XPost: sci.military.naval, soc.history.war.misc

But how will it's "autonomy" fare when it is hit with either
Russian or Chinese Electronics and signals interference?

from https://itc.ua/en/news/the-us-air-force-declassified-the-ultra-reconnaissance-uav-a-much-cheaper-alternative-to-the-mq-9-reaper-with-an-autonomy-of-80-hours/

The US Air Force declassified the ULTRA reconnaissance UAV – a much
cheaper alternative to the MQ-9 Reaper with an autonomy of 80 hours
author avatar
Vadym Karpus

News writer

The US Air Force declassified the ULTRA reconnaissance UAV – a much
cheaper alternative to the MQ-9 Reaper with an autonomy of 80 hours

The U.S. Air Force has released photos of its Unmanned Long-endurance
Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA) reconnaissance drone. This semi-classified UAV, developed by DZYNE, is now confirmed to be deployed
and active.

The recent unrest in the Middle East, and especially in the Red Sea, has
become a testing ground for Western military technology, tactics and
policies. The MQ-9 Reaper UAVs, which are used for long-range
reconnaissance to protect against terrorist attacks on ships, as well as
for other missions, have been invaluable. Unfortunately, one hard lesson
is that the Reaper is vulnerable. Each of these vehicles costs $30
million, which makes their loss to enemy fire quite tangible. After all,
the Reaper was originally designed as a strike vehicle to hit ground
targets, which was later modified for reconnaissance missions.

ВПС США розсекретили розвідувальний БПЛА ULTRA – значно дешевшу
альтернативу MQ-9 Reaper з автономністю 80 годин

The Air Force needed an alternative, and DZYNE Technologies Incorporated quickly offered it. Matt McCue, CEO of DZYNE, said that the company
worked with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Center for Rapid
Innovation to create a drone that would be inexpensive, less vulnerable,
and able to get airborne quickly.

ВПС США розсекретили розвідувальний БПЛА ULTRA – значно дешевшу
альтернативу MQ-9 Reaper з автономністю 80 годин

The result was the ULTRA, which was created on the basis of an existing
sports aircraft model. It was converted into a military unmanned aerial
vehicle using commercially available UAS technology. It’s not as
advanced as the Reaper, but it’s much cheaper and boasts an 80-hour autonomous flight time with a payload of over 180 kg.

ВПС США розсекретили розвідувальний БПЛА ULTRA – значно дешевшу
альтернативу MQ-9 Reaper з автономністю 80 годин

In addition, the ULTRA has enhanced GPS navigation and can carry a
variety of electro-optical/infrared, radio frequency, and other low-cost intelligence gathering equipment. These are cheaper than on the Reaper
because the ULTRA operates at lower altitudes, so commercially available sensors are perfectly acceptable.

ВПС США розсекретили розвідувальний БПЛА ULTRA – значно дешевшу
альтернативу MQ-9 Reaper з автономністю 80 годин

According to the Air Force, this affordable UAV will allow more of them
to be deployed in the air to cover more remote areas. The ULTRA can fly missions far from accessible airfields using «point-and-click» satellite control systems.

Source: newatlas

Droney, UAV, ULTRA, USA

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