The U.S. Army has been extremely successful with a new, four pound,
reconnaissance aircraft. Ordered twenty months ago, and entering service in late
2003, the Raven (RQ-11A) first went to Afghanistan, where infantry and Special
Forces troops found the aircraft very useful and soon wanted more of these
?micro UAVs? (ultralight unmanned aerial vehicles). The feedback was very
enthusiastic, and the army ordered more, and sent them to Iraq as well. At 4.2
pounds, and costing $25,000 each, the Raven can stay in the air for 80 minutes
at a time. It is battery powered, and carries a color day vidcam, or a two color
infrared night camera. Both cameras broadcast real time video back to the
operator, who controls the Raven via a laptop computer. The Raven can go as fast
as 90 kilometers an hour, but usually cruises between 40 and 50. It can go as
far as 15 kilometers from its controller on the ground, and usually flies a
preprogrammed route, using GPS for navigation. Each Raven ?unit? consists of
three UAVs and one ground control station. It?s launched by turning on the
motor, and throwing it into the air. It lands by coming back to ground at a
designated GPS location (and bouncing around a bit.) The Raven is made of
Kevlar, the same material used in helmets and protective vests. On average,
Raven can survive about 200 landings before it breaks something.
The
Raven is basically a scaled down version of an earlier, nine pound UAV, the
Pointer (FQM-151). This one was also popular with the Special Forces. But they
wanted something even smaller and lighter, as they often had to travel very
light. The size of the micro UAVs has largely been dictated by the weight of
available video cameras. In the last few years, even lighter (under half a
pound) vidcams have been developed, and that made it possible to use even
smaller UAVs. While the larger Pointer could stay in the air for two hours, it?s
8.9 foot wingspan, and six foot length, made it more difficult to haul around
(even though it was broken down for travel). The Raven has a wingspan of 4.3
feet and is 3.6 feet long.
While some Ravens have been shot down, the
most common cause of loss is losing the communications link (as the aircraft
flies out of range) or a software/hardware failure on the aircraft. Troops have
taken to putting a label on each aircraft, saying, in the local language, that
if the aircraft is returned to the nearest American military unit, there will be
a reward. Several lost Ravens have been recovered this way.
The army has
over 200 Ravens in use, and the manufacturer is turning them out as fast as they
can. The Special Forces are one of the most enthusiastic users, as the battery
powered Raven is silent, and so small that most people on the ground don?t
notice it. At night, it?s almost impossible to spot. The army wants every combat
battalion, and eventually every company to have a Raven system. Commanders find
the real time video of the area they are operating in to be invaluable when
there?s a battle going on, and equally useful when preparing for combat.
|
