth orbit.

I LTAA far less expensive means to achieve longendurance is to use a lighter-than-air drone.

Lockheed Martin was prime contractorfor the US Army’s Hale-D (High AltitudeLong Endurance - Demonstrator) solar-powered LTAdrone, whichwas designed tostay aloft for 15 days at 60,000 ft. It waslaunched in July 2007, but suffered atechnical anomaly (reportedly a heliumleak) at 32,000 ft, leading to termination ofthe flight and the programme. The Hale-Dwas a subscale demonstrator for an airshipthat would stay at 65,000 ft for over 30 days.The US Air Force’s Mav6 Blue Devil 2

(BD2) optionally-manned airshipwas basedon the Tcom Polar 100. The BD2 waspromoted by Lt-Gen David Deptula, Mav6CEO and earlier principal planner for the

“shock-and-awe” air operations thatlaunched Desert Storm. It was intended tostay at 20,000 ft for nine days. The BD2wasscheduled to fly in October 2011 and self-deploy toAfghanistan in February 2012.However, concerns over weather and

overflight clearance for various countriesled to a revised plan, to transport the BD2inside a hangar on a speciallymodified ship.The programmewas cancelled inMay 2012due to poor performance, before it hadleft the ground.The more ambitious US Army-funded

Lemv (Long Endurance Multi-intelligenceVehicle) was planned as an 18-monthprogramme, from contract signature inJune 2010 to deployment to Afghanistanin late 2011.The Lemv is an optionally-manned

hybrid airship, using a combination ofbuoyancy and aerodynamic lift. It wasdesigned by Northrop Grumman inpartnership with the UK-based Hybrid AirVehicles. The hull wasmanufactured by ILCDover, using fabric produced by WarwickMills. The design aimwas to stay at 22,000 ftfor 21 dayswith a 1250 kg payload.In the event, the Lemv had its maiden

flight only on August 7, 2012, a timescaleincompatible with the end-2014 USwithdrawal from Afghanistan. Theprogramme was cancelled on February 14,2013, “due to technical and performancechallenges, and the limitations imposed byconstrained resources”.Nonetheless, if Northrop Grumman

successfully demonstrates the performanceadvantages claimed for hybrid airships,there are commercial concerns waiting topiggyback on this line of development.There is serious commercial interest in

using cargo airships to transport largeloads to remote, undeveloped regions,rather than constructing expensiveairfields that will see little use. Companiessuch as Boeing and Lockheed Martin,having been involved in earlier airshipprojects, may well come back to this line ofbusiness. At a later stage the militarymarket could well piggyback oncommercial hybrid airship developments.Before leaving the LTS category, itmay be

added that Darpa’s Isis (Integrated Sensor IsStructure) programme, aimed at a solar-electric airship to remain at 70,000 ft for tenyears, isnotnecessarilydead.Plans for ahalf-scaledemonstratorbyLockheedMartinhavebeenputonhold,butDarpa is reportedly stilltalkingwith theUSAirForce.

The PD-100 Black Hornetis an electrically-powered

miniature helicopterweighing only 16 grams.

It has an endurance of 30minutes and was first

demonstrated publicly in2009. (Prox Dynamics)



A lthough offering less endurancethan the above mentioned LTAs(with flights measured in daysrather than weeks), fixed-wing

aircraft burning hydrogen fuel may wellprovide the basis for the next generation ofHale drones.

The current leader in this category is theBoeingPhantomEye,whichhas a45.7-metrewingspan and two 2.3-litre triple-turbocharged Ford engines burning liquid

hydrogen, contained in two 2.44-metrediameter spherical tanks.This subscale 4516kg demonstratorwas designed to remain forfour days at up to 65,000 ft with a 200 kgpayload. It first flew in June 2012, but onlanding broke through the surface of the saltlakebed at Edwards AFB, California, anddamaged the landing gear, belly andwingtips. Following repairs, it resumed flighttests onFebruary25th.Boeinghasplans for alarger version,whichwouldhave awingspan

increased from 64 metres, and would stayaloft for tendayswith a 450kgpayload.

Inbroadly the same size andperformanceclass, the AeroVironment Global ObserverGO-1 has a 40-metre wingspan and wasdesigned foranenduranceof fivedaysatup to65,000 ft with a 170 kg payload.However, inthis case a single internal combustion engineburning hydrogen fuel powers a generatorthat runs four electric motors in the wingleading edge, each with its own propeller.Funded by six US government agencies, theGO-1 first flew with this powerplant inJanuary2011, but crashed threemonths laterafter 18 hours into its ninth flight. Thedefinitive Global Observer was planned tocarry the Joint Aerial Layer Network (Jaln)payload, but any further tests will requireadditional funding.

A third advanced Hale project is the3175-kg Aurora Flight Sciences Orion,whichhas a singleAustro diesel engine and a40.2-metre span, and was designed toachieve four days at 65,000 ft with a 180 kgpayload. Although it began life as ademonstrator for theUSAir ForceResearchLaboratory,Orionwasmainly fundedby theUS Army’s SMDC (Space & Missiles

HalesUntil any of the high-altitude long-endurance projects(mainly from Eastern and Far-Eastern nations) seen inmodel formor as computer-generated imagery displayedat virtually every international air showor defenceexhibition becomea reality, theNorthropGrummanremains prettymuch the production guardian of thedisciplineworld-wide. Projects are, however, underway toexploreways of remaining aloft even longer.

The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 GlobalHawk is basically a sailplane with aturbofan engine and sensors. Thisimage of a Block 20 over the desert

illustrates its high aspect ratio, giving ita lift/drag ratio of approximately 35:1.

(Northrop Grumman)

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Defense Command). This programmecurrently appears to have stalled due toCongressional funding problems.Solar-powered drones have already

demonstrated remarkable performance,the 929-kg, 75.3-metre wingspanAeroVironmentHelios reaching 96,863 ft in2001, and the 53-kg, 22.5-metre QinetiQZephyrSeven flying for336.37hours in2010.In 2010 Darpa awarded Boeing, teamed

withQinetiQ andVersa Power Systems, an $89 million contract to develop and fly the2720-kg SolarEagle. With a span of 132.5metres, thiswas expected to demonstrate 30days at altitude in the short-term, but wasaimed at an ultimate endurance of five yearsabove 60,000 ft with a 450 kg payload.SolarEagle was due to fly in 2014, but inApril 2012Darpa cancelled construction ofthe flight vehicle, ordering that remainingfunds from this Vulture II programmeshould be used to continue the developmentof photovoltaics for solar energy collectionand solid fuel cells for energy storage.

I GLOBAL HAWKUntil such “eternity drones” are ready forservice, the Hale market will probably

continue to be dominated by the NorthropGrummanQ-4GlobalHawk series, the firstof which flew in 1998.Funded jointly byDarpa and theDefense

Airborne Reconnaissance Office (Daro),seven YRQ-4A Block 0 technologydemonstrators were built, of which threecrashed, threewere later transferred toNasaand one (AV-3 serial 98-2003) is on show attheNationalMuseumof theUSAir Force.Next came seven 12,111-kgBlock 10RQ-

4As for theUSAir Force. They were retiredin 2011, three being transferred to the USNavy (of which one crashed) and two toNasa, and two being placed in museums.Two additional Block 10s (serials 166509-10) were built for the US Navy for theGHMD (Global Hawk MaritimeDemonstration) programme.The first true production Global Hawk

was the stretched14,628-kgBlock20RQ-4B,of which six were built for the Air Force.They initially had only Imint (imageintelligence) capability, but four wereconverted toEQ-4Bstandardwith theBACN(Battlefield Airborne CommunicationsNode) theatre relaypackage, keepinggroundforces in touch with supporting aircraft,

regardless of terrain and frequencydifferences. Two EQ-4Bs were deployed tosouth-west Asia in late 2010. The fourthconversion replaced anEQ-4B lost in a crashinAfghanistan.The remaining twoBlock20shave been used as test aircraft, one beingmodified tobecome the first Block40.The US Air Force currently refers to an

active fleet of 20 RQ-4s. This mainlyconsists of Block 30s with the 12thReconnaissance Squadron at Beale AFB,California, and Block 40s and EQ-4BBlock20s with the 348th RS at Grand Forks AFB,North Dakota. Some older Global Hawksare flown by the 1st RS training unit atBeale.The Block 30 was planned as a multi-

intelligence platform, with the RaytheonEiss (Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite) andNorthrop Grumman Asip (AirborneSignals Intelligence Payload). However,when IOC was declared in August 2011, ithad Imint only. The Asip was added later.Someobservers feel that theBlock 30 shouldhave had a much more powerful engine, inview of its increased (1360 kg) payload.In early 2012 theUSAir Force proposed

to save funds by cancelling the Block 30, of

The hydrogen-fuelled Boeing Phantom Eye Haledrone rises from its take-off dolly on its secondflight, on February 25th 2013. The aircraft now

lands on a nosewheel and centreline skid, both ofwhich are retractable. (Boeing)

Payload: 300 kg

Sar, EO/IR

t-o/recov: vtol

1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

10.67

10.97

2540 30 24

A160T Hummingbird

Boeing

Compendium Drones 2013

Payload: 50 kg

EO, Sar, elint,comint. Modifiedstructure forRobonics cat.launch

t-o/recov: cat-para

1x70 hp2-str

3.50

4.20

250 15 20

Sperwer Mk 2

Sagem

Payload: 50 kg

Optronic daysight (M-Tek)

t-o/recov: cat-para

1x TTL-Wae 342

3.11

5.21

125 16 3.00

Vulture

ATE

Payload: 8 kg

Hi-resolutionCCD or nightcamera

t-o/recov: cat-para

8 hpn/a

2.56

4.00

40 10 4.00

Aerolight

Aeronautics

Payload: n/a

Video, IR

t-o/recov: hand-belly

n/a

0.28

0.40

0.32 10 1.00

Wasp III

Aerovironment

Payload: n/a

FlirRheinmetallDefenceElectronics

t-o/recov: rato-para

1x 30 hpSchrick

SF2-350S

2.26

3.41

161 11.50 3.50

KZO

Rheinmetall

Payload: 20 kg

GimballedEO/IR(variousmanufacturers)

t-o/recov: cat-para

UEL AR74-1230

3.81

4.50

145 13.00 4+

Sojka III

VTULaSTV

Payload: 2.7 kg

Colour & CCDcameras, flir

t-o/recov: cat-para

4-cycleJP5 or FP8

1.46

2.38

9.1 16 10

Silver Fox

BAE Systems

Payload: n/a

GimballedEO/IR

t-o/recov: auto vtol

4x

0.80

0.80

1.30 1500 0.33

Scout

Datron

Payload: n/a

Stabilised day orIR

t-o/recov: cat-cable

1x 1.5 hp2-stroke

1.19

3.05

18 16 15

Scaneagle

Boeing

Payload: 1588 kg*

*internal,2948kg tot,Lynx sar, EO/IRturret, widerange of GBUs

t-o/recov: conv-conv

4,800lbtPW54B

13.4

20.11

7167 53 20

Predator C Avenger

General Atomics

Payload: n/a

Sagem 410 Sarauto land andtake-off


1x115 hpRotax914F

8.50

18

1050 25 30+

Patroller

Sagem

Payload: 300 kg

EO gimbal, Sar-GMTI (Elbit),satcom, air-to-ground weapons


1x Rotax100 hp

15

15

970 33 40

Hermes 900

Elbit Systems

Payload: 1.0 kg

day/IR, sigint

t-o/recov:hand-belly

1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

0.9

1.5

7.5 10+ 1.5

Desert Hawk III

Lockheed Martin

Payload: 363 kg

Lynx sar, L-3Wescam EO/IR,sigint, ESM,Hellfire,GBU-12, GBU-38(export: ISR only)t-o/recov: conv-conv

1x AseTPE331-

10Ttp

10.36

20.12

4763 50 30+

Predator B, Reaper MQ-9

General Atomics

Payload: 1.2 kgHigh-resolutionstabilised CCD(typically ContropM-Stamp)

t-o/recov: cat-para

brushless

1.00

2.20

6.50 18 3.00

Orbiter

Aeronautics

Payload: 2700 kg

t-o/recov: vtol

1500hpT5317A1

15.8

15.8

5200 23 12+

K-Max

Lockeed Martin-Kaman

Payload: n/a

Dcompass +Amps (Elbit), Sar,satcom


1x UELAR-80152 hp

6.10

10.52

449 20 20

Hermes 450

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a

EO, IR, laserdesignator, Sar,GMTI, radar

t-o/recov: vtol

1x R-R250-

C20W

7.01

8.22

1430 20 8.00

Fire Scout MQ-8B

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 536 kg

Gimballed multi-EO/IR, Sar,satcom +2hardpoints

t-o/recov: conv/conv

6-cylLycoming~300 hp

10.36

19.81

2268 30 40.00

Firebird

Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a

1A recon orweather sample1D geophysicalsurvey

t-o/recov: cartopconv

QA400,37cc

2.5 hp

1.75

3.28

25 n/a 4.00

D-1A SR

Dara Aviation

Payload: 34 kg

EO/IR, sar,sigint, weaponsoption

t-o/recov: cat-net

16hp2-stroke

Hirth

1.90

3.6

100 20 14

Bat 12

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1.5 kg

Interchangeabletop and bottom,IR and day-night

t-o/recov: vtol

1xelectric

n/a

n/a

6.00 n/a 0.50

Asio

Selex Galileo

Payload: 81.6 kg

EO-IR+ laserpointer & laserdesignator


1x UELAR 801R

49 hp

3.9

6.92

340 22 18

Shadow M2

AAI

ospace Industries

Payload: 50 kg

Day, IR, elint,comint, laser,rangefinder,laser pointer, Sar

t-o/recov: vtol

1x 55 hpAustroAE50R

3.09

3.40

200 18 6.00

Camcopter S-100

Schiebel

Payload: 70 kg

EOST 45(typical), Picosarand Gabbianoradars

t-o/recov: conv/cat-conv

UELAR 68275 hp

5.30

7.20

450 15 14

Falco

Selex Galileo

Payload: 25 kg

Elbit EnhancedMicro Compass


14 hp2-stroke

4.00

5.00

110 15 15+

Hermes 90

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a

TV & flir(IAI Tamam,Versatron)

t-o/recov:conv/rato-conv

1x 27 hpSachs SF2-

350

4.24

5.12

210 15 6.50

Pioneer

IAI-AAI

Payload: 9.1 kg

Various

t-o/recov: conv-conv/para

1x2-stroke28 hp

2.57

1.90

150 10 6.00

Sentry HP

DRS Technologies

Payload: 8 kg

Stabilised EOnot defined

t-o/recov: cat

n/a

n/a

4.20

35 15 5.00

Skylark II

Elbit Systems

Payload: 16 kg

Cloud Cap T2EO, Cloud CapPiccolo autopilot,two drop loads

t-o/recov: cat-belly

190-cc10 hpHonda4-str

2.87

5.26

75 n/a 16

T-20

Arcturus

Payload: n/a

EO plusI-Master radar


UELAR 801

38.8 kW

6.10

10.51

450 15 30

Watchkeeper

U-Tacs

Payload: 5 kgVarious, stabilisedEO-IR-laser pointer,comms relay,meteor sensosrs

t-o/recov:cat-belly/net

4hpheavyfuel

2.10

3.6

15.20 15 12

Aerosonde Mk. 4.7

AAI-Aerosonde

Payload: n/a

Sony day or BAEuncooled IR

t-o/recov: air-expen-dable

8 hp

0.90

1.75

6.4 25 1.5

Coyote

BAE Systems

Payload: 100 kg

EO/IR, Sar,EW, comint


UELAR 68275 hp

6.2

12.5

650 20 18+

Falco Evo

Selex ES

Payload: 0.50 kg

TV or flir Photon,gas sensors


1x 300Wtype n/a

1.05

1.50

3 - 4 low 1.00+

Mass

Patria

Payload: 0.90 kg

CCD camera orIR


1xelectric

1.80

2.70

3.60 0.6+ 1.00

Pointer

Aerovironment

Payload: 59 kg

EO/IR, laserpointer, laserrange finder &laser designator

t-o/recov: conv/cat/rato-para

1x UELAR 74138 hp

3.66

6.22

211 18 9.00

Shadow 200 RQ-7B (ext.wing)

