Northrop Grumman,
SIERRA VISTA: Northrop Grumman Corporation has taken a significant step toward modernizing the U.S. Army's fleet of Hunter unmanned systems by conducting the first engineering flight of an enhanced, multi-mission variant of the current RQ-5A air vehicle called the MQ-5B. The 66-minute check-out flight of the upgraded air vehicle, which features extended range, endurance and weapon capabilities, was conducted July 8 at Libby Air Field, Ft. Huachuca, Ariz.
Compared to the fielded RQ-5A air vehicles, which have flown more than 14,000 hours on combat missions in the Balkans and Iraq, the MQ-5B Hunter offers a longer wing span (34 ft. vs. 29 feet), longer maximum endurance (approximately 15 hours vs. the current 12 hours), and higher operating altitude (approximately 18,000 feet vs. 15,000 feet). The new air vehicle also features modern, dual-redundant avionics; the LN-251 inertial navigation system/global positioning system, which improves the accuracy of target location; and a heavy-fuel engine.
