Une belle liste de drone dont pas mal d'essais européen : http://www.archives-dossiers-secrets.fr/forum/viewtopic.php?id=156
Première page d'infos : http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/docs/980424-TCSrelease.htm
Une belle bibio : http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/gnat-750.htm
Une page turque, autre utilisateur de l'appareil : http://www.turkmilitary.com/resim-turk-hava-kuvvetleri-3-insansiz-hava-araclari-271-digerleri-20-gnat-750-uav-3623.htm
Tim Kinsey m'a transmis gentiment toute la documentation qu'il a ressemblé sur cet engin, qui est plus complexe qui n'en a l'air ! Merci à lui pour toutes ces infos.
Gnat 750: First flight 1989. Internally-funded Leading Systems UAV designed to share basic system architecture and functionalities of the Amber in an exportable and lower-cost form.
Specs:
Wingspan: 35’ 4”
Length: 16’ 5”
Fuselage Cross-Section: 2’ 5.5” wide, 2’ 4.5” tall
Propeller: 60” Ø 2-bladed or 90” Ø 2-bladed
Aprx. Weight: 560 lb empty, 450 lb payload (Gnat-750-45), 1140-1400 lb GTOW
Powerplant: Rotax 532 (64 hp), Rotax 582 (65 hp), Rotax 586 (65 hp), Rotax 912 (85 hp), KH800 (65 hp), or KH800T (120 hp)
Speed: 45-58 KIAS max. endurance, 140 KIAS max.
Selected sources:
Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution, Richard Whittle
“To Boldly Go Where No Unmanned Aircraft Has Gone Before: A Half-Century of DARPA's Contributions to Unmanned Aircraft”, Michael J. Hirschberg
Air Force UAVs: The Secret History
“Gnat-750 Drone is Outgrowth of Darpa Amber Project”, AW&ST, August 17, 1992
http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app4/gnat.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20110628230201/http://www.vectorsite.net/twuav_12.html#m4
https://fas.org/irp/program/collect/gnat-750.htm
http://www.deagel.com/Support-Aircraft/GNAT_a000030001.aspx
Gnat 400BT (Basic Trainer): Unlike the Gnat 400AT, the Gnat 400BT was purely company-funded and is the smallest Gnat variant by size and weight. It was designed as a low-cost, low-risk trainer to enable pilots to become familiar with the Amber’s GCS control scheme and UAV flight characteristics before taking control of a more valuable asset.
Specs, from AW&ST spec tables and DARPA UAV history paper:
Wingspan: 13.1’
Length: 8.2’
Fuselage Cross-Section: 1.3’ Ø
Aprx. Weight: 55 lb empty, 121 lb GTOW
Powerplant: Sachs 5.8/95cc engine (6 hp)
Speed: 40-50 KIAS best endurance, 100 KIAS max.
Gnat 400AT (Advanced Trainer): Developed with DARPA funding as part of the Amber program as a further intermediate step for pilots learning to control UAVs. Could also be employed as an aerial target. No clear images of this variant have been identified.
Specs, from AW&ST spec tables and DARPA UAV history paper:
Wingspan: 14.6’
Length: 8.2’
Fuselage Cross-Section: 1.3’ Ø max.
Approx. Weight: 132 lb empty, 375 lb GTOW
Powerplant: NGL 342 (26 hp)
Speed: 40-50 KIAS loiter, 170 KIAS max.
Gnat-750-45: This modified CIA version of the Gnat 750 has been operated in Bosnia and elsewhere (sometimes under the codename "Lofty View"). It contains non-standard sensors chosen specifically for its missions, and a raised dorsal antenna to allow “line-of-sight” communication with its GCS at extended ranges or in mountainous regions by relaying data through an intermediate aircraft. This was accomplished first via a manned Schweizer SA 2-37 (RG-8A Condor), and later via a Gnat XP, I-Gnat, or another Gnat-750-45 further modified for the data relay role. The Gnat-750-45 has been referred to in AW&ST as the "Tier I configuration" of the Gnat, a reference to the developing DoD hierarchy for UAVs in the 1990s.
Gnat-750-93: Listed in a 1990 AW&ST specifications table. The specs listed are for an aircraft much larger than the baseline Gnat 750, with a wingspan of 61.5 ft, fuselage length of 32.2 ft, and weight of 2000-3000 lb. It almost certainly existed as a concept only.
