MQ-44 Eagle

The is a UNSC mid-range multirole unmanned air vehicle

Description
The Eagle is a single drone, with a remarkable wide range of applications, allowing it to preform dozens of different combat and non-combat missions. The MQ-44's primary mission role is close air support. The MQ-44 can take dozens of different weapon set ups, allowing it to preform a variety of direct action missions. It can take 70mm Chimera rockets or the larger Fortune rocket system, for direct attack against a range of stationary and mobile targets, Gauntlet anti-radiation missiles for close defence and suppression of enemy air defence missions, Gorgon air to air missile for air-interdiction missions, Firefox anti-tank missiles for long to close range anti-tank missions, light-weight multi-role Shamrock missiles, or a variety of weapon pods, such as LASERs, cannons, machine guns, or weapon turrets carrying Sniper Rifles, allowing for EOD or urban anti-insurgent missions. As such, it could preform close-in attack missions against armour, personnel and materiel, long range, high-endurance anti-armour missions or area saturation missions. It could also do aerial escort, and search and destroy. The Eagle was also equipped with a nose mounted AIE-486I Heavy Machine Gun, carrying a mix of high explosive and armour piercing munitions, capable of taking down light vehicles and mowing down infantry. The Eagle could also preform passive and active long range and close range reconnaissance, using its advance range of sensors to observe, upload data to the War Net and relay video in real time. Its last role is cargo transport. With it's two external pods capable of taking large pods to transport supplies. It also has two internal stowage cabins, capable of taking more supplies, as well as extra fuel for extended range.

The Eagle is built much like a tiltrotor aircraft. It power plant consists of two turboshaft engines powering the propellers and on-board systems. This allows it excellent control during VTOL movement, and allows high speed travel when it shifts the engines forward, turning into an aircraft. This also allows it to take off and land from small landing areas, which are sometimes not accessible otherwise. This also allows it excellent loiter time and agility in urban combat, making it an ideal anti-insurgent weapon and hunter-killer. The wings and propeller blades fold in against the hull to reduce its travel size, allowing for several to be carried and deployed from a single unit.

The Eagle has an advanced neural net CPU, capable of advanced hazard and threat navigation, target engagement and accuracy against a variety of targets. However, most commonly a human operator is required to designate targets, give the order for it to fire and operate more precision weapon systems, such as on-board sniper pods and precision kill weapons. However, given mission parameters, objective area and priority targets, the Eagle can act almost completely autonomously, taking off, engaging targets, completing its objectives and returning to base.

The Eagle has an advanced array of sensor systems, such as target searching, mid-range AESA RADAR, infra-red imagers, and a sensor cluster, mounted on the underside of the nose. These carry a high power optical sight, a hybrid true-colour thermal camera system and a dual purpose LASER range finder and LIDAR. This sensors are mounted on rotary mounts and can give the Eagle excellent view. Its advanced CPU can distinguish friendlies from hostiles using image recognition and IFF, and can separate hostile units from non-combatants. However, due to possibilities of mistakes being preformed, it is often not allowed to operate autonomously close to civilian populaces. It is often deployed against enemy military forces to great effect. The Eagle can maintain an uplink to its operator by satellite, airborne control systems, warships and ground based communication systems, allowing it to remain in contact almost anywhere. It has advanced systems to protect itself against electronic and cyber attack, with some capacity to even counter attack.

The MQ-44 is commonly deployed in small squadrons, controlled by Marine or Army forces, to support ground forces, gather intelligence and provide logistical support. However, they are also attached to HQ units in M315 Alpha CaCP or M6A1 Jaguar CV, being carried in roof mounted pods and launched to provide reconnaissance, close air support, supplies and messages.

The Eagle has reasonable armour, being resistant to limited amounts of .50 calibre fire, but vulnerable to anti-air weapons. It has a titanium alluminide frame, with AEGIS tile inserts and lightweight alloy skin, with shock and heat absorbing elements. It is designed to be low observable, with a minimal RADAR cross section, RADAR absorbent materials, infra-red/ultraviolet invisible coating and emissions control. This renders it near invisible to sensors and combined with its quiet propeller engines lead to the nickname "Sword Wind" by members of USR, and creeping death by members of the Insurrection, among some less pleasant names.