AAI

Payload: 0.45 kg

Sony FCB-IX11AEO, DRS E3500IR cameras

t-o/recov: vtol

2-stroke3W engine

4 hp

0.40

0.33

6.80 10.50 0.70

T-Hawk Mav

Honeywell

Payload: 2040 kg

EO, IR, Sar,GMTI, ESM, IO


P&W F100

11.58

18.90

20,215 40 40+

X-47B (Ucas-D)

Northrop Grumman

demonstrator

Payload: 50 kg

Stabilised EO


Zanzottera2-piston490ia38 hp

4.50

6.50

200 18 14

Aerostar

Aeronautics

Payload: 23 kg

infrared, marker

t-o/recov: cat-snag

8 hp

2.10

4.80

59 20 24

Integrator

Boeing/Insitu

Payload: 9 kg

IR or TV ordroppable

t-o/recov: cat/belly-para

1x 15 hp2-stroke

1.83

1.83

62 8.00 4.00

Neptune RQ-15

DRS Technologies

Payload: 204 kg

MTS-A EO/IR,Lynx sar, singint,esm, GPS, INS,Hellfire


1x Rotax914

115 hp

8.23

17

1157 25 40

Predator A MQ-1

General Atomics

Payload: 200 kg

Not defined,AthenaGuidestar 311nav. & ref.system


1 turbine

~7.00

~6.00

1100 30 n/a

Sky-X

Alenia

demonstrator

Payload: 5 kg

EO


6 hp

2.47

3.98

30 10 6.00

Yarara

Nostromo Defensa

Payload: n/a

Day or IR


1xelectric

0.60

1.46

~3.0 low 0.75

Aladin

EMT

Payload: 30 kg

Mosp EO orEL/M-2055B

t-o/recov: cat-para

n/a

4.10

7.10

250 20 8.00

I-View

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a

Radar, IR plusguided bombs intwo internal bays


1x Adour

9.30

12.50

~6000 35 n/a

Neuron

Neuron

demonstrator

Payload: n/a

TV, IR, targetinglaser (Vega)

t-o/recov: cat-para

Hirth12 hp

2.40

3.40

50 70 4.00

Tipchak (1K133)

Luch

Payload: 1.00 kg

Day or IR

t-o/recov: cat-para

Electric

0.62

1.60

3.90 1.00 2.00

Zala 421-12

Zala Aero

Payload: 1.8 kg

Day or IR


1xelectric

1.40

3.60

7.50 6.50 2.00

Tracker (Drac)

EADS

turbineor t-propengine

Electricmotor

pistonengine

Wankelengine

2-str 2-strokehp horsepowertp turbopropRx Rotax engine

elec electric enginegas gasoline engines/b solid booster-cyl -cylinder

tf turbo fantj turbo jetpj pulse jeth heavy fuel

take-off/recovery abbreviationspowerplant abbreviationsconv conventionalcat catapultpara parachutebelly belly land

rato rocket-assist t-ohand hand launchedvtol vertical t-o/landstovl short t-o vertical land

Payload: 40 kg

CCD, IRstabilised turret

t-o/recov: conv/cat-conv/para

Rotax 503UL-2V

49.6 hp

4.02

5.81

300 12 6.50

Siva

Inta

Payload: 34 kg

Flir (typical), alsosigint, elint,ladar


Zanzottera498i39 hp

4.48

6.00

240 n/a 12

Viking 400

L-3

Payload: 200 kg

Denel Argos orGoshawk/Avi-tronics elint orSar


1x Rotax914 orSubaruEA-82T

10

15

1000 25 24

Bateleur

Denel

Payload: .25 kg

Stabilised panand tiltday/night colouror IR


0.45

1.7

<2 9 1

Crex-B

SelexGalileo

Payload: n/a

Day TV


2xAveox1005/6Y

1.73

1.16

2.04 1.00 1.00

Dragon Eye RQ-14A

Aerovironment

Payload: 250 kg

EO or EW


1x Rotax914

115 hp

4.00

16.3

1150 25 24

Eagle 1/Harfang

EADS-IAI Malat

Payload: 1360 kg

Block 20: sar,EO+IR wide areasearch/spot.Block 40:MR-RTIP sar/MTI radar


1x R-RAE3007 H

tf

14.53

39.90

14,628 65 36

Global Hawk RQ-4B Bk 20-40

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1360 kg

360 degreeMFAS aesaradar,satcom etc


1xRRAE30007 H

14.53

39.9

14628 60 36

Global Hawk Triton (Bams)

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1360 kg

EISS (integratedsar, EO + IR),Asips (sigint),satcom


1xRRAE30007 H

14.53

39.9

14628 60 36

Global Hawk RQ-4 Block 30

Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a

EM, TV, Sar(variousmanufacturers)


2x Rotax914

100 hp

9.39

15

1496 25 24

Hermes 1500

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a

TV & IR, custom(IAI Tamam)


1x Rotax914

115 hp

8.60

16.61

1100 30 50

Heron

IAI Malat

Payload: 204 kg*

*internal, 136ext, Lynx sar,sigint, ESM,MTS-A EO/IR


1xRotax914F

115 hp

8.00

17

1043 25 30

Sky Warrior Alpha

General Atomics

Payload: n/a



1x 30 hpSchrick

SF2-350S

2.26

3.41

161 11.50 3.50

KZO

Rheinmetall

Payload: 10 kg*

*incl fuel,modular pallet


2.5hpHonda

2.27

3.3

21.5 15 >20

Penguin B

UAVFactory

Payload: 204 kg

Lynx sar, Sigin,ESM, EO/IR,satcom, GPS,INS


Rotax 914turbo

8

17

2300 25 40

Predator XP

General Atomics

Payload: ~500 gr

Gimballed EO,IR


600W

1.40

2.80

5.9 500 2.00

Puma AE

Aerovironment

Payload: n/a

Day, IR

t-o/recov: rato-expen.

1x EnicsM44D

pulse jet

1.42

2.56

n/a n/a 0.50

R90

Enics

Payload: 20 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

UEL AR74-1230

3.81

4.50

145 13.00 4+

Sojka III

VTULaSTV

Payload: 2.7 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

4-cycleJP5 or FP8

1.46

2.38

9.1 16 10

Silver Fox

BAE Systems

Payload: n/a

GimballedEO/IR


4x

0.80

0.80

1.30 1500 0.33

Scout

Datron

Payload: 120 kg

TV & flir(IAI Tamam)


1x 73 hp

5.85

8.56

426 19 16

Searcher II

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a

Stabilised day orIR


1x 1.5 hp2-stroke

1.19

3.05

18 16 15

Scaneagle

Boeing

Payload: 1588 kg*



4,800lbtPW54B

13.4

20.11

7167 53 20

Predator C Avenger

General Atomics

Payload: n/a



1x115 hpRotax914F

8.50

18

1050 25 30+

Patroller

Sagem

Payload: 300 kg



1x Rotax100 hp

15

15

970 33 40

Hermes 900

Elbit Systems

Payload: 204 kg*

*internal,522kg ext,EO/IR, sar,4 Hellfire,satcom


Thielert165 hp

heavy fuel

8.53

17.07

1633 29 30

Gray Eagle MQ.1C

General Atomics

Payload: 1.0 kg

day/IR, sigint


1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

0.9

1.5

7.5 10+ 1.5

Desert Hawk III

Lockheed Martin

Payload: 50

electro-optical,Pakistani origin


4.2

6.6

480 17 7

Shahpar

Gids

4-cylRotax 912ULS100hp

Payload: 363 kg


1x AseTPE331-

10Ttp

10.36

20.12

4763 50 30+


General Atomics


t-o/recov: cat-para

brushless

1.00

2.20

6.50 18 3.00

Orbiter

Aeronautics

Payload: n/a

day or IR

t-o/recov:bungee/hand-belly

1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

1.48

2.10

1.52 12+ 2

Mantis

Indra

Payload: 2700 kg

t-o/recov: vtol

1500hpT5317A1

15.8

15.8

5200 23 12+

K-Max


Payload: n/a



1x UELAR-80152 hp

6.10

10.52

449 20 20

Hermes 450

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a


t-o/recov: vtol

1x R-R250-

C20W

7.01

8.22

1430 20 8.00

Fire Scout MQ-8B

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 536 kg




10.36

19.81

2268 30 40.00

Firebird

Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a



QA400,37cc

2.5 hp

1.75

3.28

25 n/a 4.00

D-1A SR

Dara Aviation

Payload: 34 kg


t-o/recov: cat-net

16hp2-stroke

Hirth

1.90

3.6

100 20 14

Bat 12

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1.5 kg


t-o/recov: vtol

1xelectric

n/a

n/a

6.00 n/a 0.50

Asio

Selex Galileo

Payload: n/a

300T E-O turret(n.b: heavy fuelengine underdev.)


8

173

000 30 24

Anka

TAI

15 hp

Payload: var

custom

t-o/recov: vert-vert

4.0

3.30

180 n/a 6-8

Apid 60

Cyb Aero

2-cyl 2strHirth

heavy fuel55hp

Payload: n/a

Micro-flir, CCTV(variousmanufacturers)

t-o/recov: conv/cat/rato-conv

1x UELAR 80150 hp

5.18

7.47

265 17 12+

Shadow 600

AAI

Payload: 81.6 kg



1x UELAR 801R

49 hp

3.9

6.92

340 22 18

Shadow M2

AAI

Payload: 300 kg

Sar, EO/IR

t-o/recov: vtol

1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

10.67

10.97

2540 30 24

A160T Hummingbird

Boeing

Armada International’s Compendium of Drones

Compendium Drones 2013Compendium Drones 2013 Compendium Drones 2013 Compendium Drones 2013

Payload: n/a

Day or IR

t-o/recov: hand orcat-belly

n/a

0.80

2.20

5.60 n/a 1.00

Bird Eye 400

IAI Malat

Payload: 8 kg

Infrared, Mpegrecorder


1xelectric

0.82

1.00

2.20 4.00 1.00

E-Swift Eye

Cyberflight

Payload: 450 kg

EO or EW


Fuel Cell8 motors

25.4

78.94

4127 65 168+

Global Observer GO-2

Aerovironment

Payload: 245 kg

TV & IR, custom(IAI Tamam,various)


1x1200 hpP&WC

PT6-67A

14

26

4650 45 36

Heron TP

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a

CCD camera(various manufs)AthenaGuidestar 311system

t-o/recov:cat-net/para

2-cyl 2-s6.70 hp

2.26

2.36

<40 10 6+

Luna

EMT

Payload: n/a

TV or LLTV orelint

t-o/recov: cat-conv

Samana/Trud

P-03232 hp

2.77

3.26

130 8.20 2.00

Pchela 1

Yakovlev Design Bureau

Payload: n/a

EO, IR(IAI Tamam)

t-o/recov: cat-conv

1x Goe-bler-Hirth

38 hp

4.60

5.70

274 14.8 5.00

Ranger

Ruag

Payload: n/a

Colour camera,multi-sensor,electronic survey

t-o/recov: conv-conv/arrestor

1x 4-cyl2-stroke50 hp

n/a

7.00

280 18 10

Seeker II

Denel

Payload: 40 kg

EO/IR

t-o/recov: vtol

2-str Hirth55 hp

4.00

4.70

230 13 ~6.00

Skeldar V-200

Saab

Payload: 50 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

1x70 hp2-str

3.50

4.20

250 15 20

Sperwer Mk 2

Sagem

Payload: 50 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

1x TTL-Wae 342

3.11

5.21

125 16 3.00

Vulture

ATE

Payload: 8 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

8 hpn/a

2.56

4.00

40 10 4.00

Aerolight

Aeronautics

Payload: 3 kg

Day/night, Sar,acoustic, remoterelay link

t-o/recov: cat-para

n/a

1.83

1.02

6.80 12 9.00

Buster LE

Mission Technologies

Payload: 1360 kg

Sigint, elint,comint, satcom,Sar MTI, +4hardpoints


1x R-RAE3007H

14.53

39.90

14,628 60 30+

Euro Hawk

Eurohawk

Payload: n/a

TV & IR(IAI Tamam)


2x 57 hpdual

7.01

10.44

885 18 20.5

Hunter MQ-5B

Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a

2 x EO, Sar


2x R-R250 tp

n/a

22

n/a 50 24

Mantis

BAE Systems

demonstrator

Payload: max 40 kg

EO/IR, soon Sar,sigint


Hirth 2-str58 hp

4.00

3.30

200 11+ 6+

Pelicano

Indra

Payload: n/a

EO, IR


1xAveox 27

1.04

1.31

1.82 14 1.50

Raven RQ-11

Aerovironment

Payload: 100 kg

EO & Sar


n/a

10

15

n/a 8.00 16

Seeker 400

Denel

Payload: n/a

Day or IRgyro-gimballed,new-gen nightsystem


n/a

2.20

5.50

4.5 16 2.00

Skylark I

Elbit Systems

Payload: 0.2 kg

Day or IR, auto-pilot.


