RQ-1 Predator
The Predator MAE UAV was developed as an ACTD from January 1994 to June 1996.
Because the Predator is small, white, and almost invisible in the sky, people don't realize they're being watched. Its 80-horsepower four-stroke Rotax 912 engine is virtually silent at altitude but as annoying as a chainsaw on the ground.
The aircraft can be picked up on radar, but most search radar systems filter out low-speed targets so that they don't pick out birds or objects that don't pose threats.
The Predator can fly at around 70 mph, slow enough to hide from such radars. It can fly for over 24 hours and out over 500 miles.
According to the 'The Air Force Fact Sheet' the RQ-1A needs 5,000 by 125 feet of a hard surface runway. In addition, the vehicle requires line-of-sight with the GCS and all support components for the Predator system must be at a single location.
The air vehicle can be broken-down into six primary parts and packed into a container known as the "coffin." The satellite communication system consists of a 20-foot satellite dish and its associated support equipment. This satellite system is especially important because is provides the Predator aerial vehicle to communicate beyond line-of-sight with its GCS. The benefits of this component system are that it can be easily deployed around the world.
The aircraft is equipped with a color nose camera (generally used by the air vehicle operator for flight control), a day variable aperture TV camera, a variable aperture infrared camera (for low light/night) and a SAR for looking through smoke, clouds or haze. The SAR provides all-weather surveillance capability, it has a resolution of 1 foot.
Other payload options, which can be selected to meet mission requirements, include a laser designator and rangefinder, electronic support and countermeasures and a moving target indicator (MTI). The GCS consists of a pilot position and a payload operator position, which are interchangeable, a Data Exploitation, Mission Planning and Communications (DEMPC) position where imagery is annotated and initially exploited, and a SAR workstation. The GCS is housed in a 30 ft x 8 ft x 8 ft (9.14 m x 2.44 m x 2.44 m) commercial van., the GCS is designed to roll into a C-130 or a C-141.
The pilot in the ground control station flies the Predator as he would a conventional aircraft-with a stick in his right hand and throttle in his left-only instead of looking through a windshield, he's watching the 30-degree field of view from the aircraft's nose camera.
The pilot and sensor operator, who sit side by side in the control station, face two 20-inch screens, one above the other. On the upper screen, a map of the target area is displayed with a symbol of the aircraft superimposed on it. The pilots must keep the Predator within a certain corridor a few miles in width. The corridor is also displayed on the map. Once the pilots level off at altitude, an autopilot holds altitude and airspeed.
On the pilot's lower screen, symbols overlying the nose camera video report the transponder code, airspeed, angle of attack, altitude, and other information, such as engine manifold pressure. Two smaller screens show what are called variable-information tables, displaying the positions of the flaps, for example, and engine temperature. The ground control station replicates the environment of an aircraft cockpit. The biggest difference between the two is that the Predator's pilot can switch off with a replacement and go outside to stretch his legs.
In February 2001, a Hellfire-C laser-guided missile was successfully fired from a Predator air vehicle in flight tests at Nellis air force base, Nevada. This weaponization of Predator includes installing hard points on the wings and reinforcing the wings to support the Hellfire missile.
Read more about the hellfire launch.
Versions
The Air Force's predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle made aerospace history 21 February 2001 as it successfully launched a live Hellfire missile helping it evolve from a non-lethal, reconnaissance asset to an armed, highly accurate tank killer.
Carrying Hellfire reduces endurance by a couple hours because of the drag, and especially if it is only carrying one because there is 100 pounds lopsided on the airplane.In late 2001 the Defense Department claimed a nearly "100 percent record of hits" in several dozen battlefield attacks by Predators in Afghanistan.
On 04 November 2002 six al-Qaida members traveling in a vehicle in Yemen were killed by a Hellfire missile fired by a CIA controlled Predator unmanned drone aircraft. A missile, reportedly fired by a CIA unmanned aircraft, hit the vehicle about 170 kilometers east of Yemen's capital Sana'a. All inside were killed. The MQ-1B was flown by a pilot on the ground in French-garrisoned Djibouti and overseen by commanders in Saudi Arabia.
A Jet-powered version of the predator B, The MQ-9A Predator B, flies faster, higher and carries more weapons than the Predator.
The Honeywell TP331-10 engine, producing 950 shp, provides a maximum airspeed of 260 kts and a cruise speed for maximum endurance of 150-170 kts. The MQ-9B can carry a payload mix of 1,500 lb. on each of its two inboard weapons stations, 500-600 lb. on the two middle stations and 150-200 lb. on the outboard stations.
The first production MQ-9B had been built by late 2002, at which time three more were under construction, with 3-4 to follow in 2003 and full production of 9-15/year to be reached in 2004.
Another version of the Predator B, with a 20-ft. wing extension, started flying in late 2002. The standard MQ-9, at a takeoff weight of 10,000 lb., can carry 3,000 lb. of payload and 3,000 lb. of fuel. With no exterior stores, it could stay aloft for 32 hr. at an altitude of more than 50,000 ft.
The version with the wingspan extended to 86 ft., about the same as a 737 airliner, can carry 34 hr. of internal fuel. With two 1,000-lb. drop tanks and 1,000 lb. of weapons it can fly a 42-hr. mission. Payloads can vary, but a favorite is the steadily upgrading Lynx synthetic aperture radar with a range of about 15 mi. even through clouds and rain.
Recent developments (news)
UN Special Rapporteur Questions Legality of US Use of Drones
Posted at: Wed Oct 28th, 2009
The U.N. Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings says the use of armed unmanned aircraft by the United States to hunt down terrorists could be a violation of international law. Philip Alston said Tuesday that Washington must explain how it is sure the United States is not killing people indi...
Reaper takes flight at Holloman
Posted at: Sat Oct 10th, 2009
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFNS) -- The first MQ-9 Reaper to arrive here made its first local flight Oct.1, expanding the capacity for the remotely piloted vehicle formal training unit here.
Predator passes 600,000 flight hours
Posted at: Wed Sep 30th, 2009
CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFNS) -- Airmen of the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing here surpassed the 600,000 flight hour mark in the MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft system Sept. 4 here.
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