NavIA Eagle Ray UAV
| NavIA Eagle Ray | |
|---|---|
| File:NavIA ER1.jpg Side view of the NavIA Eagle Ray | |
| General information | |
| Type | UAV |
| Manufacturer | Navayelle Systems & Inyursta Aéronautiqua (IA) |
| Status | In service |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 2009-present |
| Introduction date | 2010 |
The NavIA Eagle Ray drone is a UAV (later UCAV) jointly produced by defense contractors Navayelle Systems Inc. and Inyursta Aéronautiqua for the Inyurstan Navy.
Design
The Eagle Ray is a tilt-rotor VTOL design, allowing it to take-off from small or narrow spaces while being able to acheive a higher maximum speed than many other similar rotary designs. It is designed with the intent of being deployed from smaller surface ships; including frigates, littoral combat ships and corvettes.
Installed on the Eagle Ray is the ESQ/MS-9 multimode radar, capable of inverse-SAR detection of surface targets out to 53km and 3m2 sized aerial targets out to 80km. Infrared (IR) images and real-time surveillance footage is accurate out to 10km. A Moving Target Indicator is also installed to assist with the identification process of boats, aircraft and munitions. All information obtained by the Eagle Ray can be directly relayed back to fhe command vessel, SATCOM's or 3rd-party sources such as AEWC&S or submarines.
Beginning in 2014, Navayelle and Inyusta Aéronautiqua began marketing an armed variant of the Eagle Ray dubbed the "Strike Ray". The Strike Ray can be armed with up to three AGM-176 Griffin missiles or six APKWS II on hardpoints on each wing and under the fuselage.
Variants
Eagle Ray: Standard, unarmed reconissance variant produced for the Inyurstan Navy.
Strike Ray: UCAV variant produced in 2014.
Eagle Ray-C: Civil aviation variant. Used for scientific research and mass agricultural inspection.
Specifications
Speed: 162 knots (300km/h)
Endurance: 6-8 Hours
Range: 170nm (315km)
Payload: 750lbs (340kg)
Armament:
- x3 AGM-176 Griffin
- x6 APKWS II