XM300/400ES

0.60

0.66

<1.00 low 0.50

Spy Arrow

Thales

Payload: n/a

Video, IR


n/a

0.28

0.40

0.32 10 1.00

Wasp III

Aerovironment

Payload: 18 kg

Cots EO(manufacturernot determined)


n/a

n/a

4.48

70.31 15 5.00

Aerosky

Israel Aerospace Industries

Payload: 50 kg


t-o/recov: vtol

1x 55 hpAustroAE50R

3.09

3.40

200 18 6.00

Camcopter S-100

Schiebel

Payload: 70 kg



UELAR 68275 hp

5.30

7.20

450 15 14

Falco

Selex Galileo

Payload: 25 kg



14 hp2-stroke

4.00

5.00

110 15 15+

Hermes 90

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a



1x 27 hpSachs SF2-

350

4.24

5.12

210 15 6.50

Pioneer

IAI-AAI

Payload: 9.1 kg

Various


1x2-stroke28 hp

2.57

1.90

150 10 6.00

Sentry HP

DRS Technologies

Payload: 8 kg


t-o/recov: cat

n/a

n/a

4.20

35 15 5.00

Skylark II

Elbit Systems

Payload: 16 kg




2.87

5.26

75 n/a 16

T-20

Arcturus

Payload: n/a



UELAR 801

38.8 kW

6.10

10.51

450 15 30

Watchkeeper

U-Tacs



4hpheavyfuel

2.10

3.6

15.20 15 12

Aerosonde Mk. 4.7

AAI-Aerosonde

Payload: n/a



8 hp

0.90

1.75

6.4 25 1.5

Coyote

BAE Systems

Payload: 100 kg



UELAR 68275 hp

6.2

12.5

650 20 18+

Falco Evo

Selex ES

Payload: 0.50 kg



1x 300Wtype n/a

1.05

1.50

3 - 4 low 1.00+

Mass

Patria

Payload: 0.90 kg

CCD camera orIR


1xelectric

1.80

2.70

3.60 0.6+ 1.00

Pointer

Aerovironment

Payload: 59 kg



1x UELAR 74138 hp

3.66

6.22

211 18 9.00


AAI

Payload: 0.45 kg


t-o/recov: vtol

2-stroke3W engine

4 hp

0.40

0.33

6.80 10.50 0.70

T-Hawk Mav

Honeywell

Payload: 2040 kg



P&W F100

11.58

18.90

20,215 40 40+

X-47B (Ucas-D)

Northrop Grumman

demonstrator

Payload: 50 kg

Stabilised EO



4.50

6.50

200 18 14

Aerostar

Aeronautics

Payload: 23 kg

infrared, marker

t-o/recov: cat-snag

8 hp

2.10

4.80

59 20 24

Integrator

Boeing/Insitu

Payload: 9 kg



1x 15 hp2-stroke

1.83

1.83

62 8.00 4.00

Neptune RQ-15

DRS Technologies

Payload: 204 kg



1x Rotax914

115 hp

8.23

17

1157 25 40

Predator A MQ-1

General Atomics

Payload: 200 kg



1 turbine

~7.00

~6.00

1100 30 n/a

Sky-X

Alenia

demonstrator

Payload: 5 kg

EO


6 hp

2.47

3.98

30 10 6.00

Yarara

Nostromo Defensa

Payload: n/a

Day or IR


1xelectric

0.60

1.46

~3.0 low 0.75

Aladin

EMT

Payload: 30 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

n/a

4.10

7.10

250 20 8.00

I-View

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a



1x Adour

9.30

12.50

~6000 35 n/a

Neuron

Neuron

demonstrator

Payload: n/a


t-o/recov: cat-para

Hirth12 hp

2.40

3.40

50 70 4.00

Tipchak (1K133)

Luch

Payload: 1.00 kg

Day or IR

t-o/recov: cat-para

Electric

0.62

1.60

3.90 1.00 2.00

Zala 421-12

Zala Aero

Payload: 1.8 kg

Day or IR


1xelectric

1.40

3.60

7.50 6.50 2.00

Tracker (Drac)

EADS


Electricmotor

pistonengine

Wankelengine






Payload: 40 kg



Rotax 503UL-2V

49.6 hp

4.02

5.81

300 12 6.50

Siva

Inta

Payload: 34 kg



Zanzottera498i39 hp

4.48

6.00

240 n/a 12

Viking 400

L-3

Payload: 200 kg




10

15

1000 25 24

Bateleur

Denel

Payload: .25 kg



0.45

1.7

<2 9 1

Crex-B

SelexGalileo

Payload: n/a

Day TV


2xAveox1005/6Y

1.73

1.16

2.04 1.00 1.00

Dragon Eye RQ-14A

Aerovironment

Payload: 250 kg

EO or EW


1x Rotax914

115 hp

4.00

16.3

1150 25 24

Eagle 1/Harfang

EADS-IAI Malat

Payload: 1360 kg



1x R-RAE3007 H

tf

14.53

39.90

14,628 65 36


Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1360 kg



1xRRAE30007 H

14.53

39.9

14628 60 36


Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1360 kg



1xRRAE30007 H

14.53

39.9

14628 60 36


Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a



2x Rotax914

100 hp

9.39

15

1496 25 24

Hermes 1500

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a



1x Rotax914

115 hp

8.60

16.61

1100 30 50

Heron

IAI Malat

Payload: 204 kg*



1xRotax914F

115 hp

8.00

17

1043 25 30

Sky Warrior Alpha

General Atomics

Payload: n/a



1x 30 hpSchrick

SF2-350S

2.26

3.41

161 11.50 3.50

KZO

Rheinmetall

Payload: 10 kg*



2.5hpHonda

2.27

3.3

21.5 15 >20

Penguin B

UAVFactory

Payload: 204 kg



Rotax 914turbo

8

17

2300 25 40

Predator XP

General Atomics

Payload: ~500 gr

Gimballed EO,IR


600W

1.40

2.80

5.9 500 2.00

Puma AE

Aerovironment

Payload: n/a

Day, IR


1x EnicsM44D

pulse jet

1.42

2.56

n/a n/a 0.50

R90

Enics

Payload: 20 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

UEL AR74-1230

3.81

4.50

145 13.00 4+

Sojka III

VTULaSTV

Payload: 2.7 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

4-cycleJP5 or FP8

1.46

2.38

9.1 16 10

Silver Fox

BAE Systems

Payload: n/a

GimballedEO/IR


4x

0.80

0.80

1.30 1500 0.33

Scout

Datron

Payload: 120 kg



1x 73 hp

5.85

8.56

426 19 16

Searcher II

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a

Stabilised day orIR


1x 1.5 hp2-stroke

1.19

3.05

18 16 15

Scaneagle

Boeing

Payload: 1588 kg*



4,800lbtPW54B

13.4

20.11

7167 53 20

Predator C Avenger

General Atomics

Payload: n/a



1x115 hpRotax914F

8.50

18

1050 25 30+

Patroller

Sagem

Payload: 300 kg



1x Rotax100 hp

15

15

970 33 40

Hermes 900

Elbit Systems

Payload: 204 kg*



Thielert165 hp

heavy fuel

8.53

17.07

1633 29 30

Gray Eagle MQ.1C

General Atomics

Payload: 1.0 kg

day/IR, sigint


1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

0.9

1.5

7.5 10+ 1.5

Desert Hawk III

Lockheed Martin

Payload: 50



4.2

6.6

480 17 7

Shahpar

Gids


Payload: 363 kg


1x AseTPE331-

10Ttp

10.36

20.12

4763 50 30+


General Atomics


t-o/recov: cat-para

brushless

1.00

2.20

6.50 18 3.00

Orbiter

Aeronautics

Payload: n/a

day or IR


1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

1.48

2.10

1.52 12+ 2

Mantis

Indra

Payload: 2700 kg

t-o/recov: vtol

1500hpT5317A1

15.8

15.8

5200 23 12+

K-Max


Payload: n/a



1x UELAR-80152 hp

6.10

10.52

449 20 20

Hermes 450

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a


t-o/recov: vtol

1x R-R250-

C20W

7.01

8.22

1430 20 8.00

Fire Scout MQ-8B

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 536 kg




10.36

19.81

2268 30 40.00

Firebird

Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a



QA400,37cc

2.5 hp

1.75

3.28

25 n/a 4.00

D-1A SR

Dara Aviation

Payload: 34 kg


t-o/recov: cat-net

16hp2-stroke

Hirth

1.90

3.6

100 20 14

Bat 12

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1.5 kg


t-o/recov: vtol

1xelectric

n/a

n/a

6.00 n/a 0.50

Asio

Selex Galileo

Payload: n/a



8

173

000 30 24

Anka

TAI

15 hp

Payload: var

custom


4.0

3.30

180 n/a 6-8

Apid 60

Cyb Aero

2-cyl 2strHirth

heavy fuel55hp

Payload: n/a



1x UELAR 80150 hp

5.18

7.47

265 17 12+

Shadow 600

AAI

Payload: 81.6 kg



1x UELAR 801R

49 hp

3.9

6.92

340 22 18

Shadow M2

AAI

Payload: 300 kg

Sar, EO/IR

t-o/recov: vtol

1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

10.67

10.97

2540 30 24

A160T Hummingbird

Boeing



Payload: n/a

Day or IR


n/a

0.80

2.20

5.60 n/a 1.00

Bird Eye 400

IAI Malat

Payload: 8 kg



1xelectric

0.82

1.00

2.20 4.00 1.00

E-Swift Eye

Cyberflight

Payload: 450 kg

EO or EW


Fuel Cell8 motors

25.4

78.94

4127 65 168+


Aerovironment

Payload: 245 kg



1x1200 hpP&WC

PT6-67A

14

26

4650 45 36

Heron TP

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a



2-cyl 2-s6.70 hp

2.26

2.36

<40 10 6+

Luna

EMT

Payload: n/a

TV or LLTV orelint

t-o/recov: cat-conv

Samana/Trud

P-03232 hp

2.77

3.26

130 8.20 2.00

Pchela 1


Payload: n/a

EO, IR(IAI Tamam)

t-o/recov: cat-conv

1x Goe-bler-Hirth

38 hp

4.60

5.70

274 14.8 5.00

Ranger

Ruag

Payload: n/a




n/a

7.00

280 18 10

Seeker II

Denel

Payload: 40 kg

EO/IR

t-o/recov: vtol

2-str Hirth55 hp

4.00

4.70

230 13 ~6.00

Skeldar V-200

Saab

Payload: 50 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

1x70 hp2-str

3.50

4.20

250 15 20

Sperwer Mk 2

Sagem

Payload: 50 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

1x TTL-Wae 342

3.11

5.21

125 16 3.00

Vulture

ATE

Payload: 8 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

8 hpn/a

2.56

4.00

40 10 4.00

Aerolight

Aeronautics

Payload: 3 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

n/a

1.83

1.02

6.80 12 9.00

Buster LE


Payload: 1360 kg



1x R-RAE3007H

14.53

39.90

14,628 60 30+

Euro Hawk

Eurohawk

Payload: n/a

TV & IR(IAI Tamam)


2x 57 hpdual

7.01

10.44

885 18 20.5

Hunter MQ-5B

Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a

2 x EO, Sar


2x R-R250 tp

n/a

22

n/a 50 24

Mantis

BAE Systems

demonstrator

Payload: max 40 kg



Hirth 2-str58 hp

4.00

3.30

200 11+ 6+

Pelicano

Indra

Payload: n/a

EO, IR


1xAveox 27

1.04

1.31

1.82 14 1.50

Raven RQ-11

Aerovironment

Payload: 100 kg

EO & Sar


n/a

10

15

n/a 8.00 16

Seeker 400

Denel

Payload: n/a



n/a

2.20

5.50

4.5 16 2.00

Skylark I

Elbit Systems

Payload: 0.2 kg



XM300/400ES

0.60

0.66

<1.00 low 0.50

Spy Arrow

Thales

Payload: n/a

Video, IR


n/a

0.28

0.40

0.32 10 1.00

Wasp III

Aerovironment

Payload: 18 kg



n/a

n/a

4.48

70.31 15 5.00

Aerosky


Payload: 50 kg


t-o/recov: vtol

1x 55 hpAustroAE50R

3.09

3.40

200 18 6.00

Camcopter S-100

Schiebel

Payload: 70 kg



UELAR 68275 hp

5.30

7.20

450 15 14

Falco

Selex Galileo

Payload: 25 kg



14 hp2-stroke

4.00

5.00

110 15 15+

Hermes 90

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a



1x 27 hpSachs SF2-

350

4.24

5.12

210 15 6.50

Pioneer

IAI-AAI

Payload: 9.1 kg

Various


1x2-stroke28 hp

2.57

1.90

150 10 6.00

Sentry HP

DRS Technologies

Payload: 8 kg


t-o/recov: cat

n/a

n/a

4.20

35 15 5.00

Skylark II

Elbit Systems

Payload: 16 kg




2.87

5.26

75 n/a 16

T-20

Arcturus

Payload: n/a



UELAR 801

38.8 kW

6.10

10.51

450 15 30

Watchkeeper

U-Tacs



4hpheavyfuel

2.10

3.6

15.20 15 12

Aerosonde Mk. 4.7

AAI-Aerosonde

Payload: n/a



8 hp

0.90

1.75

6.4 25 1.5

Coyote

BAE Systems

Payload: 100 kg



UELAR 68275 hp

6.2

12.5

650 20 18+

Falco Evo

Selex ES

Payload: 0.50 kg



1x 300Wtype n/a

1.05

1.50

3 - 4 low 1.00+

Mass

Patria

Payload: 0.90 kg

CCD camera orIR


1xelectric

1.80

2.70

3.60 0.6+ 1.00

Pointer

Aerovironment

Payload: 59 kg



1x UELAR 74138 hp

3.66

6.22

211 18 9.00


AAI

Payload: 0.45 kg


t-o/recov: vtol

2-stroke3W engine

4 hp

0.40

0.33

6.80 10.50 0.70

T-Hawk Mav

Honeywell

Payload: 2040 kg



P&W F100

11.58

18.90

20,215 40 40+

X-47B (Ucas-D)

