Meggitt Banshee

Meggitt BTT-3 Banshee
A team of Royal Brunei Armed Forces military and civilian contractors prepare "Banshee" unmanned drones for launch from the U.S. Navy's dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43).
Role	Target Drone
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Meggitt Defence Systems
First flight	1983
Introduction	1984
Status	In service
Primary user	British Army
Number built	Over 5000 [1]
Developed into	SAGEM Crecerelle

The Meggitt BTT-3 Banshee, formerly the Target Technology Banshee, is a British target drone developed in the 1980s for air defence systems training.

Design and Development

The Banshee was developed by Target Technology Ltd..^[2] The company had been specialising in lightweight engines for drones and had developed its own design in 1983 ^[3]

The Banshee is a built mostly out of composite material (Kevlar and glass-reinforced plastic) with a tailess delta wing platform. The first models used a 26 hp 342 cc Normalair-Garrett two-cylinder two-stroke driving a pusher propeller. Performance was 35-185 kt with an endurance from 1–3 hours. Flight control is by two elevons. 185kt. Later models used Norton P73 rotary engines^[4][5]

The Banshee is designed to float for overwater operations recovery. Installable options include, radar enhancement devices, flare or chaff dispenser, and target sleeves. It can simulate a sea-skimming missile or serve as a reconnaissance UAV with a camera.

Operational history

Banshee entered service with the British Army in the mid-1980s as an aerial target for the Short Blowpipe and Javelin shoulder-launched missiles.^[6]

The Banshee has been deployed in over 40 Countries.^[7] It has been tested against Blowpipe, Chaparral, Crotale, Javelin, Phalanx, Rapier, Sea Sparrow and Akash SAM systems.^[8]

Operators

•  India
•  Brazil
•  Denmark Operated by the Inter Service Drone Section
•  Egypt
•  France
•  Germany
•  Hungary
•  Norway
•  Oman
•  Pakistan
•  Turkey

Variants

• Banshee 300 - Sea skimmer (1988)
• Banshee 400 - Reconnaissance (2001)
• Jet Banshee - faster drone

Specifications Meggitt BTT-3 Banshee

Banshee top-view silhouette

Data from Meggitt

General characteristics

• Crew: None
• Length: 2.84 m (9 ft 4 in)
• Wingspan: 2.49 m (8 ft 2 in)
• Height: 0.86 m (2 ft 10 in)
• Empty weight: 39 kg (85 lb)
• Gross weight: 73 kg (160 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Norton P73 Wankel rotary engine, 28 kW (38 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 200 km/h (124 mph; 108 kn)
• Endurance: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Service ceiling: 7,010 m (23,000 ft)

See also

Related development

• SAGEM Crecerelle

References

1. "Banshee". Retrieved 7 Jan 2011.
2. "Target Drones". Retrieved 7 Jan 2011.
3. "New UK target RPV"
4. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1988/1988%20-%201940.html
5. "UK funding for rotary engine"
6. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1986/1986%20-%201877.html
7. "Banshee". Retrieved 7 Jan 2011.
8. "Meggitt BTT-3 Banshee". Retrieved 7 Jan 2011.