Discover America's transcendent reconnaissance technology

In the past few years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become increasingly involved in military campaigns around the world. In particular, the US military has put armed unmanned aircraft into battlefields.

UAVs look like traditional aircraft in many ways, but their cockpit contains reconnaissance equipment and is often equipped with missiles and bombs.

UAVs are launched into the air near war zones. After taking off they are remotely controlled via satellite signals. Those who control them are pilots thousands of kilometers away from the battlefield.

The emergence of the UAV solves the top two requirements of modern troops: limiting casualties and minimizing costs. First, if they were shot down, no pilots would be killed. Second, the cost to produce and operate UAVs is much lower than traditional fighter jets. Currently the US military has more than 7,000 UAVs.

Let's discover Discovery with some of the most representative representatives of America's superior UAV technology:

Eagle Eye

With a wingspan of about 7.5m and a length of about 5.5m with an Allison 250-C20 GT 420 shp engine, Eagle Eye can fly at a height of more than 6,000m and fly continuously for 8 hours without need to refuel. This unmanned reconnaissance aircraft is capable of loading more than 90kg. Equipped with simultaneous SAR / FLIR / TV sensors and laser targeting systems, Eagle Eye can search, lock and drop weapons to destroy targets. The flight and reconnaissance operations of this type of UAV are controlled via an antenna and a ground control station. In the future, Eagle Eye can be programmed to control and operate automatically on battlefields.

Hunter

Hunter is an unmanned aircraft designed by Israel Aircraft Industries, Israel's largest private company, for the US military. It has the function of adjusting firecrackers, assessing the extent of damage on the battlefield, scouting and monitoring, confirming the target as well as observing the situation of the battlefield. This type of UAV will hover over the battlefields, watching every stationary action taking place below, searching and deleting the target.

Equipped with 2X Mercedes-Benz piston engine, infrared observation and television systems allow Hunter to perform reconnaissance / surveillance tasks both day and night. It can also detect and chase a moving target on the ground, lock the target and illuminate the laser guide so the ground commander can launch the missile and kill the suspect.

Hunter is not a fully automated aircraft so all its main functions are remotely controlled via a ground control station. Human-controlled functions include planning warfare, aerial maneuvers and launching weapons. This type of UAV has served in the US military since 1993 and will continue to be used in the future.

Reaper

This is a model of high-flying and remote unmanned aerial vehicles, is a mischievous 'stalker' in the sky.Reaper is designed and built at General Atomics. It is capable of reaching a cruising speed of 480 km / h, operating time of up to 36 hours. This type of UAV is equipped with a series of sensors and large aperture radars, on the body with seven suspension points for air-to-air missiles and bombs, a total weight of 1.7 tons.

MQ-9 is the latest upgrade version of the Reaper line. This UAV takes up to 2 operators: one main operator and one individual who controls the sensor. Reaper 's main base is located in a remote area near Las Vegas. Equipped with a Honeywell TP331-10 turbofan engine, the MQ-9 Reaper can carry a weight of up to 1.5 tons. Therefore, the US Air Force often uses this UAV to carry bombs and cruise missiles. The MQ-9 Reaper's camera can read text on a whiteboard 3.2 km away.

In the future, the US Air Force will add features to Reaper so that this UAV can carry air-to-air missiles.

ScanEagle

The Boeing / Insitu ScanEagle is a small spy model, with no tail and wing design in the shape of an arrow. This UAV model is equipped with a 2-stroke rear engine, capable of performing reconnaissance missions at a height of nearly 5,000 meters and the maximum time for each mission is about 19 hours.

ScanEagle will take off thanks to the support of a pneumatic launch pad, then its engine will begin to operate. When landing, ScanEagle will be called a Skyhook by a system - a rope attached to a stake - automatically grab it. Thanks to the GPS navigation system (Global Positioning System), this UAV can be completely autonomous in every task execution, ie it will automatically fly according to predetermined GPS points, and At the same time, it will capture the panoramic image on its flight by using either an optical camera, or an infrared camera.

ScanEagle reconnaissance teams were deployed by the US military at the Iraq battlefield to patrol, collect reconnaissance data and then send information about ground bases.

Vigilante

Vigilante's design is inspired by model helicopters manufactured for entertainment purposes. The first Vigilante still left space for a pilot, but later models, such as the 502 model, were completely designed for unmanned aircraft.

Vigilante 502 can reach a maximum height of nearly 4,000m and a speed of 117 knots. With a size of 2.4m high, 0.6m wide and 8m long, the 502 version is quite small compared to other helicopter models and is one of the most flexible and effective models in the UAV series. It can flip, glide, rotate, dive . extremely easily with a load of more than 180kg for rescue equipment or freight.

For takeoff / landing, Vigilante only needs one area with a diameter of about 6m. This is an advantage of this UAV model, which is particularly useful for the Navy because it can carry out missions on small destroyers and other small-sized warships.

Model 502 is equipped with 4 turbocharged engine, 4 115-hp Rotax cylinders. With a 4-hour uptime, Vigilante 502 has a lot of capacity and time to track down targets and 'quick fight'. In addition, this 502 model can carry out low-level reconnaissance flights in densely populated areas, as well as being able to fly between stalks or high-rise buildings.

WASP

The US Special Air Command ( AFSOC for short) and the US Navy achieved new advances in aerial reconnaissance technology thanks to the unmanned mini Wasp III device. With a wingspan of only 72cm and weighing less than 0.5kg, the Wasp III and its control module can be encapsulated in a student backpack.

The battlefield is always a dangerous place and time is always the deciding factor. The Wasp III is designed to deal with this 'fear'. When on duty, the Wasp III will be attached to the launch pad, with just a few simple steps of dragging / dropping, it will be on duty. Time for each task is 45 minutes at a maximum height of 182m. Once in the air, it almost becomes invisible if viewed with the naked eye.

The Wasp III is equipped with three cameras for exploration missions, including an infrared camera for night reconnaissance missions or other special tasks.