Unmanned Reconnaissance Vehicles

This article shows an Unmanned reconnaissance vehicle developed and manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems , the Predator B.

Predator B

Predator B is a high-flying, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed and manufactured by the US company General Atomics Aeronautical Systems in San Diego. The predecessor model Predator A has been successfully used in many crisis regions of the world. With a length of 12mtr, a wing span of 20mtr and a launch mass of 4.7 tons, Predator B performs significantly better than its predecessor. Apart from an internal payload consisting of radar and electro-optical sensors and data link, it can carry external loads of more than one ton at a total of six stations under the wings for quite a number of applications such as small UAVs or missiles. Due to its size and performance data (flight altitude over 15km, flight duration over 30hrs, flying speed over 300km/hr), Predator B lies in the transitional range between MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) and HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) UAVs.

In mid-2004, Diehl BGT Defence and GA Aeronautical Systems concluded a cooperation agreement for production and marketing of Predator B on the German market. Diehl BGT Defence will act as prime contractor and system provider in Germany and will also contribute part of the payload.

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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

DIEHL BGT Defence,