Predator C Avenger gets FAA experimental certificate
NewsJuly 11, 2016
FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA?ASI), officials announced that its company-owned Predator C Avenger unmanned aircraft system (UAS) received a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-issued Experimental Certificate (EC), enabling it to perform routine operations in the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS). The announcement was made this week at the Farnborough International Air Show.
Avenger's avionics, based upon the Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper, are designed to perform high-speed, long-endurance missions over land or sea. The aircraft has a 44-foot long fuselage and 66-foot wingspan, is capable of flying at more than 400 knots true airspeed (KTAS), and has an endurance of 15 hours. The UAS can support a wide array of sensors and weapons loads and has been designed to carry an all-weather GA-ASI Lynx Multi-mode radar, an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor, and a 2,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), delivering an optimal balance of long loiter intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and precision-strike capability.
GA-ASI officials say they plan to begin flight testing of an extended-range Avenger in September 2016. With an increased wingspan of 76 feet, Improved Avenger will extend the aircraft’s endurance to 20 hours.