Northrop Grumman

demonstrator

Payload: 50 kg

Stabilised EO



4.50

6.50

200 18 14

Aerostar

Aeronautics

Payload: 23 kg

infrared, marker

t-o/recov: cat-snag

8 hp

2.10

4.80

59 20 24

Integrator

Boeing/Insitu

Payload: 9 kg



1x 15 hp2-stroke

1.83

1.83

62 8.00 4.00

Neptune RQ-15

DRS Technologies

Payload: 204 kg



1x Rotax914

115 hp

8.23

17

1157 25 40

Predator A MQ-1

General Atomics

Payload: 200 kg



1 turbine

~7.00

~6.00

1100 30 n/a

Sky-X

Alenia

demonstrator

Payload: 5 kg

EO


6 hp

2.47

3.98

30 10 6.00

Yarara

Nostromo Defensa

Payload: n/a

Day or IR


1xelectric

0.60

1.46

~3.0 low 0.75

Aladin

EMT

Payload: 30 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

n/a

4.10

7.10

250 20 8.00

I-View

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a



1x Adour

9.30

12.50

~6000 35 n/a

Neuron

Neuron

demonstrator

Payload: n/a


t-o/recov: cat-para

Hirth12 hp

2.40

3.40

50 70 4.00

Tipchak (1K133)

Luch

Payload: 1.00 kg

Day or IR

t-o/recov: cat-para

Electric

0.62

1.60

3.90 1.00 2.00

Zala 421-12

Zala Aero

Payload: 1.8 kg

Day or IR


1xelectric

1.40

3.60

7.50 6.50 2.00

Tracker (Drac)

EADS


Electricmotor

pistonengine

Wankelengine






Payload: 40 kg



Rotax 503UL-2V

49.6 hp

4.02

5.81

300 12 6.50

Siva

Inta

Payload: 34 kg



Zanzottera498i39 hp

4.48

6.00

240 n/a 12

Viking 400

L-3

Payload: 200 kg




10

15

1000 25 24

Bateleur

Denel

Payload: .25 kg



0.45

1.7

<2 9 1

Crex-B

SelexGalileo

Payload: n/a

Day TV


2xAveox1005/6Y

1.73

1.16

2.04 1.00 1.00

Dragon Eye RQ-14A

Aerovironment

Payload: 250 kg

EO or EW


1x Rotax914

115 hp

4.00

16.3

1150 25 24

Eagle 1/Harfang

EADS-IAI Malat

Payload: 1360 kg



1x R-RAE3007 H

tf

14.53

39.90

14,628 65 36


Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1360 kg



1xRRAE30007 H

14.53

39.9

14628 60 36


Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1360 kg



1xRRAE30007 H

14.53

39.9

14628 60 36


Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a



2x Rotax914

100 hp

9.39

15

1496 25 24

Hermes 1500

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a



1x Rotax914

115 hp

8.60

16.61

1100 30 50

Heron

IAI Malat

Payload: 204 kg*



1xRotax914F

115 hp

8.00

17

1043 25 30

Sky Warrior Alpha

General Atomics

Payload: n/a



1x 30 hpSchrick

SF2-350S

2.26

3.41

161 11.50 3.50

KZO

Rheinmetall

Payload: 10 kg*



2.5hpHonda

2.27

3.3

21.5 15 >20

Penguin B

UAVFactory

Payload: 204 kg



Rotax 914turbo

8

17

2300 25 40

Predator XP

General Atomics

Payload: ~500 gr

Gimballed EO,IR


600W

1.40

2.80

5.9 500 2.00

Puma AE

Aerovironment

Payload: n/a

Day, IR


1x EnicsM44D

pulse jet

1.42

2.56

n/a n/a 0.50

R90

Enics

Payload: 20 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

UEL AR74-1230

3.81

4.50

145 13.00 4+

Sojka III

VTULaSTV

Payload: 2.7 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

4-cycleJP5 or FP8

1.46

2.38

9.1 16 10

Silver Fox

BAE Systems

Payload: n/a

GimballedEO/IR


4x

0.80

0.80

1.30 1500 0.33

Scout

Datron

Payload: 120 kg



1x 73 hp

5.85

8.56

426 19 16

Searcher II

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a

Stabilised day orIR


1x 1.5 hp2-stroke

1.19

3.05

18 16 15

Scaneagle

Boeing

Payload: 1588 kg*



4,800lbtPW54B

13.4

20.11

7167 53 20

Predator C Avenger

General Atomics

Payload: n/a



1x115 hpRotax914F

8.50

18

1050 25 30+

Patroller

Sagem

Payload: 300 kg



1x Rotax100 hp

15

15

970 33 40

Hermes 900

Elbit Systems

Payload: 204 kg*



Thielert165 hp

heavy fuel

8.53

17.07

1633 29 30

Gray Eagle MQ.1C

General Atomics

Payload: 1.0 kg

day/IR, sigint


1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

0.9

1.5

7.5 10+ 1.5

Desert Hawk III

Lockheed Martin

Payload: 50



4.2

6.6

480 17 7

Shahpar

Gids


Payload: 363 kg


1x AseTPE331-

10Ttp

10.36

20.12

4763 50 30+


General Atomics


t-o/recov: cat-para

brushless

1.00

2.20

6.50 18 3.00

Orbiter

Aeronautics

Payload: n/a

day or IR


1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

1.48

2.10

1.52 12+ 2

Mantis

Indra

Payload: 2700 kg

t-o/recov: vtol

1500hpT5317A1

15.8

15.8

5200 23 12+

K-Max


Payload: n/a



1x UELAR-80152 hp

6.10

10.52

449 20 20

Hermes 450

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a


t-o/recov: vtol

1x R-R250-

C20W

7.01

8.22

1430 20 8.00

Fire Scout MQ-8B

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 536 kg




10.36

19.81

2268 30 40.00

Firebird

Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a



QA400,37cc

2.5 hp

1.75

3.28

25 n/a 4.00

D-1A SR

Dara Aviation

Payload: 34 kg


t-o/recov: cat-net

16hp2-stroke

Hirth

1.90

3.6

100 20 14

Bat 12

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1.5 kg


t-o/recov: vtol

1xelectric

n/a

n/a

6.00 n/a 0.50

Asio

Selex Galileo

Payload: n/a



8

173

000 30 24

Anka

TAI

15 hp

Payload: var

custom


4.0

3.30

180 n/a 6-8

Apid 60

Cyb Aero

2-cyl 2strHirth

heavy fuel55hp

Payload: n/a



1x UELAR 80150 hp

5.18

7.47

265 17 12+

Shadow 600

AAI

Payload: 81.6 kg



1x UELAR 801R

49 hp

3.9

6.92

340 22 18

Shadow M2

AAI

Payload: 300 kg

Sar, EO/IR

t-o/recov: vtol

1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

10.67

10.97

2540 30 24

A160T Hummingbird

Boeing



Payload: n/a

Day or IR


n/a

0.80

2.20

5.60 n/a 1.00

Bird Eye 400

IAI Malat

Payload: 8 kg



1xelectric

0.82

1.00

2.20 4.00 1.00

E-Swift Eye

Cyberflight

Payload: 450 kg

EO or EW


Fuel Cell8 motors

25.4

78.94

4127 65 168+


Aerovironment

Payload: 245 kg



1x1200 hpP&WC

PT6-67A

14

26

4650 45 36

Heron TP

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a



2-cyl 2-s6.70 hp

2.26

2.36

<40 10 6+

Luna

EMT

Payload: n/a

TV or LLTV orelint

t-o/recov: cat-conv

Samana/Trud

P-03232 hp

2.77

3.26

130 8.20 2.00

Pchela 1


Payload: n/a

EO, IR(IAI Tamam)

t-o/recov: cat-conv

1x Goe-bler-Hirth

38 hp

4.60

5.70

274 14.8 5.00

Ranger

Ruag

Payload: n/a




n/a

7.00

280 18 10

Seeker II

Denel

Payload: 40 kg

EO/IR

t-o/recov: vtol

2-str Hirth55 hp

4.00

4.70

230 13 ~6.00

Skeldar V-200

Saab

Payload: 50 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

1x70 hp2-str

3.50

4.20

250 15 20

Sperwer Mk 2

Sagem

Payload: 50 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

1x TTL-Wae 342

3.11

5.21

125 16 3.00

Vulture

ATE

Payload: 8 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

8 hpn/a

2.56

4.00

40 10 4.00

Aerolight

Aeronautics

Payload: 3 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

n/a

1.83

1.02

6.80 12 9.00

Buster LE


Payload: 1360 kg



1x R-RAE3007H

14.53

39.90

14,628 60 30+

Euro Hawk

Eurohawk

Payload: n/a

TV & IR(IAI Tamam)


2x 57 hpdual

7.01

10.44

885 18 20.5

Hunter MQ-5B

Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a

2 x EO, Sar


2x R-R250 tp

n/a

22

n/a 50 24

Mantis

BAE Systems

demonstrator

Payload: max 40 kg



Hirth 2-str58 hp

4.00

3.30

200 11+ 6+

Pelicano

Indra

Payload: n/a

EO, IR


1xAveox 27

1.04

1.31

1.82 14 1.50

Raven RQ-11

Aerovironment

Payload: 100 kg

EO & Sar


n/a

10

15

n/a 8.00 16

Seeker 400

Denel

Payload: n/a



n/a

2.20

5.50

4.5 16 2.00

Skylark I

Elbit Systems

Payload: 0.2 kg



XM300/400ES

0.60

0.66

<1.00 low 0.50

Spy Arrow

Thales

Payload: n/a

Video, IR


n/a

0.28

0.40

0.32 10 1.00

Wasp III

Aerovironment

Payload: 18 kg



n/a

n/a

4.48

70.31 15 5.00

Aerosky


Payload: 50 kg


t-o/recov: vtol

1x 55 hpAustroAE50R

3.09

3.40

200 18 6.00

Camcopter S-100

Schiebel

Payload: 70 kg



UELAR 68275 hp

5.30

7.20

450 15 14

Falco

Selex Galileo

Payload: 25 kg



14 hp2-stroke

4.00

5.00

110 15 15+

Hermes 90

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a



1x 27 hpSachs SF2-

350

4.24

5.12

210 15 6.50

Pioneer

IAI-AAI

Payload: 9.1 kg

Various


1x2-stroke28 hp

2.57

1.90

150 10 6.00

Sentry HP

DRS Technologies

Payload: 8 kg


t-o/recov: cat

n/a

n/a

4.20

35 15 5.00

Skylark II

Elbit Systems

Payload: 16 kg




2.87

5.26

75 n/a 16

T-20

Arcturus

Payload: n/a



UELAR 801

38.8 kW

6.10

10.51

450 15 30

Watchkeeper

U-Tacs



4hpheavyfuel

2.10

3.6

15.20 15 12

Aerosonde Mk. 4.7

AAI-Aerosonde

Payload: n/a



8 hp

0.90

1.75

6.4 25 1.5

Coyote

BAE Systems

Payload: 100 kg



UELAR 68275 hp

6.2

12.5

650 20 18+

Falco Evo

Selex ES

Payload: 0.50 kg



1x 300Wtype n/a

1.05

1.50

3 - 4 low 1.00+

Mass

Patria

Payload: 0.90 kg

CCD camera orIR


1xelectric

1.80

2.70

3.60 0.6+ 1.00

Pointer

Aerovironment

Payload: 59 kg



1x UELAR 74138 hp

3.66

6.22

211 18 9.00


AAI

Payload: 0.45 kg


t-o/recov: vtol

2-stroke3W engine

4 hp

0.40

0.33

6.80 10.50 0.70

T-Hawk Mav

Honeywell

Payload: 2040 kg



P&W F100

11.58

18.90

20,215 40 40+

X-47B (Ucas-D)

Northrop Grumman

demonstrator

Payload: 50 kg

Stabilised EO



4.50

6.50

200 18 14

Aerostar

Aeronautics

Payload: 23 kg

infrared, marker

t-o/recov: cat-snag

8 hp

2.10

4.80

59 20 24

Integrator

Boeing/Insitu

Payload: 9 kg



1x 15 hp2-stroke

1.83

1.83

62 8.00 4.00

Neptune RQ-15

DRS Technologies

Payload: 204 kg



1x Rotax914

115 hp

8.23

17

1157 25 40

Predator A MQ-1

General Atomics

Payload: 200 kg



1 turbine

~7.00

~6.00

1100 30 n/a

Sky-X

Alenia

demonstrator

Payload: 5 kg

EO


6 hp

2.47

3.98

30 10 6.00

Yarara

Nostromo Defensa

Payload: n/a

Day or IR


1xelectric

0.60

1.46

~3.0 low 0.75

Aladin

EMT

Payload: 30 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

n/a

4.10

7.10

250 20 8.00

I-View

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a



1x Adour

9.30

12.50

~6000 35 n/a

Neuron

Neuron

demonstrator

Payload: n/a


t-o/recov: cat-para

Hirth12 hp

2.40

3.40

50 70 4.00

Tipchak (1K133)

Luch

Payload: 1.00 kg

Day or IR

t-o/recov: cat-para

Electric

0.62

1.60

3.90 1.00 2.00

Zala 421-12

Zala Aero

Payload: 1.8 kg

Day or IR


1xelectric

1.40

3.60

7.50 6.50 2.00

Tracker (Drac)

