#1: Army's Raven UAV... Author: SFC_Jeff_Button, Location: Ft Hood, TXPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 3:20 am ---- Delivery of the first five systems was followed by sequential approval for 10 additional systems, followed by 170 more, bringing total Raven procurement to date to 185 systems.
Each of the Raven systems includes three airplanes, a ground control station and a remote video terminal. The prime contractor is Aervironment Inc.
With a wingspan of 4.5 feet and a weight of 3.8 pounds, the hand-launched Raven airplane provides aerial observation at line-of-sight ranges of 10 to 15 kilometers at altitudes up to 1,000 feet. (Most missions are flown at 100 to 300 feet.) The system can be flown actively or through set way points with options of either a daylight or infrared camera allowing both day and night operations. Design features include the use of the military standard Py Code GPS and a rechargeable battery option.
"We had looked at disposable batteries but the commander didn't want to haul a Humvee-worth of disposable batteries around," Burke observed.
Although the system can use disposable batteries, the majority of missions are flown with a lithium ion battery pack that can be recharged through a variety of sources, including the 28 volt DC outlet on a Humvee. Depending on the battery used, mission time can range from 60 to 90 minutes.
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While at the Bicycle Lake airfield at Fort Irwin today, I noticed this sharp little bird hanging from the ceiling. I asked if I could take a picture and the Kiowa pilots said, "sure". It seems they found it laying out in the training area and picked it up. They said they find all sort of goodies "lost" in the training areas. They said they thought it cost around $6,500-$7,000, but weren't real sure. The battery is missing but it still has its camera in the nose. Above is an excerpt from what I found on it while Googleing. This would look pretty cool hanging in my "trophey room"!! I was told they are used at Battalion Level and above currently, with goals to be as far down as Troop/Company level. It has it's own MOS even. What a job in the Army, fly remote control airplanes for a living!
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