RQ-11 Raven Unmanned Aircraft System, USA

The RQ-11 Raven is a lightweight unmanned aircraft system (UAS). It is designed for rapid deployment and high mobility for military and commercial operations. The Raven meets army requirements for low-altitude reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition. It can be operated manually or programmed for autonomous operation, utilising the system's advanced avionics and GPS navigation.

Each Raven costs about $35,000, but the total system costs around $250,000.

Raven development

The US Army required live-coverage capability, to enable the troops to get real-time, up-to-date and over-the-horizon view in trouble areas. The army bought four AeroVironment FQM-151 Pointer UAVs in 1999, for military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) and the ACTD (advanced concept technology demonstration) programme.

Later, AeroVironment developed a smaller air vehicle, called Raven. Being half the size of Pointer it was named the 'Flashlight' SUAV (small UAV). It flew for the first time in October 2001.

The Flashlight SUAV was developed into Raven in 2002. This was done as part of the army's Pathfinder ACTD programme. As it was handbuilt, mass production was not possible. Block I of Raven's modified version, delivered in May 2003, became the first LRIP (low-rate initial production) version.

Block I's shortcomings, such as difficult launch procedure and insufficient flight stability were corrected in block II, which was first delivered to the army in September 2003. The batch II version was tested in Afghanistan. Later, US Special Operations Command ordered a batch of 179 Raven systems with three UAVs each. batch II was officially designated as RQ-11A Raven air vehicle.

RQ-11 variants

RQ-11 UAVs are manufactured in two variants – RQ-11A and RQ-11B, designed and manufactured by AeroVironment

More than 3,000 RQ-11As were produced before 2006. The RQ-11A Raven UAV weighs about 1.9kg (4.2lb). It has a flight endurance of 80 minutes and an effective operational radius of about 10km (6.2 miles). Raven has a flying speed of 45km/h to 95km/h (28mph to 60mph) at typical operating altitude between 30m and 300m (100ft to 1,000ft). RQ-11A Raven provides flexibility, with remote control or control through ground station. It allows completely autonomous missions using GPS waypoint navigation. CCD colour video and an infrared camera constitute the standard mission payloads.

The Raven B system is an enhanced version of the battle-proven Raven A. It is a lightweight system designed for rapid deployment and high mobility for both military and commercial applications. The Raven B is the most advanced SUAS deployed with the US armed forces.

RQ-11B has a wingspan of 4.5ft and a weight of 4.2lb. Launched by hand, Raven provides aerial observation, day or night, at line-of-sight ranges of 10km or more. It can deliver real-time colour or infrared imagery to ground control and remote viewing stations, as well as IR laser illumination of ground targets.

Features

The Raven allows military units to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) over danger zones without committing soldiers. It allows the task force to monitor an area with a less obtrusive presence and live video capabilities during day and night.

Launched in just minutes, by hand, into the air like a model airplane, the Raven lands itself by auto-piloting to a near hover. It does not require carefully prepared landing strips. Requiring no elaborate support facilities, the Raven ideally suits forward-deployed units. Automated features and GPS technology make it simple to operate, requiring no specialised skills or in-depth flight training.

It delivers real-time colour or infrared imagery to the ground control and remote viewing stations via three different cameras attached to the nose of the plane. One of these is an electrical optical camera that is placed either on the nose or side, the second is an infrared camera in the nose and the third is an IR camera located on the side.

Because of the size of the technology the IR camera is fairly large and does not have a zoom so it cannot lock onto a target. However, it does have high enough resolution to show whether someone is carrying a weapon.

RQ-11 orders

The US Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Special Operations Command are the primary users of Raven B. More than 9,000 Raven airframes have been delivered to customers worldwide.

RQ 11B Raven's full-rate production for the US army is scheduled up to 2014. There would be upgrades providing continuous system improvements over the life of the programme.

US allies such as Australia, Italy, Denmark, the UK and Spain have also begun acquiring the Raven. The UK has been using Raven equipment in Iraq. The Royal Danish Army acquired 12 Raven systems in September 2007. Three systems will be used by the Huntsmen Corps. The remaining will be deployed with the Artillery Training Centre.