View allAll Photos Tagged UnmannedAerialVehicles
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Aug. 6, 2015) U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. John Bercey, right, officer in charge, Task Force Copperhead Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Detachment, discusses the recovery of a MQ-5B Hunter with the air vehicle pilot at Kandahar Airfield. The MQ-5B is a multi-mission UAV coupled with the Copperhead system, a miniature synthetic aperture radar system, used to detect improvised explosive devices with great success for coalition and Afghan Security Forces. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Kristine Volk/Released)
The Predator can provide near real-time reconnaissance using a satellite data link system and perform attack missions as well. It served over the Balkans and Afghanistan and during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. The most historic use of the Predator/Hellfire missile combination occurred when CIA ground forces directed attacks against al Qaeda forces during the opening months of the war on terrorism.
This U.S. Air Force Predator was one of the first three UAVs to fly operational missions over Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It went on to fly 196 combat missions in Afghanistan. It was also the first Predator to test fire the Hellfire-C missile, and the first UAV to fire Hellfire-C missiles in combat. With modifications to its wing length, propeller, avionics, and engine cooling system, it has served as the prototype for subsequent MQ-1L aircraft.
Transferred from the U.S. Air Force
Wingspan: 17 meters (55 ft 6 in)
Length: 8.2 m (27 ft)
Height: 2.1 m (6 ft 9 in)
Weight, empty: 512 kg (1,130 lb)
Weight, gross: 1,020 kg (2,250 lb)
Engine: Rotax 914, 4-cylinder, 101 hp
Armament: 2 AGM-114C Hellfire missiles
Sensors: electro-optical infrared stabilized gimbal with two color video cameras, forward looking infrared synthetic aperature radar
Manufacturer: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., 2000
General Atomics MQ-1B Predator "Ikhana" of NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center on static display during the US Air Force's celebration of the 70th anniversary of supersonic flight at Edwards AFB, October 13, 2017.
US Navy Special Warfare train with ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle at Finnegan Field, Fort A.P. Hill. Pneumatic launch and skyhook recovery of the $3.2 million dollar asset were the order of the day on Friday, November 13, 2015.
Alicia Calzada, an attorney representing the National Press Photographers Association, testifies against Texas HB 912 AT 2:10 AM on 27 March 2013. Alicia is 8.5 months pregnant and waited from 10 AM on the 26th of March until just past 2 AM the following day to testify in opposition to this bill. She was barely able to deliver oral arguments against the proposed bill due to her physical condition. The hearing adjourned around 4 AM. HB 912 would make photography and videography from an unmanned aerial vehicle a criminal act as well as create civil penalties of unimagined proportions.
Dallas Morning News photo editor Guy Reynolds testified against Texas HB 912. Mr. Reynolds reported to the committee that the Dallas Morning News has already published a UAV photograph and has purchased one to use at a variety of venues.
Several filmmakers complained about the bill's infringement on their first amendment rights, as well as the impractical requirements of getting signed releases from every individual and property owner in each frame. One filmmaker testified he would take his production business out of Texas if the bill is signed into law.
Austin attorney Michael Hull calculated potential damages for a single aerial photograph at around $100,000,000 if the bill is passed. He was speaking in opposition to the bill on behalf of Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR).
Write these members immediately and voice your opposition to this bill:
www.capitol.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?Le...
MORE NEWS TO FOLLOW SOON. PROTECT YOUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS IN TEXAS. PERSONAL NOTE FROM MARK: PLEASE FORWARD THIS PHOTO LINK TO EVERY JOURNALIST YOU KNOW. I WILL WAIVE ALL COPYRIGHTS FOR PHOTO CREDIT.
