The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is a remotely piloted surveillance aircraft. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical, and known as Tier II+ during development. The Global Hawk performs duties similar to that of the Lockheed U-2. The RQ-4 provides a broad overview and systematic surveillance using high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and long-range electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors with long loiter times over target areas. It can survey as much as 40,000 square miles (100,000 km2) of terrain a day, an area the size of South Korea or Iceland.
The IAI Heron (Machatz-1) is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the Malat (UAV) division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It is capable of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) operations of up to 52 hours' duration at up to 10.5 km (35,000 ft). It has demonstrated 52 hours of continuous flight, but the effective operational maximal flight duration is less, according to payload and flight profile. An advanced version, the Heron TP, is also known as the IAI Eitan.
The Boeing Insitu ScanEagle is a small, long-endurance, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, and is used for reconnaissance. The ScanEagle was designed by Insitu based on the Insitu SeaScan, a commercial UAV that was intended for fish-spotting. The ScanEagle continues to receive improvements through upgrades and changes.
The Denel Dynamics Seeker is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufactured in South Africa by Denel Dynamics. The system is designed to perform tactical reconnaissance in real time and can conduct day and night surveillance in all threat environments.
Multiple battlefield UAVs, unmanned aerial vehicles for battlefield use, are operational in countries around the world, with more in development.
The Northrop Grumman Bat is a medium-altitude unmanned air vehicle originally developed for use by the United States Armed Forces. Designed primarily as an intelligence "ISR" gathering tool, the Bat features 30 lb payload capacity that is unmatched in a 10 ft wing span.
The General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle is a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS). It was developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) for the United States Army as an upgrade of the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator.
The TAI Anka is a family of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for the requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces. Basic Anka-A is classified as a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV. Envisioned in the early 2000s for tactical surveillance and reconnaissance missions, the Anka has now evolved into a modular platform with synthetic aperture radar, precise weapons and satellite communication. The drone is named after a phoenix-like mythological creature called Zümrüd-ü Anka
The IAI Eitan is an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft developed in Israel in the early 21st century by the Malat division of Israel Aerospace Industries. The aircraft is a newer version of the IAI Heron.
The Falco is a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed and produced by Selex ES. The UAV is designed to be a medium-altitude, medium-endurance surveillance platform capable of carrying a range of payloads, including several types of high resolution sensors. A larger variant, the Falco EVO, is capable of carrying larger payloads is also available. Neither system is designed to carry weapons, The launch customer, Pakistan, reportedly wanted the Falco armed, a request that Italy rejected.
The Arcturus T-20 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a medium range, fully composite aircraft capable of internal and external payloads. Launched from a portable catapult, it can be recovered with a shipboard landing system, or belly land on unimproved surfaces. The T-20 carries a retractable gimbal-mounted, digitally stabilized, electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) camera that relays video in real time via a C-band LOS data link to the ground control station (GCS). Powered by a 4-stroke, fuel injected gasoline engine, the aircraft burns 2 lbs of fuel per hour at cruise. The T-20 does not require an airfield to operate and lands on dirt, grass, desert, or gravel roads. The internal payload bay (11"x11"x36") allows for sensor arrays to be pre-assembled on 'payload pallets' that attach from the bottom of the aircraft. The T-20 system includes three aircraft, ground control station, portable launcher, and support trailer for equipment and personnel. The airframe is entirely composite with complex wet wings tested to stresses of 10 G's.
The Israel Aerospace Industries Panther is a tilt-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) produced by Israel Aircraft Industries in Israel.
The Sensintel Silver Fox UAV is an Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can conduct autonomous aerial surveillance imaging. The Silver Fox UAV is designed to provide low cost aerial surveillance imaging and carry sensor payload packages weighing up to four pounds. Video images are transmitted from Silver Fox to a ground station for quick reference. One ground station can simultaneously operate ten units.
The BZK-005 high-altitude, long-range UAV is a reconnaissance aircraft designed by Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics and Harbin Aircraft Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. It is used by the Chinese Navy.
Tiger Shark 2011 is a Chinese UAV developed by Tai'an Oulei Aviation Science and Technology Co., Ltd. , a company that traditionally specializes in the business of making remotely controlled airplanes for competitions. Based on its extensive experience in competition remotely controlled airplanes, the company has recently expanded it business by venturing into the UAV arena by first becoming an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to produce UAVs developed by other UAV manufacturers. The other measure OAST took to venture into UAV business is to develop UAVs of its own, and the result is Tiger Shark 2011, which shares the same composite construction like other OAST products, namely, those remotely controlled airplanes for competitions the company produced. Besides being able to takeoff and landing in short distance, being light weight and cheap to maintain, one of the Tiger Shark 2011 characteristics is that the design incorporates an internal modular section so that different payload can be rapidly replaced. Although Tiger Shark 2011 has been in production since 2011, it is unclear if it has been adopted by Chinese military or law enforcement or not, because Chinese official or governmental sources have not released any information regarding this matter.
The Bayraktar Tactical UAS is a surveillance and reconnaissance system initially developed for the Turkish Armed Forces. Bayraktar currently holds the national endurance and altitude record for Turkish aviation. Bayraktar set a record for autonomous flight endurance when it flew 24 hours and 34 minutes at 18,000 feet on 5 August 2014. Bayraktar furthermore holds the altitude record with 27,030 feet on its flight on 14 June 2014 with full payload weight.
The Teros is a UAV developed by Sonex Aircraft founder, John Monnett.
Redkite is a lightweight, airborne wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) sensor developed by Logos Technologies, a defense contractor based in Fairfax, Virginia. The system is designed for force protection, border security, disaster response and other missions. Weighing less than 35 pounds, Redkite is equipped with a 50-plus megapixel electro-optical camera and an onboard, eight-hour data processing/storage unit. This allows users to both image a city-sized area as well as conduct analyses of live and recorded imagery in the air, in real time.
