Italeri 1/72 1279 RQ-1B Predator

This small unmanned aircraft was designed for the American armed forces and is used for surveillance of the battle field and identifying possible targets to call up artillery fire and attack aircraft. The Predator is equipped with extended endurance, allowing it to remain in flight over the zone to be monitored for many hours. Its reduced size and particularly silent engine makes it difficult to identify. Fitted with a television system it transmits images in real time to the operator who controls it from the ground station which may be located hundreds of kilometres away. The Predator vision system is also used for aiming and directing weapons released by fighter bombers at the target without the need to fly the aircraft directly over the target zone, reducing enormously the risk to pilots. The RQ-1 is also used in an armed version for direct attacks on targets that require precision attacks using laser or television guided missiles.