Questions
1 What do UAV, RPV, RPA, GPS, UAS, MTI, SAR, MPCS, GCS, PGM, CLRS, HMMWV, EO/IR, LOS, BLOS, FLOT, and SIGINT stand for?
2 Write the titles that are employed in the literature for the unmanned air vehicle.
3 Briefly write what Chapter 1 presents.
4 When was the first real use of UAVs by the United States in a combat reconnaissance role?
5 What UAVs were used in the operation during the Kuwait/Iraq war?
6 What UAVs were used in the Operation Iraqi Freedom?
7 How many bidders were competing in 1971 on the UAV program for a call by US DOD?
8 Name four companies that worked on a UAV in the early 1970s in response to a call by the Defense Science Board.
9 When did the US Navy and Marine Corps enter the UAV arena? What did they purchase in that year?
10 What UAV systems – and by which countries – were used in combat operation during the invasion of Iraq to Kuwait in 1990–1991?
11 What was the mission of NATO UAV operation in Bosnia in 1995?
12 Which UAV was the primary UAV used in Bosnia in 1995? Where was the UAV flying from?
13 What UAVs were used extensively during the war in Iraq (from 2003 to 2011)?
14 What UAV was used during the battle for Fallujah in Iraq in 2004 to locate and mark targets and keep track of insurgent forces?
15 How many missions did the Global Hawk fly during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003?
16 What term is adopted by the press and the general public as a general term for UAVs?
17 What does manual control of a UAV usually mean?
18 What is a typical UAV system composed of?
19 Show a very simple generic UAV system in a figure.
20 What does the air vehicle as the airborne part of the unmanned aerial system include?
21 What is the mission planning and control station also called?
22 Briefly describe the function of the mission planning and control station.
23 Write two extreme forms (with brief features) of an MPCS.
24 Write a few popular types of launch and recovery techniques/equipment.
25 Write one advantage of a rotary‐wing or fan‐powered vehicle over a fixed‐wing UAV in launch and recovery.
26 What is the ultimate reason for having a UAV system?
27 Briefly compare the cameras (as the UAV payload) that were used in the past versus current ones.
28 What is the most popular payload in UAVs today?
29 Name a few types of UAV payloads.
30 What does a “Lethal” UAV carry as the payload?
31 Briefly compare a lethal UAV with a missile.
32 What is the function of a UAV when used as a platform for data and communications relays?
33 What does a downlink provide?
34 What is the typical data rate of: (a) uplink and (b) downlink?
35 What typical flight parameters are often transmitted by a downlink to MPCS?
36 What feature is required by a data link, if it is to be sure of effectiveness in combat?
37 Briefly describe the features of the ground data terminal of a data link.
38 What does the air data terminal include as the airborne part of the data link?
39 What does a ground support equipment for a long‐range UAV typically include?
40 When must a GSE include transportation?
41 What American UAS was a unique early development of a total integrated system?
42 In what year did the Aquila program move to formal development?
43 What was the initial and final durations of the Aquila program?
44 What were the Aquila mission and requirements?
45 List the number of personnel, trucks, sorties, and other equipment used to allow operation and control of an Aquila battery (i.e., 13 air vehicles).
46 Briefly describe the configuration of the Aquila air vehicle.
47 Write the fuselage length and wingspan of the Aquila air vehicle.
48 Write engine type and engine power of the Aquila air vehicle.
49 What material was the Aquila air vehicle made of?
50 Write the speed range of the Aquila air vehicle.
51 Write the flight altitude of the Aquila air vehicle.
52 Briefly describe the equipment used in the Aquila ground control station.
53 How was the connection made between the ground control station and the remote ground terminal of the Aquila UAS?
54 How much was the power of the generator for the ground control station of the Aquila UAS?
55 Did the remote ground terminal have to maintain line‐of‐sight contact with the Aquila air vehicle?
56 Briefly describe the launch and recovery systems of the Aquila.
57 What was the Aquila payload?
58 Why was the box – in which Aquila was transported – heavy?
59 Did the data link of Aquila have an anti‐jam capability?
60 Did the Aquila system include a level of nuclear blast and radiation survivability?
61 Provide reasons why the whole Aquila system gained a bad reputation.
62 What was the foremost operational “disappointment” of the Aquila? What was this failing due to?
63 Was the Aquila program terminated as a failure or as a success?
64 Some of the UAV requirements – that have followed Aquila – have been relaxed. Provide at least three items.
65 The Global Hawk was intended to compliment or replace a manned aircraft. What was that?
66 When and where was the first flight of the Global Hawk?
67 When did the Global Hawk enter service? When did it reach the serial production stage?
68 Which unmanned aerial vehicle became the first UAV to cross the Pacific Ocean?
69 Which unmanned aerial vehicle is the largest active current UAV?
70 Briefly describe the configuration of the Global Hawk.
71 What propulsion system generates thrust for the Global Hawk?
72 Does the Global Hawk have pressurized compartments?
73 What material is the wing and tail of the Global Hawk made of?
74 What material is the fuselage of the Global Hawk made of?
75 What systems are employed for the navigation of the Global Hawk?
76 Name two elements for the GCS of the Global Hawk.
77 Write: (a) maximum takeoff mass, (b) length, and (c) engine thrust of the RQ‐4B Global Hawk.
78 Write: (a) maximum speed, (b) range, (c) endurance, and (d) ceiling of the RQ‐4B Global Hawk.
79 Briefly compare the RQ‐4A Global Hawk with the RQ‐4B Global