AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven

RQ-11 Raven UAV
Army Cpl. Jerry Rogers assembles an RQ-11 Raven unmanned aerial vehicle
Role	Remote controlled UAV[1]
Manufacturer	AeroVironment
First flight	October 2001
Introduction	May 2003
Status	In use on combat field
Primary users	United States Army United States Air Force
Produced	2004-present
Number built	13,000+ airframes
Developed from	FQM-151 Pointer

The AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven is a small hand-launched remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle (or SUAV) developed for the U.S. military, but now adopted by the military forces of many other countries.

The RQ-11 Raven was originally introduced as the FQM-151 in 1999, but in 2002 developed into its current form.^[2] 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), and 15,000 feet mean sea level (MSL), at flying speed of 28-60 mph (45–97 km/h).^[3]

Contents 1 Design and development 2 Variants 3 Operators 4 Specifications 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Design and development

The Raven RQ-11B UAV system is manufactured by AeroVironment. It was the winner of the US Army's SUAV program in 2005, and went into Full-Rate Production (FRP) in 2006. Shortly afterwards, it was also adopted by USSOCOM, the US Marines, and the US Air Force for their ongoing FPASS Program. It has also been adopted by the military forces of many other countries (see below). More than 13,000 Raven airframes have been delivered to customers worldwide to date. A new Digital Data Link-enabled version of Raven now in production for US Forces has improved endurance, among many other improvements.

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.^[1] Standard mission payloads include charge-coupled device color video cameras and an infrared night vision camera.

A single Raven costs about $35,000 and the total system costs $250,000.^[1] The RQ-11B Raven UAV weighs about 1.9 kg (4.2 lb), has a flight endurance of 60–90 minutes and an effective operational radius of approximately 10 km (6.2 miles).^[4]

The RQ-11B Raven UAV is launched by hand, thrown into the air like a model airplane. The Raven lands itself by auto-piloting to a pre-defined landing point and then performing a near-vertical "Autoland" descent. The UAV can provide day or night aerial intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance.

[edit] Variants

• RQ-11A Raven A (no longer in production)
• RQ-11B Raven B
• RQ-11B eight channel
• RQ-11B DDL(Digital Data Link)

[edit] Operators

The Raven is used by the United States Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command. Additionally, US allies such as Australia, Italy, Denmark, Spain and Czech Republic 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 widely adopted UAV system in the world today.^{[citation needed]}

The British forces in Iraq are using U.S. Raven equipment and personnel on loan.^{[citation needed]} The Royal Danish Army acquired 12 Raven systems in September 2007 - three systems will be delivered to the Huntsmen Corps, while the remainder will be deployed with soldiers from the Artillery Training Center.^{[citation needed]}

The Netherlands MoD has acquired 72 operational RQ-11B systems with a total value of $23.74 million for use within Army reconnaissance units, its Marine Corps and its Special Forces (KCT).^[5] At the turn of the year 2009 to 2010 the systems were deployed above the village Veen, as part of the Intesivation of Civil-Military Cooperation.^[6]

List of current operators:

 Australia

 Czech Republic^[7]

 Denmark

 Spain

 Iraq ^[8]

 Italy

 Lebanon 12 systems ^{[9][10][11][12]}

 Netherlands

 United Kingdom

 United States

[edit] Specifications

• Wing Span 55in (130 cm)
• Length 36in (109 cm)
• Weight 4.2 lb (1.9 kg)
• Engine Aveox 27/26/7-AV electric motor
• Cruising speed approx. 30 kts
• Range 6.2 miles (10 km)
• Endurance approx. 60-90 min

[edit] See also

• EMT Aladin
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
• History of unmanned aerial vehicles
  

Related lists

• List of active United States military aircraft
  

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: RQ-11 Raven

• Army-Technology RQ-11 Raven Project Details
• RQ-11 Raven Details on Globalsecurity.org
• Newsweek's Interactive Graphic. Raven: The Tiniest Drone
• Video of RQ-11 Raven launch from building in Najaf, Iraq
• Danish page about Raven
• AeroVironment, Inc.

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