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Aug. 6, 2015) A MQ-5B Hunter stands ready in a Task Force Copperhead Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Detachment hangar at Kandahar Airfield. The MQ-5B is a multi-mission UAV equipped with miniature synthetic aperture radar, or Copperhead system, to detect improvised explosive devices with great success in Afghanistan for coalition and Afghan Security Forces. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Kristine Volk/Released)
Army Pfc. Gabriel Emert, a paratrooper assigned to Blackfoot Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Alaska, launches a RQ-11B Raven unmanned aerial vehicle during familiarization training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Aug, 27, 2019. The RQ-11B Raven in a small hand-launched, remote-controlled, unmanned aerial vehicle that can provide day or night aerial intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance. Emert is a native of Poulsbo, Wa. (U.S. Air Force photo by Alejandro Peña)
Sgt. Chase Howe (left) and Spc. Jeremy Edwards (right), of Detachment 1, Bravo Company, 41 Special Troops Battalion, observe the launch of an RQ-7 Shadow Unmanned Aerial Vehicle at the Orchard Combat Training Center, near Boise, Idaho, June 13. The unit, based in Pendleton, Ore., is executing training missions as part of the 41 Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s preparation for a potential deployment to Afghanistan in mid-2014. (Photo by Sgt. Armondo Borboa, 41 Infantry Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs)
CHIANG MAI, Thailand - Kevin Blankespoor, Lead Robotics Engineer at Boston Dynamics, assists in demonstrating the capabilities of Big Dog, a force protection technology that addresses the needs of dismounted Soldiers, during the Exercise Cobra Gold 09 Technology Experimentation. Big Dog can travel through rough natural and urban terrain, carry the Soldier's load, provide resupply and assist with reconnaissance and targeting. (photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Crista Yazzie)
On Saturday, April 6, the NASA Student Launch teams were recognized for their accomplishments, and winners in 11 different categories were announced at an awards ceremony held at the Davidson Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.
Image credit: NASA/Fred Deaton
Student Launch awards news release
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Aug. 6, 2015) Task Force Copperhead Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Detachment crew members attach towing equipment to the MQ-5B Hunter after a successful recovery at Kandahar Airfield. The MQ-5B is a multi-mission UAV coupled with the Copperhead system, a miniature synthetic aperture radar system, used to detect improvised explosive devices with great success on the NATO-led mission Resolute Support. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Kristine Volk/Released)
Army Sgt. Trenton Fussell, a paratrooper assigned to Blackfoot Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Alaska, conducts pre-flight checks before launching a RQ-11B Raven unmanned aerial vehicle during familiarization training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Aug, 27, 2019. The RQ-11B Raven in a small hand-launched, remote-controlled, unmanned aerial vehicle that can provide day or night aerial intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance. Fussell is a native of Smiths Station, Al. (U.S. Air Force photo by Alejandro Peña)
photo attribution: sean dreilinger durak.org
3-D Robotics UAV flyover
Look! Up in the sky! It?s an unmanned aerial ve hicle (UAV)! The flight team from 3-D
Robotics demonstrates the thrill of the DIY drone, the product of speaker Jordi Muñoz?s
inventive mind.
Jordi Muñoz: The drones are coming (from Tijuana)!
A native of Ensenada, Mexico, Jordi Muñoz co-founded and built a highly successful company with Chris Anderson of Wired magazine: 3-D Robotics. Muñoz started by rebuilding a toy remote-controlled helicopter using accelerometers from a Wii controller, making it a much more stable machine. He soon built his first drone, costing a few hundred dollars, while the nearest competition was asking about twenty thousand. Today, Muñoz is considered one of the top gurus in the field of drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Ve hicles). His ideas are about to
revolutionize and disrupt this space and create inexpensive UAVs for various civil needs.
General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper at the 2017 China Lake Air Show held at NAWS China Lake, March 18-19, 2017.
photo attribution: sean dreilinger durak.org
3-D Robotics UAV flyover
Look! Up in the sky! It?s an unmanned aerial ve hicle (UAV)! The flight team from 3-D
Robotics demonstrates the thrill of the DIY drone, the product of speaker Jordi Muñoz?s
inventive mind.
Jordi Muñoz: The drones are coming (from Tijuana)!
A native of Ensenada, Mexico, Jordi Muñoz co-founded and built a highly successful company with Chris Anderson of Wired magazine: 3-D Robotics. Muñoz started by rebuilding a toy remote-controlled helicopter using accelerometers from a Wii controller, making it a much more stable machine. He soon built his first drone, costing a few hundred dollars, while the nearest competition was asking about twenty thousand. Today, Muñoz is considered one of the top gurus in the field of drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Ve hicles). His ideas are about to
revolutionize and disrupt this space and create inexpensive UAVs for various civil needs.
