The American company General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has introduced the Mojave drone for a shortened takeoff and landing. As reported by FlightGlobal, it will be able to take to the air and land on the ground, sand or deck of an aircraft carrier.
General Atomics is behind the development of a range of drones, from strike drones like the MQ-1C Gray Eagle to reconnaissance drones like the Altius-600. In particular, this company has created the MQ-9 Reaper - the basis of the fleet of attack unmanned aerial vehicles in service with the US Air Force.
Mojave, which General Atomics introduced on December 9, looks like Reaper and Gray Eagle. From them, the new drone got avionics and flight control systems. In addition, it was built on the basis of the fuselage of the latest Gray Eagle model, which has an increased flight range.
The Mojave wing is not borrowed, with deflected slats and double-slit flaps for maximum lift. It is generally wider compared to Gray Eagle and Reaper. At the same time, its span is slightly less than theirs — 15.8 meters.
The main feature of Mojave is the ability to take off and land on non-standard runways. For example, from a dirt road, sand or a dried-up riverbed. 152 meters are enough for the drone to take off and land, which also allows it to be used on aircraft carriers or even universal landing ships.
Mojave received a 450 horsepower turboprop engine and can fly for more than 25 hours. The drone is capable of carrying up to 1.6 thousand kilograms of payload. It has external suspensions for 16 AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles. Now the drone continues to be tested. His prototype took to the air for the first time this summer.
Earlier we wrote about the replacement of Reaper, the project of which was presented by General Atomics. The new device is planned to be created according to the "flying wing" scheme.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva
