The Perfect Soldier: Special Operations, Commandos, and the Future of Us Warfare by James F. Dunnigan
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Small, But Armed And Dangerous
by James Dunnigan
June 30, 2008
Discussion Board on this DLS topic
European firm BAE has developed a new armed UAV. The Fury is based on the earlier HERTI (High Endurance Rapid Technology Insertion) UAV. Both are medium sized aircraft, weighing about 1,500 pounds, with s 330 pound payload. Fury will be armed with the new LMM (Lightweight Multirole Missile). Weighing 29 pounds, with a range of 8 kilometers and carrying a 6.5 pound fragmentation warhead, the LMM uses laser guidance. Fury has four hardpoints, thus it could carry four HMMs. Technically, Fury could carry two Hellfire missiles. These weigh a hundred pounds each, and have 20 pound warheads (about half of which is explosives). That's three times the "bang" as the LMM, but for most targets, the smaller explosion is preferable. Moreover, most users prefer a more powerful (and heavier) load of sensors in the Fury. This UAV/missile combination is not expected to be in service for another three years, if ever (lack of sales could kill the projects).
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