This is my Funjet. I installed a Attopilot autopilot, now it's a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). This picture was taken after it's first successful UAV flight. Sept. 7, 2009. Well, it wasn't really much of a mission, it flew in a circle over the spot that it started from, and continued in that pattern indefinitely, staying at a predetermined height, speed, and radius of circle. It didn't really go to waypoints.
But later I sent it on missions of several miles. And I put a small video camera in the wing. if you want to see a video taken from the plane, on one of these missions go look on Youtube, search for "UAV flies to Steves house" . I sent it on a mission to my friend's house.
Now in year 2015, I haven't flown it for a few years, I've been flying a quad copter instead.
photo attribution: sean dreilinger durak.org
3-D Robotics UAV flyover
Look! Up in the sky! It?s an unmanned aerial ve hicle (UAV)! The flight team from 3-D
Robotics demonstrates the thrill of the DIY drone, the product of speaker Jordi Muñoz?s
inventive mind.
Jordi Muñoz: The drones are coming (from Tijuana)!
A native of Ensenada, Mexico, Jordi Muñoz co-founded and built a highly successful company with Chris Anderson of Wired magazine: 3-D Robotics. Muñoz started by rebuilding a toy remote-controlled helicopter using accelerometers from a Wii controller, making it a much more stable machine. He soon built his first drone, costing a few hundred dollars, while the nearest competition was asking about twenty thousand. Today, Muñoz is considered one of the top gurus in the field of drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Ve hicles). His ideas are about to
revolutionize and disrupt this space and create inexpensive UAVs for various civil needs.
photo attribution: sean dreilinger durak.org
3-D Robotics UAV flyover
Look! Up in the sky! It?s an unmanned aerial ve hicle (UAV)! The flight team from 3-D
Robotics demonstrates the thrill of the DIY drone, the product of speaker Jordi Muñoz?s
inventive mind.
Jordi Muñoz: The drones are coming (from Tijuana)!
A native of Ensenada, Mexico, Jordi Muñoz co-founded and built a highly successful company with Chris Anderson of Wired magazine: 3-D Robotics. Muñoz started by rebuilding a toy remote-controlled helicopter using accelerometers from a Wii controller, making it a much more stable machine. He soon built his first drone, costing a few hundred dollars, while the nearest competition was asking about twenty thousand. Today, Muñoz is considered one of the top gurus in the field of drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Ve hicles). His ideas are about to
revolutionize and disrupt this space and create inexpensive UAVs for various civil needs.
PictionID:56110955 - Catalog:C94-045-016.tif - Title:Ryan Aeronautical Negative Collection Image - Filename:C94-045-016.tif - - Image from the Teledyne Ryan Archives, donated to SDASM in the 1990s. Many of these images are from Ryan's UAV program-----These images were not donated with metadata, so please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper at the 2017 China Lake Air Show held at NAWS China Lake, March 18-19, 2017.
Undertaking survey work as part of the Bath Abbey Footprint Project using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
To find out more about this project, follow this link:
On Saturday, April 6, the NASA Student Launch teams were recognized for their accomplishments, and winners in 11 different categories were announced at an awards ceremony held at the Davidson Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.
Image credit: NASA/Fred Deaton
Student Launch awards news release
photo attribution: sean dreilinger durak.org
3-D Robotics UAV flyover
Look! Up in the sky! It?s an unmanned aerial ve hicle (UAV)! The flight team from 3-D
Robotics demonstrates the thrill of the DIY drone, the product of speaker Jordi Muñoz?s
inventive mind.
Jordi Muñoz: The drones are coming (from Tijuana)!
A native of Ensenada, Mexico, Jordi Muñoz co-founded and built a highly successful company with Chris Anderson of Wired magazine: 3-D Robotics. Muñoz started by rebuilding a toy remote-controlled helicopter using accelerometers from a Wii controller, making it a much more stable machine. He soon built his first drone, costing a few hundred dollars, while the nearest competition was asking about twenty thousand. Today, Muñoz is considered one of the top gurus in the field of drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Ve hicles). His ideas are about to
revolutionize and disrupt this space and create inexpensive UAVs for various civil needs.
These funny little things keep cropping up at aviation museums I visit. This little guy is at least number 5 for me. The strange little aircraft is the first rotary-wing drone and the first rotorcraft to carry a nuke. The whole package is powered by a Boeing T50-BO-8A, 270 shp.
photo attribution: sean dreilinger durak.org
Jordi Muñoz: The drones are coming (from Tijuana)!
