| Desert Hawk | |
|---|---|
 Desert Hawk preparing to be launched. | |
| General information | |
| Type | Remote-controlled UAV |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin |
| Primary user | British Army |
TheLockheed Martin Desert Hawk is aminiature UAV used for base perimeter protection. It was designed byLockheed Martin'sSkunk Works for theUnited States Air Force Force Protection Airborne Surveillance System (FPASS) Program on a quick-reaction contract issued late in the winter of 2002, with the first system delivered in the early summer. It was designed quickly, because the program leveraged technology and design studies developed for the MicroStar MAVs. The program was run byElectronic Systems Center. In 2007, the U.S. Air Force FPASS office switched all of their UAV systems over to theRQ-11B Raven.[1]
It is made mostly of plastic foam, resembling hobby grade model airplanes, and uses an electric motor driving a pusher propeller as a powerplant, making it very quiet. It is launched with abungee cord, carries three smallCCD cameras, has an endurance of about an hour. It flies mostly under autonomous control, with the operator keeping track of its activity with a laptop computer.
The Desert Hawk is also used by the32nd Regiment Royal Artillery of theBritish Army as a tactical surveillance system, and has been used inAfghanistan andMali.[2][3]
Desert Hawk has since been replaced with the more capable and ruggedDesert Hawk III.
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