EADS


Electricmotor

pistonengine

Wankelengine






Payload: 40 kg



Rotax 503UL-2V

49.6 hp

4.02

5.81

300 12 6.50

Siva

Inta

Payload: 34 kg



Zanzottera498i39 hp

4.48

6.00

240 n/a 12

Viking 400

L-3

Payload: 200 kg




10

15

1000 25 24

Bateleur

Denel

Payload: .25 kg



0.45

1.7

<2 9 1

Crex-B

SelexGalileo

Payload: n/a

Day TV


2xAveox1005/6Y

1.73

1.16

2.04 1.00 1.00

Dragon Eye RQ-14A

Aerovironment

Payload: 250 kg

EO or EW


1x Rotax914

115 hp

4.00

16.3

1150 25 24

Eagle 1/Harfang

EADS-IAI Malat

Payload: 1360 kg



1x R-RAE3007 H

tf

14.53

39.90

14,628 65 36


Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1360 kg



1xRRAE30007 H

14.53

39.9

14628 60 36


Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1360 kg



1xRRAE30007 H

14.53

39.9

14628 60 36


Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a



2x Rotax914

100 hp

9.39

15

1496 25 24

Hermes 1500

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a



1x Rotax914

115 hp

8.60

16.61

1100 30 50

Heron

IAI Malat

Payload: 204 kg*



1xRotax914F

115 hp

8.00

17

1043 25 30

Sky Warrior Alpha

General Atomics

Payload: n/a



1x 30 hpSchrick

SF2-350S

2.26

3.41

161 11.50 3.50

KZO

Rheinmetall

Payload: 10 kg*



2.5hpHonda

2.27

3.3

21.5 15 >20

Penguin B

UAVFactory

Payload: 204 kg



Rotax 914turbo

8

17

2300 25 40

Predator XP

General Atomics

Payload: ~500 gr

Gimballed EO,IR


600W

1.40

2.80

5.9 500 2.00

Puma AE

Aerovironment

Payload: n/a

Day, IR


1x EnicsM44D

pulse jet

1.42

2.56

n/a n/a 0.50

R90

Enics

Payload: 20 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

UEL AR74-1230

3.81

4.50

145 13.00 4+

Sojka III

VTULaSTV

Payload: 2.7 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

4-cycleJP5 or FP8

1.46

2.38

9.1 16 10

Silver Fox

BAE Systems

Payload: n/a

GimballedEO/IR


4x

0.80

0.80

1.30 1500 0.33

Scout

Datron

Payload: 120 kg



1x 73 hp

5.85

8.56

426 19 16

Searcher II

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a

Stabilised day orIR


1x 1.5 hp2-stroke

1.19

3.05

18 16 15

Scaneagle

Boeing

Payload: 1588 kg*



4,800lbtPW54B

13.4

20.11

7167 53 20

Predator C Avenger

General Atomics

Payload: n/a



1x115 hpRotax914F

8.50

18

1050 25 30+

Patroller

Sagem

Payload: 300 kg



1x Rotax100 hp

15

15

970 33 40

Hermes 900

Elbit Systems

Payload: 204 kg*



Thielert165 hp

heavy fuel

8.53

17.07

1633 29 30

Gray Eagle MQ.1C

General Atomics

Payload: 1.0 kg

day/IR, sigint


1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

0.9

1.5

7.5 10+ 1.5

Desert Hawk III

Lockheed Martin

Payload: 50



4.2

6.6

480 17 7

Shahpar

Gids


Payload: 363 kg


1x AseTPE331-

10Ttp

10.36

20.12

4763 50 30+


General Atomics


t-o/recov: cat-para

brushless

1.00

2.20

6.50 18 3.00

Orbiter

Aeronautics

Payload: n/a

day or IR


1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

1.48

2.10

1.52 12+ 2

Mantis

Indra

Payload: 2700 kg

t-o/recov: vtol

1500hpT5317A1

15.8

15.8

5200 23 12+

K-Max


Payload: n/a



1x UELAR-80152 hp

6.10

10.52

449 20 20

Hermes 450

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a


t-o/recov: vtol

1x R-R250-

C20W

7.01

8.22

1430 20 8.00

Fire Scout MQ-8B

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 536 kg




10.36

19.81

2268 30 40.00

Firebird

Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a



QA400,37cc

2.5 hp

1.75

3.28

25 n/a 4.00

D-1A SR

Dara Aviation

Payload: 34 kg


t-o/recov: cat-net

16hp2-stroke

Hirth

1.90

3.6

100 20 14

Bat 12

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1.5 kg


t-o/recov: vtol

1xelectric

n/a

n/a

6.00 n/a 0.50

Asio

Selex Galileo

Payload: n/a



8

173

000 30 24

Anka

TAI

15 hp

Payload: var

custom


4.0

3.30

180 n/a 6-8

Apid 60

Cyb Aero

2-cyl 2strHirth

heavy fuel55hp

Payload: n/a



1x UELAR 80150 hp

5.18

7.47

265 17 12+

Shadow 600

AAI

Payload: 81.6 kg



1x UELAR 801R

49 hp

3.9

6.92

340 22 18

Shadow M2

AAI

Payload: 300 kg

Sar, EO/IR

t-o/recov: vtol

1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

10.67

10.97

2540 30 24

A160T Hummingbird

Boeing



Payload: n/a

Day or IR


n/a

0.80

2.20

5.60 n/a 1.00

Bird Eye 400

IAI Malat

Payload: 8 kg



1xelectric

0.82

1.00

2.20 4.00 1.00

E-Swift Eye

Cyberflight

Payload: 450 kg

EO or EW


Fuel Cell8 motors

25.4

78.94

4127 65 168+


Aerovironment

Payload: 245 kg



1x1200 hpP&WC

PT6-67A

14

26

4650 45 36

Heron TP

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a



2-cyl 2-s6.70 hp

2.26

2.36

<40 10 6+

Luna

EMT

Payload: n/a

TV or LLTV orelint

t-o/recov: cat-conv

Samana/Trud

P-03232 hp

2.77

3.26

130 8.20 2.00

Pchela 1


Payload: n/a

EO, IR(IAI Tamam)

t-o/recov: cat-conv

1x Goe-bler-Hirth

38 hp

4.60

5.70

274 14.8 5.00

Ranger

Ruag

Payload: n/a




n/a

7.00

280 18 10

Seeker II

Denel

Payload: 40 kg

EO/IR

t-o/recov: vtol

2-str Hirth55 hp

4.00

4.70

230 13 ~6.00

Skeldar V-200

Saab

Payload: 50 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

1x70 hp2-str

3.50

4.20

250 15 20

Sperwer Mk 2

Sagem

Payload: 50 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

1x TTL-Wae 342

3.11

5.21

125 16 3.00

Vulture

ATE

Payload: 8 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

8 hpn/a

2.56

4.00

40 10 4.00

Aerolight

Aeronautics

Payload: 3 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

n/a

1.83

1.02

6.80 12 9.00

Buster LE


Payload: 1360 kg



1x R-RAE3007H

14.53

39.90

14,628 60 30+

Euro Hawk

Eurohawk

Payload: n/a

TV & IR(IAI Tamam)


2x 57 hpdual

7.01

10.44

885 18 20.5

Hunter MQ-5B

Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a

2 x EO, Sar


2x R-R250 tp

n/a

22

n/a 50 24

Mantis

BAE Systems

demonstrator

Payload: max 40 kg



Hirth 2-str58 hp

4.00

3.30

200 11+ 6+

Pelicano

Indra

Payload: n/a

EO, IR


1xAveox 27

1.04

1.31

1.82 14 1.50

Raven RQ-11

Aerovironment

Payload: 100 kg

EO & Sar


n/a

10

15

n/a 8.00 16

Seeker 400

Denel

Payload: n/a



n/a

2.20

5.50

4.5 16 2.00

Skylark I

Elbit Systems

Payload: 0.2 kg



XM300/400ES

0.60

0.66

<1.00 low 0.50

Spy Arrow

Thales

Payload: n/a

Video, IR


n/a

0.28

0.40

0.32 10 1.00

Wasp III

Aerovironment

Payload: 18 kg



n/a

n/a

4.48

70.31 15 5.00

Aerosky


Payload: 50 kg


t-o/recov: vtol

1x 55 hpAustroAE50R

3.09

3.40

200 18 6.00

Camcopter S-100

Schiebel

Payload: 70 kg



UELAR 68275 hp

5.30

7.20

450 15 14

Falco

Selex Galileo

Payload: 25 kg



14 hp2-stroke

4.00

5.00

110 15 15+

Hermes 90

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a



1x 27 hpSachs SF2-

350

4.24

5.12

210 15 6.50

Pioneer

IAI-AAI

Payload: 9.1 kg

Various


1x2-stroke28 hp

2.57

1.90

150 10 6.00

Sentry HP

DRS Technologies

Payload: 8 kg


t-o/recov: cat

n/a

n/a

4.20

35 15 5.00

Skylark II

Elbit Systems

Payload: 16 kg




2.87

5.26

75 n/a 16

T-20

Arcturus

Payload: n/a



UELAR 801

38.8 kW

6.10

10.51

450 15 30

Watchkeeper

U-Tacs



4hpheavyfuel

2.10

3.6

15.20 15 12

Aerosonde Mk. 4.7

AAI-Aerosonde

Payload: n/a



8 hp

0.90

1.75

6.4 25 1.5

Coyote

BAE Systems

Payload: 100 kg



UELAR 68275 hp

6.2

12.5

650 20 18+

Falco Evo

Selex ES

Payload: 0.50 kg



1x 300Wtype n/a

1.05

1.50

3 - 4 low 1.00+

Mass

Patria

Payload: 0.90 kg

CCD camera orIR


1xelectric

1.80

2.70

3.60 0.6+ 1.00

Pointer

Aerovironment

Payload: 59 kg



1x UELAR 74138 hp

3.66

6.22

211 18 9.00


AAI

Payload: 0.45 kg


t-o/recov: vtol

2-stroke3W engine

4 hp

0.40

0.33

6.80 10.50 0.70

T-Hawk Mav

Honeywell

Payload: 2040 kg



P&W F100

11.58

18.90

20,215 40 40+

X-47B (Ucas-D)

Northrop Grumman

demonstrator

Payload: 50 kg

Stabilised EO



4.50

6.50

200 18 14

Aerostar

Aeronautics

Payload: 23 kg

infrared, marker

t-o/recov: cat-snag

8 hp

2.10

4.80

59 20 24

Integrator

Boeing/Insitu

Payload: 9 kg



1x 15 hp2-stroke

1.83

1.83

62 8.00 4.00

Neptune RQ-15

DRS Technologies

Payload: 204 kg



1x Rotax914

115 hp

8.23

17

1157 25 40

Predator A MQ-1

General Atomics

Payload: 200 kg



1 turbine

~7.00

~6.00

1100 30 n/a

Sky-X

Alenia

demonstrator

Payload: 5 kg

EO


6 hp

2.47

3.98

30 10 6.00

Yarara

Nostromo Defensa

Payload: n/a

Day or IR


1xelectric

0.60

1.46

~3.0 low 0.75

Aladin

EMT

Payload: 30 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

n/a

4.10

7.10

250 20 8.00

I-View

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a



1x Adour

9.30

12.50

~6000 35 n/a

Neuron

Neuron

demonstrator

Payload: n/a


t-o/recov: cat-para

Hirth12 hp

2.40

3.40

50 70 4.00

Tipchak (1K133)

Luch

Payload: 1.00 kg

Day or IR

t-o/recov: cat-para

Electric

0.62

1.60

3.90 1.00 2.00

Zala 421-12

Zala Aero

Payload: 1.8 kg

Day or IR


1xelectric

1.40

3.60

7.50 6.50 2.00

Tracker (Drac)

EADS


Electricmotor

pistonengine

Wankelengine






Payload: 40 kg



Rotax 503UL-2V

49.6 hp

4.02

5.81

300 12 6.50

Siva

Inta

Payload: 34 kg



Zanzottera498i39 hp

4.48

6.00

240 n/a 12

Viking 400

L-3

Payload: 200 kg




10

15

1000 25 24

Bateleur

Denel

Payload: .25 kg



0.45

1.7

<2 9 1

Crex-B

SelexGalileo

Payload: n/a

Day TV


2xAveox1005/6Y

1.73

1.16

2.04 1.00 1.00

Dragon Eye RQ-14A

Aerovironment

Payload: 250 kg

EO or EW


1x Rotax914

115 hp

4.00

16.3

1150 25 24

Eagle 1/Harfang

EADS-IAI Malat

Payload: 1360 kg



1x R-RAE3007 H

tf

14.53

39.90

14,628 65 36


Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1360 kg



1xRRAE30007 H

14.53

39.9

14628 60 36


Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1360 kg



1xRRAE30007 H

14.53

39.9

14628 60 36


Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a



2x Rotax914

100 hp

9.39

15

1496 25 24

Hermes 1500

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a



1x Rotax914

115 hp

8.60

16.61

1100 30 50

Heron

IAI Malat

Payload: 204 kg*



1xRotax914F

115 hp

8.00

17

1043 25 30

Sky Warrior Alpha

General Atomics

Payload: n/a



1x 30 hpSchrick

SF2-350S

2.26

3.41

161 11.50 3.50

KZO

Rheinmetall

Payload: 10 kg*



2.5hpHonda

2.27

3.3

21.5 15 >20

Penguin B

UAVFactory

Payload: 204 kg



Rotax 914turbo

8

17

2300 25 40

Predator XP

General Atomics

Payload: ~500 gr

Gimballed EO,IR


600W

1.40

2.80

5.9 500 2.00

Puma AE

Aerovironment

Payload: n/a

Day, IR


1x EnicsM44D

pulse jet

1.42

2.56

n/a n/a 0.50

R90

Enics

Payload: 20 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

UEL AR74-1230

3.81

4.50

145 13.00 4+

Sojka III

VTULaSTV

Payload: 2.7 kg


t-o/recov: cat-para

4-cycleJP5 or FP8

1.46

2.38

9.1 16 10

Silver Fox

BAE Systems

Payload: n/a

GimballedEO/IR


4x

0.80

0.80

1.30 1500 0.33

Scout

Datron

Payload: 120 kg



1x 73 hp

5.85

8.56

426 19 16

Searcher II

IAI Malat

Payload: n/a

Stabilised day orIR


1x 1.5 hp2-stroke

1.19

3.05

18 16 15

Scaneagle

Boeing

Payload: 1588 kg*



4,800lbtPW54B

13.4

20.11

7167 53 20

Predator C Avenger

General Atomics

Payload: n/a



1x115 hpRotax914F

8.50

18

1050 25 30+

Patroller

Sagem

Payload: 300 kg



1x Rotax100 hp

15

15

970 33 40

Hermes 900

Elbit Systems

Payload: 204 kg*



Thielert165 hp

heavy fuel

8.53

17.07

1633 29 30

Gray Eagle MQ.1C

General Atomics

Payload: 1.0 kg

day/IR, sigint


1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

0.9

1.5

7.5 10+ 1.5

Desert Hawk III

Lockheed Martin

Payload: 50



4.2

6.6

480 17 7

Shahpar

Gids


Payload: 363 kg


1x AseTPE331-

10Ttp

10.36

20.12

4763 50 30+


General Atomics


t-o/recov: cat-para

brushless

1.00

2.20

6.50 18 3.00

Orbiter

Aeronautics

Payload: n/a

day or IR


1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

1.48

2.10

1.52 12+ 2

Mantis

Indra

Payload: 2700 kg

t-o/recov: vtol

1500hpT5317A1

15.8

15.8

5200 23 12+

K-Max


Payload: n/a



1x UELAR-80152 hp

6.10

10.52

449 20 20

Hermes 450

Elbit Systems

Payload: n/a


t-o/recov: vtol

1x R-R250-

C20W

7.01

8.22

1430 20 8.00

Fire Scout MQ-8B

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 536 kg




10.36

19.81

2268 30 40.00

Firebird

Northrop Grumman

Payload: n/a



QA400,37cc

2.5 hp

1.75

3.28

25 n/a 4.00

D-1A SR

Dara Aviation

Payload: 34 kg


t-o/recov: cat-net

16hp2-stroke

Hirth

1.90

3.6

100 20 14

Bat 12

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1.5 kg


t-o/recov: vtol

1xelectric

n/a

n/a

6.00 n/a 0.50

Asio

Selex Galileo

Payload: n/a



8

173

000 30 24

Anka

TAI

15 hp

Payload: var

custom


4.0

3.30

180 n/a 6-8

Apid 60

Cyb Aero

2-cyl 2strHirth

heavy fuel55hp

Payload: n/a



1x UELAR 80150 hp

5.18

7.47

265 17 12+

Shadow 600

AAI

Payload: 81.6 kg



1x UELAR 801R

49 hp

3.9

6.92

340 22 18

Shadow M2

AAI

24

which31wereplanned.Of the 18ordered, 16have been delivered and the next is due forcompletion in 2014. However, the FY2013Defense Authorization Bill instructed theservice to keep its Block 30s flying (they arecurrently operating from Al Dhafra AB intheUAE), at least until the end of 2014.