A native of Ensenada, Mexico, Jordi Muñoz co-founded and built a highly successful company with Chris Anderson of Wired magazine: 3-D Robotics. Muñoz started by rebuilding a toy remote-controlled helicopter using accelerometers from a Wii controller, making it a much more stable machine. He soon built his first drone, costing a few hundred dollars, while the nearest competition was asking about twenty thousand. Today, Muñoz is considered one of the top gurus in the field of drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Ve hicles). His ideas are about to
revolutionize and disrupt this space and create inexpensive UAVs for various civil needs.
Heute wurde die Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung in Berlin Schönefeld eröffnet.Diese findet in diesem Jahr auf dem Gelände des zukünftigen BBI "Willy Brandt" statt.Eröffnet wurde sie durch die Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel,welche noch bevor sie die ILA eröffnete, einem der grössten Waffenproduzenten der Welt,Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm huldigte und zuerst Vertreter dieses Unternehmens begrüsste.Es ist mehr als beeindruckend,das diese Luftfahrtschau nichts anderes ist als eine bessere Waffenmesse ist,auf der alles,was das Herz des Waffenhändlers genauso erfreut,wie das des Diktators.Das muss man ja nu aber nicht so offensichtlich zeigen,indem man zuerst die Waffenlobby begrüsst und anschliessend erst die Messe eröffnet.Und warum auf einer Luuftfahrtmesse auch noch gepanzerte Fahrzeuge von Krauss-Maffei Wegmann vorgestellt werden müssen ist selbst mir ,als sehr verständnisvollem Menschen, ein mehr als grosses Rätsel.Ansonsten kann man selbstverständlich bei der Bundeswehr das Fliegen in einem Eurocopter ausprobieren und wie selbstverständlich auch den Beschuss von Piraten aus einem fliegenden Hubschrauber üben.Alles natürlich im Rahmen humanitärer Missionen versteht sich.Da erschreckt einen die massive zunahme unbenannter Waffensysteme und Drohnen schon garnicht mehr.In anbetracht der dort vorgestellten Feuerkraft sind aktuelle UAVs eher Kinderkram. Beruhigend ist da dann schon eher die Vorstellung,das auch das Rote Kreuz stolz prüsentierte,wozu ein nagelneuer Truppentransporter A400M zu gebrauchen ist,nämlihc um natürlich ganz human Zelte und Nahrungsmittel abzuwerfen.Irgendwie wurde man den Eindruck nicht los,das die ganze Veranstaltung nichts anders war,als eine grosse hübsche Luftwaffenschau,auf der man nach Herzenslust alles kaufen kann,was man zum bekämpfen von allem braucht,was nicht ins Schema passt.Für die Flüchtlingsabwehr an den EU-Aussengrenzen das UAV mit Wärmebildsensoren und für den kleinen Aufstand im inneren einen leichten und wendigen Eurocopter 135.Und wenns richtig zur Sache geht,dann kann man auch schon mal nen Euirofighter gebrauchen.Bilder unterliegen dem Copyright.
General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper at the 2017 China Lake Air Show held at NAWS China Lake, March 18-19, 2017.
On Saturday, April 6, the NASA Student Launch teams were recognized for their accomplishments, and winners in 11 different categories were announced at an awards ceremony held at the Davidson Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.
Image credit: NASA/Fred Deaton
Student Launch awards news release
A lot of black (and one very dark blue) aircraft in this photo.
North American X-15 (Mock-up)
Lockheed D-21B Tagboard
United States Air Force - Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird - USAF 61-7971 (c/n 2022)
United States Air Force - Ryan AQM-34N Firebee (Ryan Model 147H Lightning Bug) - USAF 67-21596
The X-15 hanging from the ceiling is an engineering mock-up of the X-15 constructed by North American Aviation (NAA). It formerly resided at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for a number of years.
On Saturday, April 6, the NASA Student Launch teams were recognized for their accomplishments, and winners in 11 different categories were announced at an awards ceremony held at the Davidson Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.
Image credit: NASA/Fred Deaton
Student Launch awards news release
On Saturday, April 6, the NASA Student Launch teams were recognized for their accomplishments, and winners in 11 different categories were announced at an awards ceremony held at the Davidson Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.
