MQ-1C Warrior

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MQ-1C Warrior
A photo of the US Army's MQ-1C Warrior UAV demo

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Type Remote controlled UAV
Manufacturer General Atomics
Primary user United States Army
Developed from MQ-1 Predator

The General Atomics MQ-1C Warrior is an Extended-Range Multi-Purpose (ERMP) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) under development by General Atomics (GA), funded by United States Army. It is an upgrade of the MQ-1 Predator.

Contents

[edit] Development

The U.S. Army initiated the Extended-Range Multi-Purpose UAV competition in 2002, with the winning aircraft due to replace the MQ-5 Hunter. Two aircraft were entered, an upgraded version of the MQ-5 Hunter, and the Warrior. In August 2005, the Army announced the Warrior to be the winner and awarded a $214 million contract for system development and demonstration. The Army intends to procure 11 Warrior systems, each of these units has 12 UAVs and 5 ground control stations. With an expected total program cost of $1 billion, the aircraft is expected to become operational in 2009.[1]

The Army sought to have the Warrior designated MQ-12, but the United States Department of Defense allocated the designation MQ-1C instead.[2]

[edit] Design

A Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV, the Warrior has an increased wingspan and is powered by a Thielert "Centurion" Heavy Fuel Engine (HFE), which gives it better performance at high altitudes (it is essentially a piston/diesel engine which burns jet fuel). It will be capable of operating for 36 hours at altitudes up to 25,000 feet (7,600 m),[1] with an operating range of 200 nautical miles (400 km).[3]

The aircraft's nose fairing has been enlarged to house a Synthetic Aperture Radar/Ground Moving Target Indicator (SAR-GMTI) system, and targeting is also provided with a AN/AAS-52 Multi-spectral Targeting System (MTS) under the nose. The aircraft can carry a payload of 800 pounds and can be armed with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and GBU-44/B Viper Strike guided bombs.[3]

[edit] Specifications

[4]General characteristics

  • Crew: 0
  • Length: 28 ft (8 m)
  • Wingspan: 56 ft (17 m)
  • Height: 6.9 ft (2.1 m)
  • Max takeoff weight: 3,200 lbs (1,451 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1× Thielert Heavy-Fuel Engine, 135 HP (100 kW)

Performance

Armament

  • Hardpoints: 4
  • Missiles: 4 AGM-114 Hellfire

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Related development

Related lists

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Army awards ‘Warrior’ long-range UAV contract", Army News Service, 2005-08-05. 
  2. ^ Designation Systems article
  3. ^ a b "ERMP Extended-Range Multi-Purpose UAV", Defense Update, 2006-11-01. 
  4. ^ Sky Warrior General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. [1]

[edit] External links

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