The Block 40 is equipped with theNorthrop Grumman/Raytheon ZPY-2(previously MP-RTIP) Aesa radar,providing Sar/GMTI facilities. The first ofeleven ordered under FY2012 funding flewon November 16, 2009. At time of writingeight have been delivered, and another isscheduled for 2014. The Block 40 is toundergo Operational Utility Assessment(OUA) shortly, and Initial Operational Test&Evaluation (IOT&E) fromMay 2014.

The original plan called forBlock 40 IOCby FY2014. At time of writing the US AirForce is expected to ask for no funding forthe Block 30 and 40 in its FY2014 request,allowing it to terminate operations by theseaircraft in 2015. This would leave only thefour BACN EQ-4Bs. There have beensuggestions that the Block 40 has been thevictim of inter-service rivalry, since(performing the JointStars role) it isvirtually aUSArmyprogramme.

The Pentagon’s FY2013 budget requestwas limited to three Block 40s for the NatoAGS (Alliance Ground Surveillance)programme and three MQ-4C Tritons fortheUSNavyBams programme.

The recent inclusion of Poland in AGSmeans that theprogramme isnowsupportedby14nations.Canada andDenmark are alsoexpected to join, but Britain and Franceprefer to contribute different ISR assets. Thefirst of fiveAGSaircraft beingacquiredunder

a $ 1.7 billion Nato contract of May 2012 isdue to fly in2015.Theunit is scheduled tobefully operational by 2017 at Sigonella AB inSicily, colocated with US Air Force GlobalHawks andNavyTritons.

The German Air Force RQ-4E EuroHawk, based on the Block 20, has partneredNorthrop Grumman with Cassidian. Thedevelopment aircraftwas flown toGermanyin July 2011, fitted with the Germancompany’s Sigint payload, and flew again on

January 11, 2013. It was to be assigned toreconnaissancewingAKG-51 ‘Immelmann’at Schleswig-Jagel AB, alongside the threeGermanNavyBreguetAtlanticATL-1s thatthe EuroHawkwas to replace. However, inMay itwas announced that the procurementof four more Euro Hawks had beencancelled, due to the difficulty of integratingthe drones into European airspace.

TheUSNavyNorthropGrummanMQ-4C Triton differs from the US Air ForceGlobal Hawk in several respects. Itsequipment includes the NorthropGrumman ZPY-3 MFAS (Multi-FunctionActive Sensor) radar, a chin-mountedRaytheon MTS-B/DAS-1 EO/IR sensorturret, a forward-looking ITT Exelis “DueRegard Radar” that detects other aircraft ata distance of up to 16 km, TCAS (TrafficCollision Avoidance System), ADS-B(Automatic Dependent Surveillance –Broadcast), SNC’s ZLQ-1 electronicsupport measures, and an AIS (AutomaticIdentification System) receiving VHFtransmissions from surface vessels.Thewing is strengthened to deal with gustsand bird strikes, and provided withde-icing gear.

Development of the MQ-4C has beencarried out under the Bams-D (Broad AreaMaritime Surveillance – Demonstration)programme, using five RQ-4A Block 10s,one of which has crashed. The original planwas for the three-aircraft LRIP Lot One tobe followed by 65 production aircraft,funded in FY2014-26. Recent reportsindicate that the first batchmaybe increased

Compendium Drone 2013

Some 31 Block 30 Global Hawks were originally planned, but 18 got ordered before the fundsaving axe fell. The 17th aircraft is to be rolled out next year (Northrop Grumman)

Distinguished as a Block 40 by themassiveflat-side radome under the front fuselage,covering the side-looking ZPY-2 antenna,Global Hawk serial 10-2044 (AF-37) takesoff into the sunset in January 2013.(Northrop Grumman)

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to ten, to facilitate early deliveries to India.December 2015 is due tomark IOC and thestart of full-rate production.The US Navy MQ-4Cs will have their

main bases at NAS Jacksonville in Floridaand NAS Whidbey Island in Washington.They will also be operated from Beale AFBin California, Andersen AFB on Guam,NAS Sigonella on Sicily, NAF Kadenaon Okinawa, and an unspecified airfieldin southwest Asia.The best export prospect for the Q-4

family is India, which is interested inacquiring up to eight Tritons for maritimepatrol. Northrop Grumman has teamedwith theQuebec-based L-3MAS to proposeforCanada the PolarHawk. This is based on

the Block 30 with the Raytheon Eiss sensorpackage, but with wing de-icing, engineanti-icing and Iridium satcom to suitoperation north of 70 degrees latitude.In late 2012 Congress was informed of a

possible sale of four Block 30(I)s to SouthKorea. Japan is reportedly considering thepurchase of three Q-4s by FY2015. Otherpotential customers include Australia andSingapore. The likely availability ofslightly used ex-US Air Force Block 30sand 40s will clearly have a major impact onthismarket sector.China has a number of jet-powered Hale

projects, of which the most interesting is the7500-kgChengduXiangLong(SoarDragon).This employsa joined-wingarrangementandwas rolledout in late 2008.

The German Air Force RQ-4E Euro Hawk is aSigint version of the RQ-4 Block 20, developedby Northrop Grumman and Cassidian, anddistinguished by large underwing sensorfairings. On current plans this first RQ-4E,serial 9901 here seen at its inaugural hand-over ceremony in 2011 inManching, will notbe joined by the four others planned earlier.(Armada/Eric H. Biass)

B y September 2012, when thePredator series passed the twomillion flight hourmark, therewere24 MQ-1Predator-As, five Sky

Warrior Alphas, six MQ-1C Grey Eaglesand 15 MQ-9 Predator-Bs in operation.They were accumulating over 45,000 hourspermonth.As mentioned earlier, the 268th and last

MQ-1B Predator for the US Air Force wasdelivered in March 2011, and themanufacturer isnowmarketing theunarmedPredator-XP internationally.ThePredator-Aalso liveson in the formof

the US Army’s 1633-kgMQ-1CGrey Eagle.Like the MQ-1B and MQ-9, the primarymissionof theMQ-1C is officially describedas “reconnaissancewith an embedded strikecapability against critical, perishable targets”,but theMQ-1Calsohas “theuniquemissionof communications relay”.The MQ-1C was the outcome of the

service’s ERMP (Extended Range, Multi-Purpose) drone requirement to replace theNorthrop Grumman MQ-5 Hunter. TheGeneral Atomics Warrior (later SkyWarrior) flew in 2004, and was selected forERMP in 2005. It was renamed Grey Eaglein 2010, after anApache Indian chief.

The MQ-1C can carry four Hellfires,double the load of the Air ForceMQ-1B. Italso has a Thielert Centurion heavy fuelengine with auto restart, TALS (TacticalAutomatic Landing System), the NorthropGrummanZPY-1 STARLite lightweight (30kg) radar with Sar/GMTI facilities, theRaytheon AAS-52 MTS (Multi-spectralTargeting System), fuel jettison capability,datalink encryption, and self-destructprovisions.The US Army deployed a four-aircraft

QRC (quick reaction capability) platoon ofMQ-1Cs to Iraq in August 2009. The unitwas moved to Afghanistan in December2010, joining another QRC platoon, whichhad deployed there in September 2010.The first complete Grey Eagle company,‘Fox 227’, with three four-aircraft platoonsand 128 soldiers, entered Afghanistan inApril 2012.The US Army plans to acquire seven

deployedcompanies equipped likeF/227andten Conus-based ‘dwell’ companies, eachwith 128 soldiers but only four air vehicles.To these128GreyEagleswere tobe added21attrition aircraft and seven for training,giving a total of 152 aircraft. On that basisthe latest available SAR(SelectedAcquisition


Based on over 300,000 operational flight hours with theHermes 450, Elbit Systems has developed the 1180-kgHermes 900, which is capable of 36 hours endurance atup to 30,000 ft. The first contract with the Israeli Air Forcewas signed in 2010, and the Hermes 900 has since beensold to Chile, Colombia andMexico. (Elbit Systems)

MalesThe Male sector has been dominated by the GeneralAtomics Predator series, which derives from the Gnat 750of 1993, thanks principally to the demands from theAmerican armed services and the CIA. Technically they areon a par with several products from Israel.

Report) gave a Pauc (Program AcquisitionUnitCost) of $116millionperplatoon, andacorrespondingAPUC(AverageProcurementUnitCost) of $ 169.4million.

The MQ-1C appears to be far moreexpensive than the MQ-1B. Its averageprocurement cost rose from$ 14.21millionin FY2011 (39 aircraft) to $ 16.23million inFY2012 (43 aircraft) and a remarkable $39.45million in the FY2013 defence budgetrequest (19 aircraft).

The LRIP-1 contract covered 24 GreyEagles plus two for attrition. The LRIP-2was for 24 aircraft plus five for attrition. TheLRIP-3 contract for 29 more was approvedin June 2012. The full-rate productioncontract for Gray Eagle is scheduled forsignature in June 2013. The Grey Eagleprogramme was originally to run fromFY2005 to FY2017, but reports indicate thatthe US Army now plans to stretchacquisition to a total of 164, with a final buyin FY2022.

I REAPERIn US Air Force operations, the piston-engined MQ-1 is being replaced by theturboprop General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper

(which the manufacturer terms thePredator-B). That service has a formalrequirement for 319 MQ-9s, enough tooperate 65 Caps (combat air patrols) on a24/7 basis, and capacity to surge to 85. Theprocurement of 404 is planned (thatnumber including threeRDT&Eaircraft) toallow for attrition.

The point is worth emphasising, that thePredator-B represents a completely differentcategory from the Predator-A. Maximumtake-off weight jumps from1022 kg to 4762kg, and annual operating cost per aircraft(according to the latest SAR) is increasedfrom$ 1.21million to $ 2.99million.

The SAR also indicates an averageReaper procurement cost of $ 32.4 millionin then-year dollars, or $ 29.4 millionexcluding RDT&E. The annual budgetsindicate an aircraft cost of $ 17.78million inFY2011, rising to $ 19.67million inFY2012,and $ 36.89 million in the FY2013 request.TheUSAir ForceReaper factsheet refers to afour-aircraft system costing $ 53.5 millionin FY2006 values.

In 2007 the UK purchased six Reapersand threemobile ground stations for $ 247.5million. In the following year Italy boughtsix Reapers and three mobile groundstations for $ 175.3million. In 2011 theUKbought five more Reapers and four moreground stations for $ 213million. Germanyhas requested three Reapers and fourground stations, andAustralia has requestedpricing and availability data (which Turkeyhas already received on both theMQ-1 andMQ-9).

The latest MQ-9 variant offered to closeallies is the 5310-kg ER Predator-B withstronger undercarriage, increasedwingspanand two external tanks.

The BAE Systems Mantis proof-of-concept aircraft, which is powered by two

The General Atomics MQ-1C Grey Eagle(so named after an Apache Indian chief) isshown in ‘Triclops’ configuration, with thefuselage-mounted General AtomicsLynx radar and Raytheon AAS-53 EO/IR podsupplemented by two underwing RaytheonDAS-2 sensors, controlled directlyby oldiers on the ground. (US Army)

Rolls-RoyceM250B-12 turboprops and firstflew in October 2009, is presumably in thefive-tonne class. A somewhat largerMantiswith far more powerful engines and a grossweight of around nine tonnes is expected toform the basis for the British proposal forthe Franco-British Telemos Male droneprogramme, assuming that this continuesdespite the current economic climate.InOctober 2011 the RussianMinistry of

Defence awarded the Kazan-based Sokol a$ 66 million contract to develop a twin-turboprop drone grossing around 4750 kg.The resultingAltius is due to fly in 2014.

I HERMES AND HERONSAs hinted in our introductory paragraph,Most of the market competition in thePredator-A category has come from Israel,notably in the form of the 500 kg IAISearcher II, the 550 kgElbit SystemsHermes450, the 1180 kg Hermes 900, the 1250 kgIAIHeron I.By 2010 Israel had sold over 1,000 drones

to 42 countries. The Searcher II wasexported to at least eleven countries,including India (which has purchased over100), Russia and South Korea. The samecompany’s Heron I has been sold to 20overseas customers, including Australia,Canada, France, Germany, India and theUnited States. The Hermes 450 has beenexported to at least eleven countries,including Georgia, Britain and theUnited States.TheHermes 900, which first flew only at

the end of 2009, chalked up its first order –fromHeyl Ha Avir – only five months afterits maiden flight. The big advantage of theHermes 900 is that it uses the same groundinfrastructure as the smaller Hermes 450,which the Israeli Air Force operates, ofcourse. Orders have already been receivedbyChile, Colombia andMexico.IAI is nowmarketing theHeronNGwith

anewcommunications system, an advancedengine, refined aerodynamics, andupgraded mission and flight computers.The Heron has been shortlisted alongsidetheHermes 900 in Switzerland,whichneedsa replacement for the Ruag AerospaceRanger, itself a derivative of the IAI Scout.Final selection is due to take place in thefirst half of 2014.

