USAF Loses UAV Over Populated Area In Training Exercise

Should military hardware be permitted to operate over the heads of
citizens in the CONUS?


So, the USAF is permitted to fly UAVs in training missions over
populated areas?

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...28496&t=h&z=15
Who approved this? Why can't the military conduct training missions
where there is less danger of consequences to private citizens?

Doesn't the USAF UAV have a means of destructing the UAV in the event
it becomes uncontrollable? What would be the likely result if one of
these boy-toys hit the windshield of a car at freeway speeds?


http://www.local6.com/news/16189342/detail.html
Air Force Spy Drone Vanishes In Central Fla.

POSTED: 1:27 pm EDT May 7, 2008
UPDATED: 9:23 am EDT May 8, 2008

* Video: Air Force Spy Drone Vanishes
http://www.local6.com/news/16189342/detail.html#

OCALA, Fla. -- U.S. Air Force officials were searching for a
unmanned spy air craft that vanished in the Marion County sky
Tuesday.

The Air Force was conducting training with the UAV Raven at about
4 p.m. Tuesday when the aircraft was launched from an open field
in the 500 block of Southeast 25th Avenue in Ocala.

Upon launch, the Raven immediately turned eastward and failed to
respond to all commands from the controllers, Ocala police said.

The Raven, which has an approximate wingspan of 6 feet, landed at
an unknown location, possibly in the Ocala National Forest, police
said.

Air Force officials who said they want to recover the Raven are
seeking help in locating it.

The Raven can fly up to 6.2 miles at speeds up to 60 mph,
according to officials.



http://www.defense-update.com/products/r/raven.htm
Ravens are supporting Army units in Iraq and Afghanistan,
enhancing U.S. Army, Special Operation (SOCOM) forces and other
services, performing reconnaissance, surveillance, and target
acquisition (RSTA). Since 2004, the Army bought 1,000 Raven
systems, comprising of 3,000 air vehicles. ...




http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/...the-field-067/
Raven UAV Draws Raves From The Field

24-Feb-2005 05:38 EST
Weighing in at 4.5 pounds, with a 3-foot body and a 5-foot
wingspan, the Raven UAV is so small that it’s launched by hand.

Field Success
AIR_UAV_RQ-11_Raven.jpg
RQ-11 Raven

The RQ-11 Raven is a lighter, smaller successor to AeroVironment’s
FQM-151 Pointer UAV, which was used in Desert Storm (1991) and is
still in use with some Special Forces units.

Maj. Chris Brown told the Army News Service that “We had one
commander’s team find an IED [DID: a do-it-yourself land mine] on
its first mission, and the commander has been sold ever since.”

As a subsequent StrategyPage article has noted:

“What makes this little (4.2 pounds) bird so popular is its low
cost ($25,000 each) and performance (can stay in the air for 80
minutes at a time). The Raven is battery powered, and carries a
color day vidcam, or a two color infrared night camera. Both
cameras broadcast real time video back to the operator, who
controls the Raven via a laptop computer. The Raven can go as fast
as 90 kilometers an hour, but usually cruises between 40 and 50.
It can go as far as 15 kilometers from its controller on the
ground, and usually flies a preprogrammed route, using GPS for
navigation. ...

“One of the best pilots in the 1st Cav. is a cook, but that
doesn’t mean we don’t have … scouts operating the Raven,” he said.
“Some of these kids have been raised with Playstation in their
hands and are better able to handle watching a screen and
controlling the aircraft.” ...





http://video.aol.com/video-detail/ra...ing/2806087147
Raven UAV flight and landing video

The Raven is light UAV equipped with several camera (including
thermal, I thin...k) that can be used over a disaster site to
provide overhead views. It relies on an electric motor and
batteries that provide about 30 minutes of loiter. Its GPS allows
it to fly a pattern which minimizes operator requirements. The
most interesting thing is that it is designed to shed kinetic
energy on landing by falling apart. Filmed at Disaster City, Texas
in 2006 during the NIST/DHS Response Robot Evaluation Exercise.





http://www.difesa.it/NR/rdonlyres/43...CTOBER2007.pdf
DIREZIONE GENERALE PER GLI ARMAMENTI AERONAUTICI
(ARMAEREO)
N.12 Very Close Range RAVEN UAV Systems and relevant initial
logistic
Contracting authority: Armaereo – 1st Department – 4th Division
Contact tel.: +39 06 4986 5688
Future purchase ref. N°: N.P. 041/06/018 dated 13/05/2006
Procurement date: 31 Dec 2007
QA standards: ISO 9001-2000
Summary of requirements: n.12 Very Close Range UAV “Raven” Systems
and associated initial logistic.
Expression of interest due: N/A
Other information: The procurement will be excuted through a sole
source contract with Aero Vironment Inc. 69, Moreland Rd – Simi
Valey – California – 93065 – USA , which is the desingner
and manufacturer of the Raven UAV System. This contract
contnues the Raven systems procurement already made in
2005 by IT MoD – Direzione Generale Armamenti
Terrestri.
=================================