Image credit: NASA/Fred Deaton
Student Launch awards news release
On Saturday, April 6, the NASA Student Launch teams were recognized for their accomplishments, and winners in 11 different categories were announced at an awards ceremony held at the Davidson Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.
Image credit: NASA/Fred Deaton
Student Launch awards news release
On Saturday, April 6, the NASA Student Launch teams were recognized for their accomplishments, and winners in 11 different categories were announced at an awards ceremony held at the Davidson Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.
Image credit: NASA/Fred Deaton
Student Launch awards news release
PictionID:56172745 - Catalog:C94-045-032.tif - Title:Ryan Aeronautical Negative Collection Image - Filename:C94-045-032.tif - - - - Image from the Teledyne Ryan Archives, donated to SDASM in the 1990s. Many of these images are from Ryan's UAV program-----These images were not donated with metadata, so please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
photo attribution: sean dreilinger durak.org
3-D Robotics UAV flyover
Look! Up in the sky! It?s an unmanned aerial ve hicle (UAV)! The flight team from 3-D
Robotics demonstrates the thrill of the DIY drone, the product of speaker Jordi Muñoz?s
inventive mind.
Jordi Muñoz: The drones are coming (from Tijuana)!
A native of Ensenada, Mexico, Jordi Muñoz co-founded and built a highly successful company with Chris Anderson of Wired magazine: 3-D Robotics. Muñoz started by rebuilding a toy remote-controlled helicopter using accelerometers from a Wii controller, making it a much more stable machine. He soon built his first drone, costing a few hundred dollars, while the nearest competition was asking about twenty thousand. Today, Muñoz is considered one of the top gurus in the field of drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Ve hicles). His ideas are about to
revolutionize and disrupt this space and create inexpensive UAVs for various civil needs.
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Aug. 6, 2015) A MQ-5B Hunter stands ready in a Task Force Copperhead Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Detachment hangar at Kandahar Airfield. The MQ-5B is a multi-mission UAV equipped with miniature synthetic aperture radar, or Copperhead system, to detect improvised explosive devices with great success in Afghanistan for coalition and Afghan Security Forces. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Kristine Volk/Released)
photo attribution: sean dreilinger durak.org
3-D Robotics UAV flyover
Look! Up in the sky! It?s an unmanned aerial ve hicle (UAV)! The flight team from 3-D
Robotics demonstrates the thrill of the DIY drone, the product of speaker Jordi Muñoz?s
inventive mind.
Jordi Muñoz: The drones are coming (from Tijuana)!
A native of Ensenada, Mexico, Jordi Muñoz co-founded and built a highly successful company with Chris Anderson of Wired magazine: 3-D Robotics. Muñoz started by rebuilding a toy remote-controlled helicopter using accelerometers from a Wii controller, making it a much more stable machine. He soon built his first drone, costing a few hundred dollars, while the nearest competition was asking about twenty thousand. Today, Muñoz is considered one of the top gurus in the field of drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Ve hicles). His ideas are about to
revolutionize and disrupt this space and create inexpensive UAVs for various civil needs.
