The
AeroVironmentAeroVironment Inc is a technology company in Monrovia, California and Simi Valley, California that is primarily involved in energy systems, electric vehicle systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles . Paul B. MacCready, Jr., a famous designer of human powered aircraft, founded the company in 1971...
RQ-11 Raven is a remote-controlled
miniatureA miniature is a small-scale reproduction, or a small variation. It may refer to:* Miniature , a small painting in an illuminated text** Persian miniature, a small painting in an illuminated text or album...
unmanned aerial vehicleAn unmanned aerial vehicle is an aircraft that flies without a human crew. Their largest uses are in military applications. To distinguish UAVs from missiles, a UAV is defined as a reusable, uncrewed vehicle capable of controlled, sustained, level flight and powered by a jet or reciprocating...
(or
MUAVA miniature UAV is an Unmanned aerial vehicle small enough to be man-portable. Miniature UAVs range from "micro air vehicles " that can be carried by an infantryman, to man-portable UAVs that can be carried and launched like an infantry anti-aircraft missile.-MAVs & Mesicopters:The notion that...
) used by the
U.S. militaryThe United States armed forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States.The history of the United States armed forces dates to 1775, even before the Declaration of Independence marked the establishment of the United States...
and its allies. The craft is launched by hand and powered by an electric motor. The plane can fly up to 6.2 miles (10 km) up to altitudes of 1,000 feet (305 m)
above ground level (AGL)In aviation and atmospheric sciences, an altitude is said to be above ground level when it is measured with respect to the underlying ground surface. This is as opposed to above mean sea level , or in broadcast engineering, height above average terrain...
, and 15,000 feet mean sea level (MSL), at flying speed of 28-60 mph (45-97 km/h).
The Raven RQ-11 UAVs are manufactured in two variants the RQ-11A and RQ-11B, which are designed and manufactured by AeroVironment.
The
AeroVironmentAeroVironment Inc is a technology company in Monrovia, California and Simi Valley, California that is primarily involved in energy systems, electric vehicle systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles . Paul B. MacCready, Jr., a famous designer of human powered aircraft, founded the company in 1971...
RQ-11 Raven is a remote-controlled
miniatureA miniature is a small-scale reproduction, or a small variation. It may refer to:* Miniature , a small painting in an illuminated text** Persian miniature, a small painting in an illuminated text or album...
unmanned aerial vehicleAn unmanned aerial vehicle is an aircraft that flies without a human crew. Their largest uses are in military applications. To distinguish UAVs from missiles, a UAV is defined as a reusable, uncrewed vehicle capable of controlled, sustained, level flight and powered by a jet or reciprocating...
(or
MUAVA miniature UAV is an Unmanned aerial vehicle small enough to be man-portable. Miniature UAVs range from "micro air vehicles " that can be carried by an infantryman, to man-portable UAVs that can be carried and launched like an infantry anti-aircraft missile.-MAVs & Mesicopters:The notion that...
) used by the
U.S. militaryThe United States armed forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States.The history of the United States armed forces dates to 1775, even before the Declaration of Independence marked the establishment of the United States...
and its allies. The craft is launched by hand and powered by an electric motor. The plane can fly up to 6.2 miles (10 km) up to altitudes of 1,000 feet (305 m)
above ground level (AGL)In aviation and atmospheric sciences, an altitude is said to be above ground level when it is measured with respect to the underlying ground surface. This is as opposed to above mean sea level , or in broadcast engineering, height above average terrain...
, and 15,000 feet mean sea level (MSL), at flying speed of 28-60 mph (45-97 km/h).
Design and development
The Raven RQ-11 UAVs are manufactured in two variants the RQ-11A and RQ-11B, which are designed and manufactured by AeroVironment. More than 3,000 RQ-11As were produced before 2006. US Special Operations Command ordered a batch of 179 Raven systems with three UAVs each more orders are expected to follow. More than 9,000 Raven airframes have been delivered to customers worldwide to date.
The Raven can be either remotely controlled from the ground station or fly completely autonomous missions using GPS waypoint navigation. The UAV can be ordered to immediately return to its launch point simply by pressing a single command button. Standard mission payloads include
charge-coupled deviceA charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time...
color video and an
infraredInfrared Thermography, thermal imaging, thermographic imaging, or thermal video, is a type of infrared imaging science. Thermographic cameras detect radiation in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum and produce images of that radiation, called thermograms...
night vision camera.
A single Raven costs about $35,000 and the total system costs $250,000. The RQ-11A Raven UAV weighs about 1.9kg (4.2lb). Has a flight endurance of 80 minutes and an effective operational radius of about 10km (6.2 miles).
The RQ-11A Raven UAV is launched by hand, and thrown into the air like a model airplane, the Raven lands itself by auto-piloting to a near hover. The UAV can provide aerial observation, day or night, and line-of-sight ranges of 10km or more.
Operators
The Raven is used by the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
,
Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the U.S. armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947 - 80 P.L....
,
Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for providing force projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, and
Special Operations CommandThe United States Special Operations Command is the Unified Combatant Command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Commands of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps of the United States Armed Forces. The command is part of the Department of Defense...
. Additionally, US allies such as
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
,
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
and
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
have also begun acquiring it, with more countries expected over the next few years. As of early 2008, over 8,000 airframes have already been shipped, making it the most prolific UAV system in the world today.
The British forces in Iraq are using U.S. Raven equipment and personnel on loan.
The
Royal Danish ArmyThe Royal Danish Army forms together with the Danish Home Guard the land forces of the Military of Denmark.The Royal Danish Army is currently undergoing a thorough transformation of structures, equipment and training methods, abandoning its traditional role of anti-invasion defence, instead...
acquired 12 Raven systems in September 2007 - three systems will be delivered to the
Huntsmen CorpsJægerkorpset is a Danish Special Forces unit, a part of the Royal Danish Army. Its base is Aalborg Air Base...
, while the remainder will be deployed with soldiers from the Artillery Training Center.
The Netherlands will acquire 24 RQ-11B systems for a total value of $7.7 million.
List of current operators:
12 systems
Specifications
- Wing Span 4 ft 3 in
- Length 3 ft 7 in
- Weight 4.2 lb
- Engine Aveox 27/26/7-AV electric motor
- Cruising speed 60 mph
- Range 6.2 miles
- Endurance approx. 80 min
See also
External links