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Predaotr C Avenger
Наскоро ќе бидат опремени со митролези...
http://www.sdbj.com/industry_article.asp?aID=157727404.1365122.1774721.3647975.9625955.758&lid=&sid=&cid=&page=1
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems reported three successful test flights of its jet-powered Predator C Avenger military aircraft this month.
Thomas Cassidy, president of the privately held Poway defense contractor, has hinted for years that such an aircraft was in development.
GA Aeronautical Systems finally took the wraps off April 20, the same day Predator C appeared on the cover of Aviation Week magazine.
The U.S. Air Force has used and continues to use variants of the Predator drone in Iraq and Afghanistan, controlling them from a base in Nevada. The military uses the aircraft to gather intelligence and deliver bombs and missiles.
Predator C is a departure from models in the Air Force inventory because it has no rear-mounted propeller to push it. A Pratt & Whitney PW545B jet provides the thrust. Cessna uses the same model of engine on business jets.
GA Aeronautical Systems did not disclose how much money it has put into the Predator C project, saying simply that the aircraft went together with “significant company investment” provided by Chairman and CEO Neal Blue.
GA Aeronautical Systems builds its aircraft in San Diego County. It recently left space in Rancho Bernardo and is now building the aircraft in Poway.
Aviation Week says the manufacturer has worked on the Predator C project for 3.5 years.
The Predator C can travel faster than 400 knots, or 460 mph. By contrast, the turboprop Predator B travels at 200 knots.
The jet-powered Predator can stay aloft 20 hours. It has a weapons bay capable of holding 500-pound bombs, Aviation Week reports, adding that the manufacturer may build another version of the aircraft devoted entirely to surveillance.
One photo reproduced on the Aviation Week and Jane’s Web sites shows the Predator C with a tail hook, a device for aircraft carrier landings.
The aircraft is 41 feet long, has a wingspan of 66 feet, and has several features to make it less visible to enemy radar. The manufacturer says it can fly as high as 60,000 feet.
Not everyone who read the Aviation Week account was sold.
“What I see is a smaller, uglier version of Global Hawk,” said one wag on the publication’s Web site. Global Hawk is a locally engineered spy aircraft built by Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman.
Predator C’s first flight was April 4 in Palmdale, with other flights April 13 and 14. The aircraft builder said the Predator C landed “without any discrepancies and (was) ready to fly again once refueled.”
