The development of unmanned aerial vehicles is one of the most promising areas of modern military aviation. Drones have already led to significant changes in the tactics of warfare, it is expected that in the near future their value will increase even more. Today we will show you the 10 best military drones in the world!
10) Schiebel Camcopter S-100
The Schiebel Camcopter S-100 is an Austrian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) using a rotorcraft design.
9) Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack
The Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack, formerly called the Integrator, is an American unmanned air vehicle designed and built by Boeing Insitu to meet a United States Navy requirement for a small tactical unmanned air system (STUAS). It is a twin-boom, single-engine, monoplane, designed as a supplement to the Boeing Scan Eagle. The Integrator weighs 61 kg (135 lb) and uses the same launcher and recovery system as the Scan Eagle
8) Saab Skeldar V-200
The Saab Skeldar is a medium-range VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) developed by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. Missions for the Skeldar involves surveillance, intelligence gathering, light cargo transportation, and electronic warfare.
7) Thales Watchkeeper WK450
The Thales Watchkeeper WK450 is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for all weather, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) use by the British Army. It is provided under an £800 million contract from Elbit and Thales UK and is based on Elbit’s Hermes 450.
6) Orion-E Russian MALE-class UAV
Kronstadt Technologies unveiled the first Russian medium altitude long endurance (MALE) class unmanned aerial system (UAS) prototype, during the MAKS 2017 airshow. Dubbed the Orion-E, 1-ton class surveillance UAV has been undergoing flight testing in the country since last year and had been revealed earlier through grainy images.
The UAV has an external design similar to the Thales WatchKeeper UAS, albeit with a different fuselage cross section. With a wingspan of 16 m (52.5ft), the Orion-E is capable of automatic take-off and landing, and fly continuously for 24 hours, carrying a surveillance payload of up to 200 kg.
The fuselage is 8 m long and has high-aspect-ratio wings with a V-tail. It can reach a max altitude of 7,500 m and have a range of 250 km.
5) Boeing Phantom Eye
The Boeing Phantom Eye was a high altitude, long endurance (HALE) liquid hydrogen-powered unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Boeing Phantom Works. The aircraft was Boeing’s proposal to meet the demand from the US military for unmanned drones designed to provide advanced intelligence and reconnaissance work, driven by the combat conditions in Afghanistan in particular. In August 2016, the Phantom Eye demonstrator was disassembled for display at the Air Force Flight Test Museum.
4) General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper
The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the United States Air Force (USAF). The MQ-9 and other UAVs are referred to as Remotely Piloted Vehicles/Aircraft (RPV/RPA) by the USAF to indicate their human ground controllers. The MQ-9 is the first hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance.
3) Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk
The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is an unmanned (UAV) 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.
2) Dassault nEUROn
The Dassault nEUROn is an experimental unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) being developed with international cooperation, led by the French company Dassault Aviation. The design goal is to create a stealthy, autonomous UAV that can function in medium- to high-threat combat zones. Comparable projects include the British BAE Systems Taranis, German/Spanish EADS Barracuda, American Boeing X-45 and Northrop Grumman X-47B, the Indian DRDO AURA, and the Russian Mikoyan Skat and Sukhoi Okhotnik.
1) Northrop Grumman X-47B
The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a demonstration unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) designed for aircraft carrier-based operations. Developed by the American defense technology company Northrop Grumman, the X-47 project began as part of DARPA’s J-UCAS program, and subsequently became part of the United States Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. The X-47B is a tailless jet-powered blended-wing-body aircraft capable of semi-autonomous operation and aerial refueling.
