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RQ-1
Predator
The RQ-1 Predator is an unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) which the US Air Force describes as a
"medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial
vehicle system". The aircraft can carry, and use,
2xAGM-114 Hellfire missiles. The aircraft has been in use
since 1995, and been in combat over Afghanistan, Bosnia,
Kosovo, and Iraq.
Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle flies on a simulated
Navy aerial reconnaissance flight off southern California
in December 1995.
It is a Joint Forces Air Component Commander-owned
theater asset for reconnaissance, surveillance and target
acquisition in support of the Joint Force commander. The
Predator can be employed in moderate risk areas,
minimizing the risk to human life. Examples include areas
where enemy air defenses have not been fully suppressed,
open ocean environments, and biologically or chemically
contaminated environments.
The RQ-1A/B Predator is a system, not just an aircraft.
The fully operational system consists of four air
vehicles (with sensors), a ground control station (GCS),
a Predator primary satellite link communication suite and
55 people.
The Predator air vehicle and sensors are commanded and
controlled by its GCS via a C-band line-of-sight data
link or a Ku-band satellite data link for
beyond-line-of-sight operations. During flight operations
the crew in the GCS is an air vehicle operator and three
sensor operators. 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 synthetic aperture radar for looking through smoke,
clouds or haze. The cameras produce full motion video and
the synthetic aperture radar produces still frame radar
images. On the RQ-1B, either the daylight variable
aperture or the infrared electro-optical sensor may be
operated simultaneously with the synthetic aperture
radar.
Each Predator air vehicle can be disassembled into six
main components and loaded into a container nicknamed
"the coffin." This enables all system
components and support equipment to be rapidly deployed
worldwide. The largest component is the GCS and it is
designed to roll into a C-130 Hercules. The Predator
primary satellite link consists of a 6.1-meter (20-foot)
satellite dish and associated support equipment. The
satellite link provides communications between the ground
station and the aircraft when it is beyond line-of-sight
and is a link to networks that disseminate secondary
intelligence. The RQ-1A system needs 1,500 by 40 meters
(5,000 by 125 feet) of hard surface runway with clear
line-of-sight to each end from the GCS to the air
vehicles. All components must be collocated on the same
airfield.
The improvements in the RQ-1B include an ARC-210 radio,
an APX-100 IFF/SIF with mode 4, an ice mitigation system,
up-graded, turbo-charged engine, and validated technical
orders for operations and maintenance. A number of
Predators have quick-reaction laser designators so they
can act as airborne forward air controllers for allied
tactical aircraft. Following a series of tests in 2001,
some of those Predators have been armed with AGM-114
Hellfire missiles guided by those laser designators. On
February 7, 2002, an armed Predator attacked a convoy of
sport utility vehicles, killing a suspected al Qaeda
leader. The intelligence community initially expressed
doubt that he was Osama bin Laden.
The "R" is the Department of Defense
designation for reconnaissance; "Q" means
unmanned aircraft system. The "1" describes it
as being the first of a series of purpose-built unmanned
reconnaissance aircraft systems. The "A" says
it is the pre-production version of the RQ-1 system
series while the "B" denotes the baseline
production configuration. See also RQ-2 Pioneer, RQ-3
Dark Star, RQ-4 Global Hawk, RQ-5 Hunter, RQ-6 Outrider,
and RQ-7 Shadow.
The Predator system was designed in response to a United
States Department of Defense requirement to provide
persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
information to the warfighter. It was the first
successful advanced concept technology demonstration to
transition to production and fielding. This is a new
acquisition process designed to reduce costs and
development time by relying on commercial off-the-shelf
technology to the maximum extent possible. In April 1996,
the United States Secretary of Defense selected the
United States Air Force as the operating service for the
RQ-1A Predator system. The 11th and 15th reconnaissance
squadrons, Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field,
Nevada, currently operate the RQ-1A/B.