Gnat 750 “Whale” configuration: This was an experimental modification to the baseline Gnat 750 used in 1993 to test the concept of SATCOM control. This testing was the preliminary step toward evolving the Gnat into the RQ/MQ-1 Predator, as the Predator fuselage is essentially the Gnat fuselage with SATCOM radome and associated hardware stuck onto the front end rather than on top.
I-Gnat and Gnat XP: The Gnat XP and the I-Gnat are likely very similar in dimensions and capabilities, if not identical. “I” stands for “Improved” rather than “International” as some sources report, and “XP” most likely stands for “eXtended Performance” rather than “eXPortable”. Jane’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Targets describes the Gnat XP as a “specially equipped version of Gnat 750 for ‘a three-symbol customer’. Further details classified.” More is available for the I-Gnat, with improvements known to include increased fuselage length and wingspan, a more powerful engine, variable pitch propeller, external hardpoints, radar altimeter, parachute, and a dorsal “fin” providing air data relay capability. This capability eliminated endurance limits imposed by the manned Schweizer SA 2-37 (RG-8A Condor) relay aircraft previously required in mountainous regions (although the Predator’s SATCOM datalink has since proven much more practical for those able to utilize it). The Gnat XP may be viewed as a “cutting-edge” modified version of the Gnat 750 intended to quickly address the increasing needs of a specific classified customer (likely CIA), while the I-Gnat formalized and stabilized these kinds of improvements for a wider market of potential customers. Many images exist labeling aircraft as I-Gnat or Gnat XP, but without a more complete understanding of exactly how these configurations differ it is difficult to verify any of these claims with confidence.
Specs: (I-Gnat, primarily from Jane’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Targets)
Wingspan: 42’ 2”
Length: 20’ 9”
Fuselage Cross-Section: 2’ 5.5” wide, 2’ 4.5” tall
Aprx. Weight: 650 lb empty, 500 lb fuel, 200 lb payload, 1140-1400 lb GTOW
Powerplant: Rotax 912 (85 hp) or Rotax 914 Turbo (115 hp)
Speed: 45-58 KTAS max. endurance, 120-155 KTAS max.
I-Gnat XP: The use of this designation is unconfirmed.
I-Gnat ER: “ER” here stands for “Extended Range.” A further altered version of the I-Gnat. In 2003 GA-ASI was awarded a contract to provide three I-Gnat series aircraft to the US Army, to allow the Army to develop UAV concepts of operations using practical demonstrators. Although certain published statements refer to these aircraft as simply I-Gnat, they came to be known as I-Gnat ER, a configuration seemingly exclusive to the Army. These aircraft had tail numbers in the format AI-###, AI assumedly denoting “Army I-Gnat.” The first three aircraft delivered had roughly the same dimensions as the initial Air Force Predator, visually differentiable only by the absence of the Predator’s distinctive forward dome, apparently missing due to lack of an Army requirement for SATCOM control. This requirement evidently asserted itself almost immediately afterward, however, as all succeeding deliveries included this capability and the accompanying dome. With this change and the fitting of a larger Raytheon EO/IR payload, the Army aircraft were made nearly indistinguishable from the Predator (although some internal differences still existed, most likely in the areas of datalink and control architectures). The Army likely did not wish to see their own system slapped with an Air Force designation, but the Gnat label no longer seemed to fit either. Around 2006, after GA had won the Army’s larger ERMP contract with the “Warrior” AKA “Sky Warrior” UAV, the alternate designation “Warrior Alpha” AKA “Sky Warrior Alpha” was applied retroactively to some if not all fielded Army I-Gnat ERs. This additional moniker has done little to alleviate confusion, as the I-Gnat ER / Warrior Alpha / Sky Warrior Alpha does not utilize a heavy fuel engine like the Warrior / Sky Warrior that followed and is a significantly different aircraft.
Specs:
Wingspan: 49’ (initial), 55’
Length: 27’
Fuselage Cross-Section: 2’ 5.5” wide, 2’ 4.5” tall
Propeller: 6’ Ø 2-bladed
Aprx. Weight: 450 lb payload, 625 lb fuel, 2300-2550 lb GTOW
Powerplant: Rotax 914F (115 hp)
Speed: 70 KIAS loiter, 120 KIAS max.
