Air Force News, news from Iraq - Air Force Times

AFSOC to field backpack-sized UAV

The Air Force has approved full-rate production of the backpack-sized Wasp III unmanned aerial vehicle, the aircraft’s manufacturer, AeroVironment Inc., announced Thursday.

The Wasp III is part of the Air Force’s BATMAV program — short for Battlefield Air Targeting Micro Air Vehicle – that is intended to allow battlefield airmen to look for enemy targets beyond their line of sight.

Air Force Special Operations Command began testing the tiny UAV in October and is expected to field the system with AFSOC combat controllers soon.

The Wasp III has a wingspan of 29 inches, weighs 1 pound and carries forward- and side-looking color cameras, according to an AeroVironment press release.

The aircraft can fly for up to 45 minutes and up to 5 kilometers from the control transceiver, according to the release. It can be controlled manually or set to auto-pilot, according to an AFSOC fact sheet.

The Wasp III will eventually become part of the standard kit carried by combat controllers as they go on missions with other special operators, an AFSOC official said in October.

The UAV was developed through a program with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as DARPA, he said.

In November 2007, the U.S. Marine Corps awarded a $19.3 million contract to buy Wasp III systems under the Air Force BATMAV contract, according to an AeroVironment press release.