I ANKAOne newcomer in this category, andprobably a serious future contender giventhe industrial capability of its designer –TAI – is the 1600 kg Anka, which firstflew in December 2010. Featuring a fullyretractable landing gear the Anka has aheavy fuel engine, and is capable of anendurance of 24 hours at up to 30,000 ft.The five aircraft built so far (though one isbelieved to have crashed) have been used toverify the aerodynamic configuration,which was finalised in January. TAI is nowfinalising the terms of the productioncontract for the Turkish Air Force with thegovernment. Should all go according

to plans, TAI is expected to roll out thefirst of 10 production units in 2015.ThePrimary electro-optical sensor of the

Anka is the 300T gimballed assemblydeveloped by Aselsan (the 300T alreadyequips the Heron drones operated byTukey). The aircraft is also intended to carrya synthetic aperture radar. Also developedby Aselsan, the radar is still underdevelopment and is expected to equip aspecific –Bversionof theAnka.According toa recent interview held by the author with aTAI official the radar is to be test-flown thissummer. Egypt has also voiced its intentionto acquire tenAnkas.


Carried by the TAI Anka, the Aselflir 300Tgimballed assembly houses a high-resolution

infrared camera, a laser rangefinder-targetdesignator, a laser spot tracker, a colour

camera and a colour spotter sensor. Fullyequippedwith its electronic and

cooling/heating suite, the 526mmdiameterunit weights 93kg. (Aselsan)

The IAI Heron was used as a basis for the French armed forces SIDM, in which the I againstands for interim. Deployed to Afghanistan, it is known as the Harfang. (Sirpa Air)

The retractable landing gear Anka has everyrequired design provision to be turned into an

armed aircraft, using Rockesan Ciritlaser-guided rockets (TAI)

I FALCO EVOIn the near-male category,mentionmust bemade of the Falco Evo. This projectinitiated at the time of Selex Galileo, hasbeen “on” and “off ” for some time, butdisplayed in real-sizemock-up form at Idexin February 2013. As its name suggests,the Evo is an evolution of the Falcooriginally developed, produced andexported by Selex Galileo a few years ago.The project for a larger version had been inthe air for a while when it was moreformally announced by the Italian companyat le Bourget show in 2011. Selex ES (this

time) displayed a full-scale model of theEvo at Idex last February.

What the Evo does, in fact, is to wearextensions to its graceful gull-wings toextend them from the original 7.2metres to12.5metres. In order to enable the rudder tocounter the increased countering torque

opposed by the considerably longerwingspan, the tail booms also have beenstretched to provide the necessary yawleverage. The Evo thus tips the scales at 650kilos (instead of 420 for the Falco) and theresultant payload capacity increase to 100kilos enables the bird to move from a pureelectro-optical observation role to that of adeeper electronic warfare investigator. TheFalco Evo is indeed offeredwith a variety ofsensors, including of course the SelexPicosar synthetic aperture radar fitted in thenose, and the SageElint suitewith its sensorsmounted in the aircraft’s wingtips.

I HAMMERHEADTalking of Selex ES here commands a fewwords about a somewhat ambitious projectinvolving the P.180Avanti aircraft designedby Piaggio and also unveiled at the recentIdex show (one has to remember that theUnited Arab Emirates have a heavy stake inPiaggio). As the picture herewith shows, theidea is to turn theAvanti into a full drone (asopposed to optionally pilot-inhabitedaircraft) and call it the P.1HHHammerhead.The project actually seems to be prettyadvanced and taxi-ing tests were alreadyunderway at Idex time (February) and amaiden flight is expected by the end of this


When these pictures were taken at Idex lastFebruary, the Falco Evo had aready loggedsome 18 flight hours. It might prove a cost-effective near-Male option to a number ofnations. (Armada/Eric H. Biass)

Awindow in thenose of the Falco Evodisplaymodel reveals thepossible position of the SelexPicosar synthetic aperture radar. Thewingtips ofthe aircraft (see the other picture) are aninteresting location to houseanelectronicwarfare,sigint or elint, suite (Armada/EricH. Biass)

year. Again, with an endurance of 16 hours,theHammerhead does not reallymatch thelast two letters of the male categorydesignation, though with an operationalaltitude of 45,000ft it does comply withthe first two.

I OTHERSQuite a few companies are testing their luckon themale dronemarket. Better known forits target drones (reportedly successfullysold to Russia), for example, Abu Dhabi-based Adcom has for some time now beenworking on the United 40, an umpteenthiteration of the Smart Eye 2, renamed in2012 (on making its début at the DubaiAirshow) to mark the 40th anniversary ofthe formation of theUnitedArab Emirates.China has displayed many models at

various shows over the recent years, andcreated several Male drones in the one-tonne class. The 1100 kg Avic/ChengduWingLoong (Pterosaur), for example, lookslike a Chinese copy of the Predator-A, butwith amore practical (BonanzaV-type) tail.The Casc CH-4 is similar though slightlyheavier, weighing 1260kg in unarmed (CH-4A) form and 1330 kg in armed (CH-4B)

form. The Harbin BZK-005 is believed tobe in the 1200 kg class.Russia has been slow to develop large

drones, its interim needs evidently beingsatisfied by the 500 kg IAI Searcher II,licence-built by the Ural Works for CivilAviation (UWCA) as theForpost (Outpost).In late 2011 the Russian Ministry of

Defence announced a contract for the StPetersburg-basedTranzas, to design a droneweighing 600-800 kg. It is believed that thisled to the 640 kg Dozor-600, powered by an85 kWRotax 914 engine. This has evidentlybeen chosen for development, over the

600 kg Vega Aist (Stork) with two 45 kWengines. The Aist crashed on take-off inJanuary 2010 (see YouTube). Sokol isreported tobedevelopingadrone in theone-tonneclass, named Inokhodyets (Wanderer).Other Male projects include Brazil’s

Avibras-designed Falcão. This now comesunder the aegis of Harpia Systems, which isowned 51% by Embraer, 40% by AELSystems (an Elbit Systems subsidiary) and9% by Avibras). India’s DRDO Rustom 1first flew inNovember 2009. Iran’s Shared-129 appears to be similar in design to theU-TacsWatchkeeper.


Amongst the small scalemodels profusely displayed by Chinese companies at major defenceexhibitions, this model of the Norinco Sky Saker was shown at Idex 2013. What is happening inChina never has been clear, but it appears that Norinco has been allowed to take the Casc CH-4B(see text) and repackage it with a newmissions andweapons suite and offer it on the exportmarket. (Armada/Eric H. Biass)

The P-180-based Hammerheadwill feature ahigher aspect and reinforced wing, morepowerful 950hp Pratt &Whitney enginesturning lower noise-generating five-bladeHartzells. Lack of passengersmeanmorecapacity for fuel, andmassive unpressurisedspace for sensors and communicationsequipment in the nose and underbellystations, and for satcom gear on the upperairframe, not tomention external hard-pointsfor ISR payload. (Armada/Luca Peruzzi)

I EMERGINGA few interesting projects are emanatingfrom the so-called “technologicallyemerging nations”.

One such example is the Shahpardeveloped by the Global Industrial &Defence Solutions company of Pakistan,which we shall abbreviate to Gids forconvenience.

Tactical ISRPending availability of theMQ-1CGrey Eagle, the USArmyhas relied for itsmedium-range ISR on therelatively large 885-kgNorthropGrummanMQ-5BHunter, ofwhich around 50air vehicles are still in use(here carrying TextronBLU-108 for test purposes).Basically an IAI design, theHunter is operated from runways, and uses two heavy fuelengines to achieve an endurance of 21 hours at up to18,000 ft. TheHunter has also been operated on a limitedscale by the Belgian and French armies. TheUSArmyplansto begin retiringMQ-5s in 2022.

This in in fact the latest of a series ofdrones, albeit more convetional and lighterfrom the same company. Met by Armada’sEditor in Abu Dhabi, a company officialexplained that the airframe 0f the 580-kgShahpar was entirely made of carboncomposites. While it is described by thecompany as a canard-configured aircraft, aclose look around it would rather tend toreveal a tandembiplane configuration as theso-called canards are not purely elevatorsbut heavy lift-generating surfacesincorporating trailing edge elevatorsurfaces. The aircraft otherwise features a

deeply cranked delta wing with very thickwing roots against the fuselage and tipsfinished with vertical surfaces. The pusherprop is turned by a 100 hp Rotax. Tippingthe scales at 480 kilos, it is quite clear thatthis composite material airframe bird hasevery required asset to grow into a male.The Pakistan Air Force is currentlyoperating five Shahpars and five more areexpected to be delivered. The Shahpar wasqualified two years ago and all its avionicsare of Pakistani origin. According to Gids,the Middle-East market seems to offer thebest sales prospects for the type.

Xi’anASNTechnology claims to produce90% of China’s drones. The heaviest of itsproducts is the 800 kg ASN-229A, which isdescribed as a “reconnaissance andprecision attack system”. It has anendurance of 20 hours at up to 33,000 ft. It isnormally rocket-boosted from a ramp andrecovered by parachute, but a model atZhuhai in 2010 had skids (and twounderwing missiles). The ASN-229Aentered service in 2011.

The canard-configuration 630 kg Casc(China Aerospace Science & TechnologyCorp) CH-3 is in a slightly lighter category.The CH-3 is operated from runways, andmodels have been exhibited with two AR-1laser-homing missiles. In December 2010Pakistan reportedly ordered 20 CH-3s tocomplement its 24 unarmed 420 kg Selex ES(formerly Selex Galileo) Falco drones,which are being supplemented by licenceproduction at the Pakistan AeronauticalComplex. Jordan and SaudiArabia also use


ASN Technology produces the 320-kg ASN-209, which - likemany Chinese drones – is rocket-launched from a truck and recovered on skids. The ASN-209 is now being licence-manufactured by AOI at Helwan in Egypt. (Armada/RB)

The Shahpar displayed at Idex by Gidsis just short of Male class, having a ceiling of“only” 17,000 feet and an endurance ofover seven hours. But it has everything in it toreceive a turbo engine and extra fuel tofly higher and longer. (Armada/Eric H. Biass)

Other aircraft in the Gids stable in Pakistan include this Uqab, also seen here displayed in AbuDhabi last February. This 150 kg drone has a six-hour endurance, a 150 km/hourmaximumspeed, and a 9,000 ft ceiling. (Armada/Eric H. Biass)


the Falco, technical data of which isprovided in our attached fold-out data table.An extended capabilities Falco is beingproposed (seeMales section).The French Army continues to use the

Sagem Sperwer (Sparrowhawk) as its SDTI(Système de Drone Tactique Interimaire),and it is also used by Greece’s Army. Thelatest version is the 330 kg Sperwer II withsix-hour endurance. Production currentlycovers attrition replacement.China’s 320 kg ASN-209 has a ten-hour

endurance. It is rocket-launched from atruck and recovered on skids. In 2012 it wasannounced that the Arab Organisation forIndustrialization had started licenceproduction of theASN-209 in Egypt.ASN Technology has developed two

drones in the 220 kg class: theASN-215withnose-mounted engine, and the moreconventional (for drones) twin-boomASN-206. The latter entered series production in1996, and was followed by the improvedASN-207.The 170 kg AAI RQ-7B Shadow 200 is

used by both the US Army and MarineCorps, rail-launched and recoveringautomatically into an arrester gear. It hasbeen exported to Australia, Italy, Pakistanand Sweden, and the larger Shadow600 hasbeen sold to Romania and Turkey. TheShadow MkII (M2) has increased fuel, along-span blended wing, and a newLycoming heavy fuel engine. Endurance isincreased fromnine to 15 hours.The Shadow is marginally heavier than

the German Army’s 161 kg RheinmetallKZO, which has likewise been successfullyemployed in Afghanistan. Pakistan’sIntegrated Dynamics has developed anumber of tactical ISR drones, notably the50 kg Hornet, 80 kg Vision Mk III and the100 kgVector.The major aerospace corporations are

increasingly becoming involved in thedrone business. This began with NorthropGrumman acquiring Ryan Aeronauticaland thus Global Hawk, and Boeingacquiring first Insitu with ScanEagle, andthen Frontier Aircraft with theA160.A drone on which virtually nothing was

known apart from a few snippets here andthere almostwentunnoticedat Idex,hangingas it was above a tight corner of Cassidian’sbooth. It took a sharp eye to read the lettersstencilled on its sides, TR50 Scout. ACassidianofficial explained that theaircraft isbeingdeveloped tobe ready forprocurementin 2014, and that is will undergo extensive

trial in 2013. The four-metre wingspanaircraft is intended to offer an endurance of“tenhourson full throttle,witha speedof180km/hour”. TheTR50 ispoweredbya7hp flattwin, weighs 55kg fully loaded and has afuselage lengthof 2.5metres.

I LIGHTER TACTICALMore recently, Lockheed Martin hasdeveloped a range of drones, notably thehand-launched Desert Hawk III, the quad-rotor Indigo, the long-range Fury with 16-hours flight duration, and the Stalker. Thislast project is of special interest, because thebaseline battery-powered 7.9 kg Stalker has

an endurance of two hours, whereas the10 kg StalkerXE (extended endurance)witha ruggedized, propane-fuelled SOFC (solidoxygen fuel cell) can stay aloft for up to eighthours. Stalker is bungee-launched andhas adroppable payload. It is in service withspecial forces “around theworld”.The hand-launched drone category

continues to be dominated byAeroVironment products: the 0.34 kgWasp III, the 1.9 kgRaven-B and the 6.35 kgPuma-AE.For long term, the US Army would still

like to have a ‘Rucksack-Portable UAS’ thatcan employ a perch-and-stare mode toextend time-on-station. Although progressis beingmade in imitating the flight of birdsand insects, the ability to produce a dronethat can perch stably on a wide variety ofarchitectural features evidently continues toelude the best of human brains.

The Cassidian TR50will have a payloadcapacity of ten kilos. Launch is by catapult,and recovery on landing skid, although aparachute back-up is provided.(Armada/EHB)

The 3.63 kg LockheedMartin Desert Hawk III isused by British forces in Afghanistan. A recent

nose-count put the deployed British DesertHauwk III fleet at 239 air vehicles, despite 412having been lost in the preceding five years.

(LockheedMartin)

Relatively unknown until recently is theFly Eyes, which has been in service with thePolish Special forces in Afghanistan since2010. Originally developed as an artillerysupport observation drone, this 11 kgaircraft can be operated with its engine shutdown for added discretion thanks to itsgliding performances.

Amongst the lighter tactical drones,mention must be made here of yet a newdrone fromAselsan (the other one being theAri-1T rotordrone featured further on),namely the Muas, or more precisely theMuas 1 and Muas 2, the latter being a longerwingspan version of the former. Bothotherwise share the same fuselage with amodular, quickly swappable payload. The4.5 kg Muas 1 has a wingspan of 1.8 metresand is hand-launched,while the three-metrespan Muas 2 weighing 8 kg requires acatapult for launch. Both, however landunder parachute although a belly landingoption is available on request.

