MV-22 Osprey

In a bid to obtain reconnaissance of enemy threats to protect the tilt rotor MV-22 Osprey aircraft, the United States Marine Corp is planning to develop a drone to be launched from the aircraft.

The new drone is christened “Air-Launched Fast Autonomous Reconnaissance System” or AFARS, Marine Times reported Tuesday, citing officials from the Marine Corp Warfighting Lab.

The AFARS system can maintain a line-of-sight data link capability within a 50 nautical mile radius, providing pilots with data about the ground based threats miles before the crew reaches their target destination.

The drone is 6 feet long and can carry a Payload of 4.4 pounds. It can fly at an altitude of 25,000 feet. The air-launched drone has a maximum range of 165 nautical miles and a 100 nautical mile range with a 10 minute loiter time on station.