Role & capabilities
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Textron Systems
- Origin / production countries
- United States / Australia
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- Mk. 4.7 fixed-wing; Mk. 4.7 VTOL; Mk. 4.8 fixed-wing; Mk. 4.8 VTOL
- Operators / programme customers
- Not confirmed in the reviewed public sources
Evidence & current status
The sources below establish the stated programme milestone or supplier claim. They do not independently verify every configuration, delivery total or advertised performance figure.
Role and programme
Textron’s current family page presents several aircraft configurations. The numerical table here deliberately uses the Mk. 4.7 fixed-wing column. Its 18.3-hour endurance and 42.2 kg maximum take-off weight must not be assigned to the VTOL or larger Mk. 4.8 configurations.
The family carries observation and other mission payloads and is also supplied through contracted ISR services. A contractor-operated service and an aircraft sale are different commercial arrangements. The Australian development lineage and US supplier identity are both relevant to its industrial geography, while customer and deployment countries belong in operator records.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Fixed-wing / VTOL family; table uses Mk. 4.7 fixed-wing | Published specification for the named configuration. Maxima are not necessarily achievable together. Source |
| Launch / recovery | Mk. 4.7: launcher and net recovery | Published specification for the named configuration. Maxima are not necessarily achievable together. Source |
| Propulsion | Heavy-fuel engine | Published specification for the named configuration. Maxima are not necessarily achievable together. Source |
| Dimensions | 4.4 m span (Mk. 4.7) | Published specification for the named configuration. Maxima are not necessarily achievable together. Source |
| Mass | 42.2 kg maximum gross take-off weight | Published specification for the named configuration. Maxima are not necessarily achievable together. Source |
| Endurance | 18.3 h maximum, Mk. 4.7 fixed-wing | Published specification for the named configuration. Maxima are not necessarily achievable together. Source |
| Range | 140 km published range, Mk. 4.7 | Published specification for the named configuration. Maxima are not necessarily achievable together. Source |
| Speed | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Altitude | 4,572 m service ceiling | Published specification for the named configuration. Maxima are not necessarily achievable together. Source |
| Payload | Up to 14.5 kg | Published specification for the named configuration. Maxima are not necessarily achievable together. Source |
| Sensors | Day/night video and optional mission sensors | Published specification for the named configuration. Maxima are not necessarily achievable together. Source |
| Communications / navigation | Configuration-specific datalinks | Published specification for the named configuration. Maxima are not necessarily achievable together. Source |
Publication history
- — Added a sourced global catalogue profile with configuration-specific data and explicit evidence limits.
Suggest a correction to this entry
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- Textron Aerosonde family: Mk. 4.7 fixed-wing baseline (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme source