An unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle, is an unarmed military UAV that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR).[1] Unlike unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), this type of system is not designed to carry aircraft ordnance such as missiles, ATGMs, or bombs for drone strikes. The main purpose is to provide battlefield intelligence.[2] [3] Small sized short-range man-portable unmanned aerial vehicles are called miniature UAV also used for battlefield intelligence.
| Name | Manufacturer(s) | Developing nation/region(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | |||
| USA | |||
| Slovenia | |||
| Israel | |||
| Israel | |||
| EMT Penzberg | Germany | ||
| South Korea | |||
| Russia | |||
| Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton | Northrop Grumman | USA | |
| Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk | Northrop Grumman | USA | |
| Turkey | |||
| Italy | |||
| Israel | |||
| Israel | |||
| Iran | |||
| Iran | |||
| Iran | |||
| BZK-005 | China | ||
| China | |||
| AVIC | China | ||
| WZ-10 | China | ||
| CASC Rainbow | CASC | China |
The Belgians were early adopters of reconnaissance UAVs, introducing the "Epervier (Sparrowhawk)" UAV in the early 1970s. It was built by Manufacture Belge De Lampes Et De Materiel Electronique SA (MBLE) of Belgium. Epervier prototypes were propeller-driven, but the production Epervier UAV, the "X.5" model, was fitted with a Rover TJ125 turbojet with 510 N (52 kgf / 114 lbf) thrust. It was launched by a RATO booster and recovered by parachute.
It had a boxy fiberglass fuselage with a rear-mounted truncated-delta wing, a single tailfin, and winglet fins at the end of each wing. It had a length of 2.25abbr=offNaNabbr=off, a wingspan of 1.72abbr=offNaNabbr=off, and a launch weight of 142kg (313lb), The Epervier has now been replaced by the IAI Hunter, which was obtained by the Belgian military with Belgian-specified systems.
Croatia has fielded a series of tactical UAVs, beginning with the MAH-1 in early 1993 built by Igor Pongrac. Later on Israel's IAI Malat tactical UAVs were built and developed on behalf MAH-1.
Matra BAe Dynamics developed a UAV named "Dragon". The Dragon was roughly the same size as and similar to the SAGEM Crecerelle, with the same pusher-prop delta configuration, except that instead of having a single tailfin mounted on the fuselage, the Dragon had a tailfin on each wingtip. It was intended as a jamming platform. It seems to have dropped out of sight, possibly because the French Army acquired the Crecerelle for the jamming mission.
Georgia's defense research center developed a series of small for infantry purpose unmanned areal vehicles, including multiple fixed-rotor variants. After a financial dispute with Israel over the delivery of UAV systems, the center in cooperation with TAM started to develop new medium-sized drones which would compensate the need of modern systems equipped with latest technology. Even though these projects are still in development stage, one variant was exposed in April, 2012.[4]
Pakistan developed a number of reconnaissance UAVs. Pakistan's "Air Weapons Complex (AWC)" has completed development of their "Bravo" battlefield surveillance UAV, and is now in service with law enforcement and border security organizations. The Bravo is apparently a fairly conventional piston-powered small UAV, has a composite airframe, a maximum payload of 20kg (40lb), and a radius of action of up to 80km (50miles). It is guided by a preprogrammed navigation system. The AWC "Vision-1" is an improved version of the Bravo, and AWC also makes a high-altitude reconnaissance drone, the "Vector", as well as two target drones, the "Nishan" and the "Hornet".
Yakovlev is currently working on two new tactical UAVs:
Bayraktar TB1 (or Bayraktar Çaldıran) is the prototype UAV, made for the Tactical UAV program of the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (Savunma Sanayii Mustesarligi or SSM; now the Presidency of Defense Industries) of Turkey,[5] started in 2007. SSM invited two companies to compete for a prototype demonstration phase of the Tactical UAS Program. In 2009, Kale-Baykar, a joint venture between the Kale Group and Baykar Technologies, demonstrated Block A (named Bayraktar Çaldıran)[6] with its dual redundant avionics system and fully autonomous takeoff and landing capability. The aircraft was selected as the winner of the program.[7] [8] [9] While the contract was signed with the Presidency of Defense Industries for Bayraktar TB1s, these products were not delivered and remained as prototypes for Bayraktar Block 2s. Instead, serial production commenced with Baykar Bayraktar TB2.[10]