THE ARMY RETIRES ITS OLDEST DRONE

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Designed by Israel Aircraft Industries and in the United States maintained by Northrop Grumman, the MQ-5 Hunter was canceled in 1996. But soon enough war called it back. Flown in support of American forces in Kosovo in 1999, the Hunter remained active ever since. After 22 years in military use, it’s finally retiring from service.
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The Hunter, known as RQ-5 when unarmed and MQ-5B when equipped with small Viper Strike guided bombs, could fly for over 12 hours at over 15,000 feet. It’s short range made it a good fit for the army, who could send one on a scouting mission 80 miles away.
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Replacing the Hunter will be the Gray Eagle, a Predator-derived drone that the Army first used in Iraq in 2010. The larger drone can fly for up to 24 hours, at altitudes of 29,000 feet and with a top speed of 190 mph. Instead of guided bombs it carries four Hellfire missiles. Operating a squadron of between 9 and 12 of the Gray Eagles takes 128 people. The drone has a range of almost 250 miles, which lets it cover far more sky than even linked-up Hunters.
http://www.popsci.com/army-retires-its-oldest-drone
Dec 29 2015, 11:42 PM
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