Predator UAS Family Achieves 150K Flight Hours

UAV NEWS

Photo of a Predator carrying Hellfire missile.

San Diego (SPX) Sep 21, 2005
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has announced that the Predator unmanned aircraft system family achieved a milestone of 150,000 flight hours last month, with over two-thirds (100,000 hours) of that time spent in combat.

Predator Series aircraft are currently flying more than 5,000 hours a month and continue to maintain the highest operational readiness rates in the U.S. inventory.

"The Predator Series of unmanned aircraft systems had made a significant impact on the global war on terrorism, providing persistent ISR and full-mission capability to military users and decision-makers around the world," said Thomas J. Cassidy, Jr., president, Aircraft Systems, Group, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.

"Now with an experience base of more than 150,000 flight hours, no other UAS manufacturer can match the combat-proven, unparalleled performance and exceptional reliability of the Predator family."

Predator, the company's flagship UAS, has been operational in every U.S. conflict since 1995. Since its development in 1994, Predator's capabilities have evolved rapidly, with the Predator Series now including a variety of additional aircraft systems, including Altus, I-GNAT, Predator B, Altair, Army I-GNAT ER and Warrior.

Predator Series aircraft are in constant daily operations supporting the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Government, NASA, NOAA, Italian Air Force, Turkish Army and other customers and have been deployed in world trouble spots on five continents, including operations in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.

UAV NEWS

Aerosonde Awarded USAF Weatherscout Contract

Guam (SPX) Sep 13, 2005
UAV manufacturer Aerosonde has been awarded a Foreign Comparative Testing contract worth almost US$700,000 by the US Air Force (USAF) to undertake trials to meet weather reconnaissance requirements for tropical storms as well as military targeting and training.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.