Heute wurde die Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung in Berlin Schönefeld eröffnet.Diese findet in diesem Jahr auf dem Gelände des zukünftigen BBI "Willy Brandt" statt.Eröffnet wurde sie durch die Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel,welche noch bevor sie die ILA eröffnete, einem der grössten Waffenproduzenten der Welt,Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm huldigte und zuerst Vertreter dieses Unternehmens begrüsste.Es ist mehr als beeindruckend,das diese Luftfahrtschau nichts anderes ist als eine bessere Waffenmesse ist,auf der alles,was das Herz des Waffenhändlers genauso erfreut,wie das des Diktators.Das muss man ja nu aber nicht so offensichtlich zeigen,indem man zuerst die Waffenlobby begrüsst und anschliessend erst die Messe eröffnet.Und warum auf einer Luuftfahrtmesse auch noch gepanzerte Fahrzeuge von Krauss-Maffei Wegmann vorgestellt werden müssen ist selbst mir ,als sehr verständnisvollem Menschen, ein mehr als grosses Rätsel.Ansonsten kann man selbstverständlich bei der Bundeswehr das Fliegen in einem Eurocopter ausprobieren und wie selbstverständlich auch den Beschuss von Piraten aus einem fliegenden Hubschrauber üben.Alles natürlich im Rahmen humanitärer Missionen versteht sich.Da erschreckt einen die massive zunahme unbenannter Waffensysteme und Drohnen schon garnicht mehr.In anbetracht der dort vorgestellten Feuerkraft sind aktuelle UAVs eher Kinderkram. Beruhigend ist da dann schon eher die Vorstellung,das auch das Rote Kreuz stolz prüsentierte,wozu ein nagelneuer Truppentransporter A400M zu gebrauchen ist,nämlihc um natürlich ganz human Zelte und Nahrungsmittel abzuwerfen.Irgendwie wurde man den Eindruck nicht los,das die ganze Veranstaltung nichts anders war,als eine grosse hübsche Luftwaffenschau,auf der man nach Herzenslust alles kaufen kann,was man zum bekämpfen von allem braucht,was nicht ins Schema passt.Für die Flüchtlingsabwehr an den EU-Aussengrenzen das UAV mit Wärmebildsensoren und für den kleinen Aufstand im inneren einen leichten und wendigen Eurocopter 135.Und wenns richtig zur Sache geht,dann kann man auch schon mal nen Euirofighter gebrauchen.Bilder unterliegen dem Copyright.
U.S. Army Paratroopers, deployed in support of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, and a 9th Iraqi Army Division liason officer scour the surveillance feed of a Puma unmanned aerial vehicle near Al Tarab, Iraq, in an effort to identify ISIS indirect fire sites, March 12, 2017. The 2nd BCT, 82nd Abn, Div., enables their Iraqi security forces partners through the advise and assist mission, contributing planning, intelligence collection and analysis, force protection, and precision fires to achieve the military defeat of ISIS. CJTF-OIR is the global Coalition to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull)
On Saturday, April 6, the NASA Student Launch teams were recognized for their accomplishments, and winners in 11 different categories were announced at an awards ceremony held at the Davidson Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.
Image credit: NASA/Fred Deaton
Student Launch awards news release
On Saturday, April 6, the NASA Student Launch teams were recognized for their accomplishments, and winners in 11 different categories were announced at an awards ceremony held at the Davidson Center at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.
Image credit: NASA/Fred Deaton
Student Launch awards news release
Maj. Gen. Lawrence A. Haskins, Commander of the California Army National Guard, US Congressman Sam Farr, Col. John N. Haramalis, Camp Roberts Commander, and Col. Jeffrey D. Smiley, 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) Commander, unveil the new Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System Facility at Camp Roberts(TUAS), May 13. Several members from the community and partnered agencies to include other branches of the military were in attendance to learn about capabilities the California National’s RQ-7B Shadow 200 provides. The TUAS is a 10,000-square-foot complex located in Camp Robert’s restricted military airspace where #CAGuard Soldiers can perform launch, recovery, maintenance and flight operations for the RQ-7B Shadow 200. (Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Julie Avey
Remotely-piloted vehicles (RPVs, known today more as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, UAVs) had been in service since Vietnam, where the USAF used modified BQM-14 Firebee target drones to photograph well-defended targets over North Vietnam. The CIA began experiments with drones as well, but those in use in the 1970s and early 1980s were too noisy, too large, and too expensive. The Israeli Air Force, however, developed smaller, quieter drones and used them successfully during the 1982 Lebanon War to identify Syrian SAM sites without risking pilots.
Though the US Army and Navy adopted Israeli Heron drones and would use them during the First Gulf War in 1991, the CIA was more interested in the work of former Israeli designer Abraham Karem, who had developed a slightly larger, more durable UAV called the Gnat. After experimenting with Gnats, the CIA awarded a contract to General Atomics to develop a quiet, high-endurance UAV, which eventually became the Predator. When CIA Predators came under the aegis of the USAF, they were designated RQ-1 Predators and were first used in combat over Bosnia and then Kosovo in 1999. These proved to be hugely successful, and by the time of the 9/11 attacks, the USAF had 60 RQ-1s.