Statistics of the RQ-1
- System Cost: US$25 million (1999)
- Contractor: General Atomics
Aeronautical Systems Incorporated
- Landing Type: runway
- Launch Type: runway
- Power Plant:
- RQ-1A: Rotax 912 four
cylinder engine producing 81 horsepower,
- RQ-1B: 914 four
cylinder turbo-charged engine producing
105 horsepower
- Ceiling: 7.6-13.7km
- Endurance: 16-40 hours
- Fuel Capacity: 450L
- Length: 8.2 meters
- Height: 2.1 meters
- Payload: 204kg
- Armament: two AGM-114
Hellfire missiles
- Weight: 431kg empty; 1020kg
max
- Wingspan: 14.8 meters (48.7
feet)
- Velocity: 135kph (cruise);
220kph (max)
| WW2
HISTORY DATA |
| Pearl
Harbor Overview |
| Pearl
Harbor Japanese Forces |
| Pearl
Harbor Japanese Aircraft |
| Battle
of the Coral Sea, 7-8
May 1942 |
| Doolitle
Raid on Japan, 18 April 1942 |
| Battle
of Midway, 4-7 June 1942 |
| Guadalcanal
Campaign, August 1942 - February 1943 |
| Guadalcanal-Tulagi
Invasion, 7-9 August 1942 |
| Battle
of the Philippine Sea |
| Battle
of Iwo Jima
Battle
of Okinawa |
| Japan
Capitulates |
| Battleship
Bismarck |
| Battleships
Tirpitz, Scharnhorst |
| WW2
Luftwaffe Planes - List
of Aircraft |
| U-Boats
Types 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D |
| Kriegsmarine
Submarines Types U-Flak, 7A, 7B,
7C, 7C/41, 7C/42, 7D, 7F |
Kriegsmarine
Submarines: U-Boats
Type 9A, 9B, 9C, 9C/40, 9D, 14 |
| Kriegsmarine
Submarines: Type XXI , Type XXIII |
| Grand
Admiral Karl Donitz, Erich Raeder |
HMS
Prince of Wales
Battleship, HMS Repulse,
HMS
Ark Royal,
HMS Hood Battlecruisers |
| Battle
of the Atlantic |
| Normandy
Invasion, June 1944 |
| Normandy
Invasion ,Crossing the English Channel on
D-Day, 6 June 1944 |
| Normandy
Invasion- The D-Day Landings, 6 June 1944 |
| USN
WW2 Admirals |
| Imperial
Japan Navy Admirals |
| Japan
WW2 Fighters- Mitsubishi Zero |
| USN
Battleships - Indiana Class,
Kearsarge Class, Illinois Class, Maine
Class, Virginia Class, Connecticut Class,
Mississippi Class, South Carolina Class,
Delaware Class, Florida Class, Wyoming
Class, New York Class, Nevada Class,
Pennsylvania Class, New Mexico Class,
Tennessee Class, Colorado Class, South
Dakota Class, Lexington Class, North
Carolina Class, South Dakota Class, Iowa
Class, Montana Class |
| USN
WW2 Torpedo Bomber -
Douglas TBD-1 Devastator |
| USN
WW2 Fighters: Brewster
F2A Buffalo, Curtiss F9C
Sparrowhawk |
| Grumman
F3F, Grumman F4F Wildcat, General Motors
FM-2 Wildcat |
| LOCKHEED
P-38 LIGHTNING |
| REPUBLIC
P-47 THUNDERBOLT |
| NORTH
AMERICAN P-51 MUSTANG |
| NORTH
AMERICAN F-82 TWIN MUSTANG |
| Boeing
B-17 Flying Fortress, Boeing
B-29 Superfortress |
| Consolidated
B-24 D Liberator |
| North
American B-25 Mitchell, Martin
B-26 Marauder |
| Junkers
Ju 87 Stuka |
| Dornier
Do 17, Dornier
Do 335 Pfeil |
| Messerschmitt
Bf 109 |
|
| MODERN USN
NAVY DATA |
| USN
Aircraft Carriers USS
Kitty Hawk, Enterprise, John F. Kennedy,
Nimitz, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Carl
Vinson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham
Lincoln, George Washington, John C.
Stennis, Harry S. Truman, Ronald Reagan,
George H.W. Bush |
| USN
Cruisers 1 - USS
Ticonderoga, Vincennes, Valley Forge,
Thomas S. Gates, Bunker Hill, Mobile Bay,
Antietam, Leyte Gulf, San Jacinto, Lake
Champlain, Philippine Sea, Princeton,
Normandy, Monterey |
| USN
Cruisers 2 - USS
Chancellorsville, Cowpens, Gettysburg,
Chosin, Hue City, Shiloh, Anzio,
Vicksburg, Lake Erie, Cape St. George,
Vella Gulf, Port Royal |
| USN
Destroyers |
| Amphibious
Assault Ships - LHA/LHD/LHA(R) USS
Wasp, USS Essex, USS Kearsarge, USS
Boxer, USS Bataan, USS Bonhomme Richard,
USS Iwo Jima, USS Makin Island, USS
Tarawa, USS Saipan, USS Belleau Wood, USS
Nassau, USS Peleliu |
| SSN
Attack Sumbarines 1
USS
Seawolf, Connecticut, Jimmy Carter,
Virginia, Texax, Hawaii, North Carolina,
Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Memphis,
Bremerton, Jacksonville, Dallas, La
Jolla, City of Corpus Christi,
Albuquerque, Portsmouth, Minneapolis-St.
Paul, Hyman G. Rickover, Augusta, San
Francisco, Houston, Norfolk, Buffalo,
Salt Lake City, Olympia, Honolulu,
Providence |
| SSN
Attack Sumbarines 2
USS
Pittsburgh, Chicago, Key West, Oklahoma
City, Louisville, Helena, Newport News,
San Juan, Pasadena, Albany, Topeka,
Miami, Scranton, Alexandria, Asheville,
Jefferson City, Annapolis, Springfield,
Columbus, Santa Fe, Boise, Montpelier,
Charlotte, Hampton, Hartford, Toledo,
Tucson, Columbia, Greeneville, Cheyenne |
| SSBN
Fleet Balistic Missile Sumbarines
USS
Georgia, USS Henry M. Jackson, USS
Alabama, USS Alaska,USS Nevada, USS
Pennsylvania, USS Kentucky, USS
Tennessee, USS West Virginia, USS
Maryland, USS Nebraska, USS Rhode Island,
USS Maine, USS Wyoming, USS Louisiana,
USS Ohio |
| USN
Frigates |
| USN
Patrol Ships |
| Anti-submarine
aircraft - P-3C
Orion S-3B
Viking |
| USN
FIGHTERS F-14 Tomcat F-18
Hornet |
| CH-46
Sea Knight, CH-53
Sea Stallion |
| H-3
Sea King MH-53
Sea Dragon |
| SH-60
Seahawk HH/UH-1N
Iroquois |
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