| Meggitt BTT-3 Banshee | |
|---|---|
| A team of Royal Brunei Armed Forces military and civilian contractors prepare "Banshee" unmanned drones for launch from the U.S. Navy's dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43). | |
| Role | Target Drone |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Meggitt Defence Systems |
| First flight | 1983 |
| Introduction | 1984 |
| Number built | Over 5000 [1] |
| Variants | SAGEM Crecerelle |
The Meggitt BTT-3 Banshee, formerly the Target Technology Banshee, is a British target drone developed in the 1980s for air defence systems training.
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The Banshee was developed by Target Technology Ltd.[2]. The company had been specialising in lightweight engines for drones and had developed its own design in 1983 [3]
The Banshee is a built mostly out of composite material (Kevlar and glass-reinforced plastic) with a tailess delta wing planform. The first models used a 26 hp 342 cc Normalair-Garrett two-cylinder two-stroke driving a pusher propeller. Performance was 35-185 kt with an endurance from 1-3 hours. Flight control is by two elevons. 185kt. Later models used Norton P73 rotary engines[4][5]
The Banshee is designed to float for overwater operations recovery. Installable options include, radar enhancement devices, flare or chaff dispenser, and target sleeves. It can simulate a sea-skimming missile or serve as a reconnaissance UAV with a camera.
Banshee entered service with the British Army in the mid-1980s as an aerial target for the Short Blowpipe and Javelin shoulder launched missiles.[6]
The Banshee has been deployed in over 40 Countries.[7] It has been tested against Blowpipe, Chaparral, Crotale, Javelin, Phalanx, Rapier and Sea Sparrow systems.[8]
Data from Meggitt
General characteristics
Performance
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