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Posted
by Graham Warwick at
1/12/2009 7:30 PM CST
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The UK has ordered Honeywell RQ-16A T-Hawk micro air vehicle (MAV) systems, becoming the first foreign military customer for the backpackable UAV. The T-Hawk is the first ducted-fan vertical take-off and landing air vehicle to enter production, 50 years on from Snecma's short-lived annular-wing C.450 Coleoptere.
Photo: Honeywell
After a successful evaluation in Iraq of the MAV in the anti-IED role, the US Navy in November placed a $65 million production contract for 90 Block 2 MAV systems, each comprising two T-Hawk air vehicles and a ruggedized laptop ground control system. The UK order, worth $5.7 million, is for five complete systems to be delivered by 2010.
