USAF Hunter-Killer
Hunter-Killer is an unofficial project name based upon an Aviation Week & Space Technology article. When USAF releases an official name, this article will be renamed to suit.
The U.S. Air Force's Hunter-Killer program was a tactical unmanned combat air vehicles procurement program.
The MQ-9 Reaper won the project and is now being deployed in Afghanistan.
The five candidates that were proposed were:
- Scaled Composites Model 395
- Scaled Composites Model 396
- General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (a variant of the MQ-1 Predator)
- Aurora Flight Sciences/Israel Aircraft Industries Eagle/Heron 2
- Unnamed Lockheed Martin Skunk Works entry
Raytheon proposed a sixth option, whereby they would offer a combination of sensors, communications systems, and other mission-related systems as a package, and then choose an airframe at a later date. Raytheon's perspective was that, as long as it performs to a minimum set of specifications, the individual airframe is less important than the systems it will carry.
Read more about USAF Hunter-Killer: History