First You See It, Then You Don't

Here it is!

Built for recon.

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Somewhere high in the sky hovers a small, unmanned, tilt rotor Hilo/plane, designated Eagle Eye. With a wingspan of 24 feet 2 inches and an overall length of 18 feet 3 inches, her Allison 250-C20 GT 420 shp engine has the ability to hover at 20,000 feet for eight hours at a time, without refueling. That’s a lot of recon time.

In April 1998 Eagle Eye flew more than 43 times, exceeding 55.5 flight hours and achieving airspeed of more than 200 knots at 14,600 feet during demonstrations at the Yuma Proving Ground.

Capable of carrying a 200-pound payload and fitted with SAR/FLIR/TV sensors and laser targeting system, Eagle Eye has the ability to seek out, lock on and deliver a lethal payload to an unsuspecting target. This isn’t a “now you see me, now you don’t” scenario. Instead, the U.S. Armed Forces UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) line of defense is striking new targets with a “You never saw me and you never will” attitude. The key is to inflict as much damage on the enemy's position and minimize the loss of allied troops .

Ground-based controlled flight by line of sight from antenna to UAV is the primary means of flight control and reconnaissance. Eagle Eye can be programmed to operate autonomously for future operations over the battlefield.