From my previous posts I’ve shared with you the information of the Predator UAV class. Today I will bring you a variant of the Predator called the Mariner unmanned aerial vehicle. The mariner is a highly successful UAV airplane intended for use as a long endurance maritime and border surveillance missions. This variant can be equipped with extra fuel allowing it to fly on long missions up to 49 hours. That’s 2 whole days, no human would be able to sit in a plane for that long and keep sane. With the ability to carry 800 pounds of internal payloads the mariner also has the ability to carry external payloads up 3,800 pounds providing for multiple missions able to be accomplished from a single UAV.
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| Mariner UAV Photo: dsto.defence.gov.au |
The Mariner UAV airplane is designed to meet the standards of the U.S. Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance program (BAMS) since it can provide instantaneous data directly to the system for target tracking and regular maritime surveillance. The Mariner UAV airplane is a top choice for homeland security due to its reliability and cost-effectiveness. The wingspan of this UAV is 88ft with the length at 36ft. It is designed to operate at a ceiling of 50,000ft and a maximum airspeed of 230kts. The predator has moved from a concept to being able to transform into a UAV with the ability to provide surveillance for 49 hours straight, that’s a huge advance in technology and I can’t wait to see what’s to come in the future!
I’ve seen drone that are equipped with variety of weapons but most of the time, they install a mini-gun in it. Small but very versatile, imagine a fleet of this unmanned drone just above the enemy territory and equipped with lethal missiles. Each one can destroy a house through and through and there is a huge fleet floating above the enemy base.