Since the Predator had proven itself over Kosovo (only two drones were lost, the same number as manned aircraft), some thought was given to arming the UAVs, namely with the AGM-114 Hellfire. The Predator, being very quiet, could sneak up on a target, or silently trail a moving one, then launch Hellfires—which are supersonic, giving the target no time to react. Testing was incomplete by September 11, 2001, so the Predators were not used before that date in their intended purpose: hunting down and killing Osama bin Laden. Once NATO began attacking the Taliban regime and their al-Qaeda allies in October 2001, however, armed Predators were soon in action, most notably during Operation Anaconda in March 2002. In subsequent action over both Afghanistan and Iraq, the Predator became a feared opponent for insurgent and terrorist forces, since it attacked without warning, and if shot down or lost due to weather, provided no pilot to use for propaganda or revenge purposes. The Predator force was rapidly expanded and supplemented with the larger MQ-9 Reaper; the Predator itself was redesignated MQ-1 since it is no longer used solely for reconnaissance. 195 are known to be in USAF service, with foreign sales to the UK, Turkey, and Italy.
The Predator is operated via a “control van” that can be loaded into a C-130 Hercules transport for rapid deployment. While it requires a hard-surface runway, a small launch unit can deploy and take off the drones, with a larger command element hundreds of miles away can then take over and fly the rest of the mission via satellite link. Three personnel are required to fly a Predator, a pilot and two sensor operators. Sensors include a color nose camera, daytime camera, and infrared camera, integrated into an AN/AAS-52 fire control system. The sensor ball in the nose can only use one camera at a time, but can track, lock on, and fire Hellfires; Predators can carry three missiles, but usually only carry two.
95-3018 was one of the first Predators to enter service and see combat, flying during the Kosovo War and then latter during the Second Gulf War. As a RQ-1K, this aircraft was unarmed and used only for reconnaissance. It was retired in 2013 and donated to the San Diego Air and Space Museum. It is displayed in its operational colors, with the checkerboards of the 432nd Wing at Creech AFB, Nevada.
Heute wurde die Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung in Berlin Schönefeld eröffnet.Diese findet in diesem Jahr auf dem Gelände des zukünftigen BBI "Willy Brandt" statt.Eröffnet wurde sie durch die Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel,welche noch bevor sie die ILA eröffnete, einem der grössten Waffenproduzenten der Welt,Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm huldigte und zuerst Vertreter dieses Unternehmens begrüsste.Es ist mehr als beeindruckend,das diese Luftfahrtschau nichts anderes ist als eine bessere Waffenmesse ist,auf der alles,was das Herz des Waffenhändlers genauso erfreut,wie das des Diktators.Das muss man ja nu aber nicht so offensichtlich zeigen,indem man zuerst die Waffenlobby begrüsst und anschliessend erst die Messe eröffnet.Und warum auf einer Luuftfahrtmesse auch noch gepanzerte Fahrzeuge von Krauss-Maffei Wegmann vorgestellt werden müssen ist selbst mir ,als sehr verständnisvollem Menschen, ein mehr als grosses Rätsel.Ansonsten kann man selbstverständlich bei der Bundeswehr das Fliegen in einem Eurocopter ausprobieren und wie selbstverständlich auch den Beschuss von Piraten aus einem fliegenden Hubschrauber üben.Alles natürlich im Rahmen humanitärer Missionen versteht sich.Da erschreckt einen die massive zunahme unbenannter Waffensysteme und Drohnen schon garnicht mehr.In anbetracht der dort vorgestellten Feuerkraft sind aktuelle UAVs eher Kinderkram. Beruhigend ist da dann schon eher die Vorstellung,das auch das Rote Kreuz stolz prüsentierte,wozu ein nagelneuer Truppentransporter A400M zu gebrauchen ist,nämlihc um natürlich ganz human Zelte und Nahrungsmittel abzuwerfen.Irgendwie wurde man den Eindruck nicht los,das die ganze Veranstaltung nichts anders war,als eine grosse hübsche Luftwaffenschau,auf der man nach Herzenslust alles kaufen kann,was man zum bekämpfen von allem braucht,was nicht ins Schema passt.Für die Flüchtlingsabwehr an den EU-Aussengrenzen das UAV mit Wärmebildsensoren und für den kleinen Aufstand im inneren einen leichten und wendigen Eurocopter 135.Und wenns richtig zur Sache geht,dann kann man auch schon mal nen Euirofighter gebrauchen.Bilder unterliegen dem Copyright.