Mini-UAVs continue to prove their value as tactical surveillance and reconnaissance craft. The design of this class of unmanned aerial vehicle has been fine-tuned to where versions are lightweight, manpack-portable in battle, readily launched by hand, and capable of carrying sophisticated data-transmission payloads. Their video capabilities help direct bombing runs, and their size and low noise make them virtually undetectable, even at low altitudes.

They are truly the shadow warriors of 21st-century battlefields.

One example of the workhorse role these aircraft now have is the RQ-11 Raven mini-UAV from AeroVironment of Monrovia, Calif. The aircraft notched 150,000 combat hours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007, and is expected to fly twice as many missions this year. With 9,000 on order or delivered, AeroVironment, which produced the first practical hand-launched UAV, the Pointer, in the late 1980s, is the numbers leader in the market.

Ravens have also been ordered by Italy, Denmark and Spain. Two Danish Raven operators, deployed off the Horn of Africa on board the Danish patrol frigate HDMS Thetis during a United Nations World Food Program escort mission, made local headlines when they were sent home after violating rules of engagement by flying their Raven UAV over land north of Mombasa, Kenya, in March.

The Netherlands has also acquired an initial order of 10 Aladin mini-UAVs from a production series destined for the German armed forces. Aladin is produced by EMT in Penzberg, Germany. The Dutch and Germans deploy Aladin in Afghanistan, where the system is in near-continuous use.

U.S. and Israeli companies, however, are the leaders in this segment. One of the surprise lessons of the 2006 war in Lebanon was the value of small UAVs. They made up a tactical surveillance system, supporting the Israel Defense Forces’ brigade-level combat teams. Tactical UAVs, operating as organic assets with brigades, are able to move with the force, keeping up with forward-deployed combat support elements, flying forward from the lead echelon. The UAVs cover a brigade’s combat environment, monitor enemy activities and friendly troop movements, and prevent fratricide by enhancing situational awareness for tactical commanders.

Israeli soldier launches a Skylark UAV. The aircraft, from Elbit Systems, flies reconnaissance missions virtually undetected. Credit: ELBIT SYSTEMS

These low-cost systems demonstrated excellent performance in the war. They were adaptable to users’ needs and, operating in almost total silence, were virtually invisible even in daylight. Furthermore, the UAVs were the only platforms capable of delivering imagery “below the clouds,” in weather conditions that hindered the operation of larger UAVs flying above the cloud level.

The Israelis operated two types of mini-UAVs: the Skylark I, developed by Elbit Systems; and Skylite B, developed and operated by Rafael.

Skylark is a manpack system designed for close-range surveillance and reconnaissance missions. It can be quickly assembled before the mission and is launched by hand. Recovery is performed by a deep stall maneuver, which lands the vehicle safely on a small inflatable cushion at a pre-designated point. The wings and tail surfaces are constructed of lightweight composites, as is the fuselage boom that carries the tail surfaces. The avionics and payload systems are contained in a pod below the boom. The Skylark is equipped with a daylight-stabilized CCD payload, weighing about 0.5 kg. (1.1 lb.), or an uncooled forward-looking infrared (Flir) for night operation.

In February 2004, Elbit Systems won an IDF Ground Forces Command contract to supply the Skylark for evaluation and testing as an organic UAV system to be operated by infantry units. In 2005 and 2006, the mini-UAV was selected to equip several armed forces, including Australia and Canada, for operations in Afghanistan. Skylark mini-UAVs were operated by IDF units in the Second Lebanon War to develop real-time intelligence in support of ground troops.