A small UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) weighing 4.2 pounds which entered service in late 2003, gained extreme popularity and rave reviews from the U.S. military, the RQ-11A Raven.  The Raven is a compact, lightweight, hand-launched Small UAV (SUAV) that can be prepared and launched in minutes for conducting aerial Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions during infantry combat operations, including urban warfare operations/MOUT. 

The Raven is battery powered and carries a color day vidcam or a two color infrared camera and it costs $25,000.  The Raven can go as fast as 90 kilometers an hour, but usually cruises between 40 and 50.  It can go as far as 15 kilometers from its controller on the ground, using GPS for navigation.  Each Raven unit consists of three UAVs and one ground control station and is launched by turning on the motor and throwing it to midair, just like throwing a paper-made plane.  The Raven only requires three soldiers to operate it and doesn’t require an airfield to launch, since it’s throw-launched.    

The Raven is basically a scaled down version of an earlier, nine pound UAV, the Pointer (FQM-151), which also became popular with the Special Forces.  But the Special Forces wanted something even smaller and lighter, as they often had to travel very light.  There was an even lighter (less than a 1/2 pound) vidcams developed, making it possible to use even smaller UAVs. 

The Special Forces army employs 200 Ravens and they are the most enthusiastic users, since the Raven is so small and discreet that most people on the ground won’t notice it even at night. The most common cause of loss is that when a Raven has been shot down, it could lose its communications link or a software/hardware failure on the aircraft.  But that’s the only downside since SUAVs like Raven can be used for both daytime and night operations, anytime there’s a requirement for immediate, short range/low-cost real-time intelligence without risking human assets, hence, it minimizes infantry casualties.