Hunter Green Dart and Highlighter

[Dynoman]

As part of the TF-ODIN campaign to rid Iraq and Afghanistan of IED planters, the US has employed a number of surveillance aircraft to see, hear, identify, target, and neutralize them. A couple of aircraft that remained elusive was the Hunter Green Dart and the Highlighter. Both are available in the PPT page below.

 

[Dynoman]

Contract announcement:
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Sierra Vista, Ariz., was awarded on Sept. 28, 2007, a $22,499,406 modification cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Hunter Green Dart. Work will be performed in Sierra Vista, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on Aug. 31, 2007. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-04-C-0082).

The US Army has described the aircraft as a low cost SIGINT aircraft that would be rapidly deployed.

Appears to be a BQM-155/RQ-5/MQ-5 Hunter UAV.

 

[Dynoman]

Highlighter uses a multi-spectral imaging system that can look at the envirnoment and distinquish if the earth has been over turned or has changed in character from previous images.