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The RQ-5 Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was originally developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
It was sold to the u.s army and entered service in 1996, afterwards it was also manufactured by the U.S by a local company. It served for many years and only recently was retired in an emotional last flight in a UAV training facility in Tuscon.
Since the first Hunter UAV flight in the 1990s, the aircraft has logged over 12,000 flight hours, revolutionizing the way we look at the battlefield in the process. The Hunter system’s main missions are reconnaissance and surveillance. Since 2003, Hunter UAVs have flown more than 600 of these missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, were seen to offer the possibility of cheaper, more capable fighting machines that could be used without risk to aircrews.
Captain Henry Vasquez with the 2-13th Aviation Regiment said it’s changed the way the military works. “As aviators and operators, it’s our mission to make the mission happen and keep an eye on the guys that are kicking down the doors,” said Vasquez.
Training to operate the UAV wasn’t easy. Only 39 external pilots passed the test since the late 1980s, among them only one female. Now that the Hunter has been retired, the Tuscon UAV training facility’s focus is on the more advanced unmanned air system, the Gray Eagle. This up to date system comes complete with better communications, endurance and of course hellfire missiles.
