Unmanned vehicle round-upMarines abandon Dragon Eye UAV for the Raven B
Although the Dragon Eye has seen its share of successes, high cost and inability to handle strong winds sent the Marines back to the drawing board; AeroVironment’s Raven B, already popular with the Army, looks to take up the mission at lower cost
Send the Marines (and leave the dragon behind.) Such is the feeling these days now that the Corps has announced a plan to replace its man-portable Dragon Eye UAV with the Raven B. The Dragon Eye, funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Warfighting Lab, and built initially by the Naval Research Laboratory has been very popular among Marines — more than 100 systems have been delivered — due to its scouting abilities and the fact that Marines can learn to fly it in only a few hours. System limits (45-60 minutes in the air per sortie, two kilometer range, and instability in high winds), however, left the Marines looking for something better.
Monrovia, California-based AeroVironment’s Raven B fit the bill, with more than 3000 already produced, mainly for Army purposes in Iraq. “The Marines, who had much success with Dragon Eye, are buying the Raven B because it’s the same, but better,” the Strategy Page Web site reported. The 4.2 pound Raven is inexpensive at $25,000 per unit (versus $120,000 for the Dragon Eye) and can stay in the air for 80 minutes at a time. It can carry a color day camera or a two color infrared night camera, both of which broadcast real time video back to the operator. The Raven is tough, too. Made from Kevlar, it can survive about 200 landings before breaking down, (but like all UAVs, communications problems are its most common reason for crashing.)
-read more in this Strategy Page report
