TheTeledyne Ryan BQM-145 Peregrine (manufacturer designationModel 350) is a reconnaissanceunmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed in theUnited States in the 1990s as a jointU.S. Navy/Marine Corps andAir Force "Medium Range UAV" program, with the Navy developing the airframe and the Air Force providing the payload. The BQM-145A was designed to precede airstrike packages into a target area and relayreconnaissance information in real time.

Production BQM-145As were to have a metal airframe, but the initial two prototypes were built with plastic composites, with initial flight in May 1992. The program then collapsed in 1993 due to technical difficulties and funding cutbacks. Six BQM-145As with plastic-composite airframes then under construction were later completed, with first flight of a composite BQM-145A in 1997.

ApparentlyNorthrop Grumman has continued to use the BQM-145As for other experiments. Some sources claim they have been evaluated for unmannedstrike missions, and paintings have been circulated showing a BQM-145A fitted with a "high-power microwave (HPM)" generator in the nose to fry adversary electronic equipment. It has been confirmed that BQM-145As have been flown in the US on test flights carrying HPM payloads.

The BQM-145A has some broad similarities to theScarab, with a similar configuration except that it has twin air intakes on either side of the fuselage, just forward of the wing roots. Like the Scarab, it has nolanding gear. It is powered by aTeledyne CAE F408-CA-400 (Model 382-10C)turbofan engine, with 4.4 kilonewtons (990 lb_f) thrust. It can beair launched from a standardfighter aircraft such as theF-16 or theF/A-18.

General characteristics

• Crew: None
• Capacity: 300 lb (135 kg) payload
• Length: 18 ft 4 in (5.60 m)
• Wingspan: 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
• Gross weight: 2,000 lb (900 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 ×Teledyne CAE F408-CA-400 , 1,000 lbf (4.4 kN) thrust

Performance

• Maximum speed: 690 mph (1,115 km/h, 600 kn)
• Range: 810 mi (1,300 km, 700 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,200 m)

Related development

• Teledyne Ryan Scarab

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Ryan Model 147

This article contains material that originally came from the web articleUnmanned Aerial Vehicles by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain.

• 1990s United States military reconnaissance aircraft
• Unmanned aerial vehicles of the United States