Few details were provided, however, onthe electric motors used to justify theimportant performance differences thatcannot be explained by wingspan variationonly. Endurance is given as 30 minutes and120 minutes respectively, and operational

range (presumably datalink ranges) as 5 and15 kilometres.

Unsurprisingly, the payload is of Aselsanorigin with uncooled thermal imaging andlaser pointer or daylight video and laserpointer. According to Aselsan questioned atIdef in May, the systems are developed oncompany funds and discussions areunderway with the Turkish authorities.

I MANTIS 13Thenew IndraMantis is the latest addition tothe overcrowded light hand-launcheddrones. It has already beenonmission and is

now being launched on the market. (Indra)This category is now joined by yet

another new model, from Spain this time.Designated the Mantis and manufacturedby Indra, it has already a number ofmissions under its belt (presumably testedin Afghanistan) and is now being marketed.Electrically powered it has an endurance oftwo hours and a ceiling of 12,000ft (4,000metres). The 5.2 kg Mantis has a payloadcapacity of 800 grams and has a datalinkrange of 25 km. It has a wingspan of 2.1metres, is launched by hand or bungee andbelly lands.

Poland’s eleven-kilogramWB Electronics FlyEyes has been in service with that nation’sspecial forces in Afghanistan since 2010. Themanufacturer has recently received a follow-on order for twelve additional systems,including 45 air vehicles, valued at around$ 7.6million. (Armada/RB)

The new AselsanMuas isunder final development

and can be fitted with1.8metre or three-metre

spanwings.



M ention is made earlier in thissurvey of the NorthropGrummanFire Scoutwhichwasbased on an onboard-pilot

helicopter. Compared with Europe’sexplorations of the rotary-wing arena, theAmerica aircraft is fairly large, which ishardly surprising given the fact that it isAmerican. Its technology is even being usedby Northrop Grumman to create an evenbiggerhelo-drone in the formof theBell 407-basedMQ-8Cmentioned earlier. This beingsaid, Eurocopter did try to develop a rotary-wing drone based on an onboard pilothelicopter called theColibri (Hummingbird)originally developed by Bruno Guimbal.Eventually known as the Orka, it wasdropped by the wayside due to a lack ofinterest on the part of the French Navy,notably, at whom it was aimed. However,Eurocopter recently announced that it wasnow flying a remotely controlled EC145

helicopter, even demonstrating themachine’s ability to carry and deliver anunderslung load at the French Air Forcebase of Istres. In this particular instance, itis what some now call optionally pilotedaircraft, meaning that the human, on-board’s pilot position is retained.

I CAMCOPTER S-100InEurope, thepioneer in this sector iswithoutany question Schiebel, with its Camcopter S-100. Sales have well exceeded the 120 unitmark,with60alone inuse in theUnitedArabEmirates. While it started as a defenceobservationpiece of equipment, itsmarket isgentlydriftingonto the civilianarena.The Campcopter was recently seen on

board the French Navy-operated AdroitGowind-class corvettes. This was in AbuDhabi during the recent Idex defenceexhibition, and the sailorwhowasguarding iton thedeck at the time toldArmada’sEditor-

in-Chief that the system’s performance washighly praised by all. It must be said that theCamcopter has been garnering quite a lot ofexperience at sea having been tested by theFrenchNavyas early as 2008, followedby theGermanNavyonboard theBrauschweig andMagdeburg corvettes, and subsequentlyothers aswe shall see below.Schiebel actually used Idex to spread the

word that the test involving the Thales I-Master radar during a series of tests onboardthe S-100 had been rewarded with success.The turretted 30-kilo Thales I-Master is thevery same radar used by the ThalesWatchkeeper drone being developed forBritain. Themost impressive results of theselong-endurance mission test, according toHans Schiebel himself, was to observe theconsistency of data transfer stability. Thisfollows earlier tests with yet another, butsmaller breast-mounted synthetic apertureradar with ground moving target indicator

Light RotordronesIf one excludes the rotordynes used on ships many decades ago for the sole purpose ofgiving a beyond-the-horizon view to a captain, a method eventually abandoned due ahigh rate of accidents, the recent development of the rotary-wing drone has beensomewhat erratic, jumping from one extreme to the other in terms of size and potentialuse. Things are now somewhat stabilising.

Cyb-Aero of Sweden has been along-time source of helidroneairframes for various civilian anddefence companies around theworld. The latest standard is theApid 60 which lifts off at amaximum of 180 kilos. (Cyb-Aero)


capability, namely the Selex Picosar a coupleof years ago.The S-100 is expected to cross a major

milestone in its continued development inthe near future, not only by showing itsadequacy (stability is a prime consideration)as a carrier for a varietyof sensors (electronicwarfare and sigint are definitely gainingimportance, and an undisclosed operator isalreadyusing it as a lidar carrier), but also byintelligently adapting aheavy-fuel versionofits current Diamond engine yielding thesame power. By being a version of the sameengine with the same mounting points isvitally important as it will enable currentoperators to straight-swap engines on theoccasion of a major overhaul (either due tonormal end-of-life cycle ormajor repair).While sales of S-100s to Jordan was

made public, Schiebel is extremely, not tosay overly discreet about someother ones ofits customers, and it is highly suspected thatLybia had acquired a few at a time whenGaddafi had generally been deemedworthyof trust again during the past decade.Othernoteworthy customers include China andparticularly Russia, where the deal waseffected throughGorizont.Known inRussiaas the Air S-100, the Camcopter has beenseen operating from the Rubin coast guardcutter. Noteworthy potential customersinclude the Royal Australian Navy that hasdeclared its intentions to test it.To our knowledge the S-100 has not yet

been used as a weapons platform althoughit has been exhibited with a ThalesLightweight Multirole Missile mounted on

its starboard breast hardpoint (hardpointsalso used once to exhibit its capability tocarry EW equipment). However, the recentavailability of simpler and lightweight laser-guided Rockets is opening up a new rangeof armament possibilities for suchlightweight carriers.It is now an open secret, Schiebel is

looking into developing a much heaviermachine using the same carbon compositemonocoque structure that would look likea 3-D enlargement of the S-100.The success of the S-100 Camcopter has

obviously given ideas to many other

companies around the world.Unfortunately for some, these companieswere too large to bring such projects tomaturity. Their size, and thereforeoverheads, not only impact heavily onitems that should remain as cheap aspossible, it also implies political issues thatrenders any development of this kindmanageable. The mismanagement of evenmuch larger European projectshas clearly proved the point in very recentyears, and the size of a company likeSchiebel is there as a clear reminder thatSynergy is not the god of all solutions.Nevertheless, some projects have beenemerging, then going quiet, and emergingagain over the past ten years.

I SKELDARSweden has been toying with helo-dronesfor quite a while now, andCyb-Aero’s Apidseries of aircraft have been at the origin ofquite a few defence rotary-wing droneprogrammes, including Saab’s Skeldar,Schiebel’s Camcopters (for a very shortperiod), Cassidian’s Tanan and Indra’sPelicano, to name but a few.Like its above-mentioned stablemates,

the Saab Skeldar has graduallymoved awayfrom the original CybAeroApid-55 designtomorph into a proprietary overall design,and has even changed designations severaltimes since its inception in 2005 when itwas called the V-150 to be now known asthe 235-kilo maximum take-off weightSkeldar V-200, featuring, inter alia, a largerrotor. Even the maritime-specific SkeldarM designation has been dropped.The V-200 is still under development andboasts a two-stroke two-cylinder heavy fuelHirth engine developing around 60horsepower. The Skeldar was obviouslyaimed at attracting interest from theSwedishArmy andNavy, but like elsewhere

The tests with the 30-kilo I-Master actually began on 7 February and led to several flights – somelasting several hours. As explained by Hans Schiebel to Armada, they particularly highlighted theadvantages offered by a hovering-capable aircraft to obtain higher quality imagery and GMTIreturns. The I-Master is better known for being one of the two major payloads installed on theBritish Watchkeeper fixed-wing drone. (Schiebel)

To date Saab has built two Skeldar systemsinvolving an unspecified number of actualaircraft which, according to Saab, havelogged in the region of 1,000 flight hours inall. Tests are split between Sweden and theUnited States with one system on either sideof the Atlantic


sinking defence budgets have sharplyslowed down developments.There now is a renewed interest for such

drones, particularly foruse fromfrigates thatcannot accommodate full-scale helicoptersto stretch their gaze beyond the horizon,especially that newly developed heavy-fuelengines seem tobe comingof age andable toproduce as many horses as their petrol-fedcounterparts.TheV-200has anenduranceofsix hours andadatalink rangeof 100km.The Skeldar is of traditional construction

with an aluminium backbone and carboncomposite body. For the time being the twoaircraft are similar in configuration andonlyis maritime-specific gear like dockingequipment fitted for tests. At this stage nospecific electro-optical payload has beendefined (though several have beenintegrated) to leave that choice fully open toany potential customer, and obviously othersensors are being looked at, such as radars.

I CYB-AERO-AEROVIRONMENTMention was made earlier of Cyb-Aero, along-time producer of remotely controlledhelicopterswhose origins canbe tracedbackto the 1990s when it was involved in aresearch programme involving Sweden’sMinistry of Defence and the LinköpingUniversity. Oddly enough, it is thedevelopment of machines for the civilianmarket (particularly with the amazingdemand for aerial photography) thatenabled the company to soar and survive,although it has sold a growing number ofairframes to a number of large companieswanting to cut corners in their owndevelopment programmes. Needless to say,the aircraft onoffer have considerably grownthrough the year to meet the growing needfor large and larger payloads. The machinecurrently on offer is the Apid 60 able to liftoff a combineweightof fuel andpayloadof75kilos for an overall maximum take-offweight of 180kilos. Standardpowerplant is a

Hirth two-stroke fluid-cooled twin, and itcomes with automatic take-off and landingprocedures. Payload options are very muchup to the customer, knowing that 700 kWofelectrical power is on tap.A major international stepstone for the

company was announced earlier this year,when it signed a “strategic partnership”withAerovironment, meaning that the lattercompanywhose reputationno longerneeds tobe made worldwide will act as the Swedishmanufacturer’s outlet for the Americanmarket, whether civilian or military. Anorder for$2.5millionwas announced shortlyafter, thoughnodetailswere given as towhatexactly the figure entailed.

I TANANAnother Apid user is the Cassidian (néeEads) Tanan, although like the Skeldar, it isclaimed to have evolved in a way that it

“substantially” (sic) differs from theoriginal design.After having been deleted inpast issues of this Compendium due to thefact that Eads had wished “not tocommunicate on drones anymore”, thedrone, which at the timewas still unnamed,reappeared as the Tanan 300 at theEuronaval exhibition in Paris in 2012.Earlier this year, a Cassidian spokesmantold the Editor that a first demonstration ofthe Tanan was “planned in the Middle-East this year to demonstrate the fullcapabilities in terms of range andendurance of the prototype with the dieselengine”. Notmuch is said about the engine,other than it is a three cylinder affairyielding 80hp of which 1.7kWare availableto power payloads.

I PELICANONext on the “Son of Apid” list is the 200-kgPelicano developed by Indra. At least, thiscompany seems to be using the aircraft, or atleast its airframe, as it came from CybAero saying that it prefers to devote itsefforts to all the aircraft’s systems, autopilotand navigation systems included (aseveryone knows, Indra is pretty solidlyanchored in the defence electronics world),

Model of the Cassidian Tanan helidronehanging from the ceiling of the Bourget hallduring the October 2012 Euronavalexhibition. Strangely, the Tanan is nevershown statically with its full rotor assembly,which should include a stabilising flybar.(Armada/Eric H. Biass)

According to Indra, the 200kg Pelicano is now ready to hit the market. It has an autonomy ofover six hours and a datalink range of 150km. (Indra)

AAI TEXTRON C2

DDC 31

ELBIT 11

IAI MALAT 7

L3Wescam 25

NORTHROP GRUMMAN 17-19

SAAB 27

SCHIEBEL C4

SINGAPORE AIRSHOW C3

TRIMBLE GNSS 15

I INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

CompendiumDrone 2013Supplement to Issue 3/2013Volume 37, Issue No. 3, June/July 2013

INTERNATIONALis published bi-monthly by Media Transasia Ltd.Copyright 2012 by Media Transasia Ltd.

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DRONES

2013-14

byCompendium

ON THE COVER: Certain navies could well playa new role as themajor users of large drones inthe future. Here the Northrop Grumman X-47B isseen trying the deck of the USS Harry S Trumanfor size in late 2012. The aircraft achieved it firstarrested landing (on land) inMay

AABBCC


A good example is provided by Russia’s ZalaAero who plans to show at MAKS-2013 asubscale model of its 421-V01 Triton nine-metre crew-less trimaran drone carrier,designed to operate up to four fixed- orrotary-wing air vehicles at a radius of up to1400 km from the parent vessel.(illustration: Zala Aero)

Darpa, on the other hand has invitedproposals from industry for its Tern

(Tactically Exploited ReconnaissanceNode) launch and recovery systemthat would allow a drone carrying a270 kg payload to operate from an

LCS-2 class vessel to a radius of1100-1650 km. (Darpa)

I IN THE AIRMany more projects are flourishing around the world (not only in China).

rather than wasting resources by trying toimprove a proven platform. The aircraft isalso powered by a heavy fuel engine, whichproduces 58 hp and has an endurance ofover six hours. The Pelicano is said to havebeen undergoing extensive tests since early2012 and it is now being marketed forMaritime surveillance, antipiracy, border

surveillance and so forth. There does notseem to have been any strong interest fromthe Spanish defence community to date.

A newcomer on the light helidrone scene isTurkey’s Aselsan ARI-1T, first heard of at theIDEF defence exhibition held in Istanbul justbefore sending this Compendium to print.Although our reporter Paolo Valpolini wasthere, very few details were made availableother than the fact that a couple of systemscomprising two aircraft each had beendelivered to the Turkish armed forces forevaluation after Idex exhibition time(February). The 38kg max take-off weightARI-1T is said to have a range of 15km(presumably datalink range), and two-hourendurance and an operational ceiling of10,000ft. It is powered by a two-stroke engineof undisclosed power, flies by following pre-programmed routes (which goes withoutsaying), but features auto take-off andlanding, plus flies back home automaticallyin case of datalink disruption.

Freshly hovering the light helidrone scene isthe Ari-1T from Aselsan. Unveiled at Idef inIstanbul in May 2013, it is said to be alreadyunder test in the Turkish Armed Forces.(Armada/Paolo Valpolini)

Provide immediate ISR

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