Selected sources:
OSD’s UAS Roadmap 2005-2030 (accuracy of information unknown)
OSD’s Unmanned Systems Roadmap 2007-2032 (accuracy of information unknown)
US Army Roadmap for UAS 2010-2035 (accuracy of information unknown)
http://www.ga.com/us-army-procures-ignat-uav-system
http://www.ga.com/the-army-ignat-uav-operationally-available-247-in-iraq
http://www.ga.com/army-i-gnat-er-uas-achieves-10000-combat-flight-hours-in-record-2-years
http://www.ga.com/army-i-gnat-er-aircraft-breaks-predator-uas-series-record-achieving-most-flight-combat-hours-by-a-single-uas-in-the-family
http://www.ga.com/first-army-i-gnat-er-uas-achieves-10000-flight-hours
http://www.deagel.com/Support-Aircraft/GNAT_a000030001.aspx
https://www.army-technology.com/projects/ignat-er/
Prowler-CR / Prowler I: Prowler-CR (close-range) was likely developed specifically for the “CR UAV” Program, which was managed by the UAV JPO and “significantly influenced by the SR [short-range] UAV” program (which selected the IAI/TRW RQ-5 Hunter). Air vehicle technical demonstrations were completed in July 1992, with GA-ASI and five other companies competing, to validate technology maturity for a 200 lb class air vehicle carrying a 50 lb payload. As of 1994, CR UAV became Maneuver Variant UAV, a component of the Joint Tactical (JT) UAV Project Office. The JPO was disbanded by the DoD (absorbed into DARO in 1995) before any CR/Maneuver air vehicle supplier had been chosen. The Hunter and “Maneuver UAV” under the JTUAV project were redesignated/reconstituted in December 1995 as an ACTD calling for a single TUAV to meet Army, Navy, and Marine requirements. The ACTD contract was awarded to Alliant TechSystems (ATK) for the Outrider (RQ-6) on 2 May 1996. Neither Alliant nor its subcontractor Mission Technologies (Mi-Tex) were among the six companies previously competing for the CR air vehicle.
The design of the Prowler incorporates an unusual “slewed” or “oblique” wing and tails, where these surfaces are swept slightly forward on the left side and swept slightly back on the right. This was perhaps done so that the wings and tails could fold for transport without being removed, but this is unconfirmed.
Specs (from JUAVT and AW&ST spec tables):
Wingspan: 18.1’
Length: 11.1’
Fuselage Cross-Section: 1.8’ wide
Aprx. Weight: 117 lb empty, 50 lb payload, 200 lb GTOW
Powerplant: Norton NR731 (38 hp)
Speed: 160 KIAS max.
Selected sources:
JPO UAV Master Plan 1993, 1994
DARO UAV Annual Report 1995
JUAVT
AW&ST spec tables
Prowler II: First flight 3 June 1998. Another "tactical UAV" design intended to capture a different operational role than the Prowler-CR. In a very practical design mindset, the Prowler II was not blessed with a new tailor-made fuselage. Rather, it appears the basic Gnat fuselage was modified for the job, greatly shortened by lopping off everything aft of the wing root. This gave the new aircraft a much lower weight and a substantially sturdier look. Tail surfaces were attached where the Gnat’s wings had been and new, shorter wings were affixed farther forward. The Prowler II also sat low to the ground with short, wing-mounted main landing gear rather than the spindly composite gear characteristic of other Gnat variants. For this reason, the diagonal tails had a very shallow angle, and the prop shaft had to be raised above the fuselage to allow a propeller of reasonable size to be fitted without danger of scraping on the ground.
Specs:
Wingspan: 24’
Length: 13.9’
Propeller: 5’ Ø 2-bladed or 5’ Ø 3-bladed
Aprx. Weight: 450 lb empty, 200 lb fuel, 750 lb GTOW
Powerplant: Rotax 582 (65 hp) or HFE (36 hp)
Speed: 50 KIAS cruise, 125 KIAS dash
Selected sources:
A late 1990s GA-ASI brochure on the Prowler II can be seen at http://burkdesigngroup.com/BDG/services/copywriting.html
More pictures and info about a RATO accessory at https://aeropack.net/commercial.asp
JUAVT
AW&ST spec tables
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