On November 11, ISIS cells shot down a U.S.-made RQ-11B hand-launched small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) over western Iraq.
Amaq, ISIS’ news agency, reported on November 13 that the SUAV was downed near the district of Makhmur, which is located southwest of the city of Mosul.
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The RQ-11B was especially designed for the U.S. military by AeroVironment. The SUAV has an operational range of 10 km and can stay in the air for 60-90 minutes. A single system, including four UAVs, two ground control stations and spare parts, costs around $173,000.
The variant shot down by ISIS cells was apparently equipped with a gimbaled elector-optical/infrared cameras and an infrared illuminator.
The U.S. and Iraqi militaries both operate the RQ-11B. None of them have announced the incident with the UAV of this type, so far.
