Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH – Photos et vidéo

Lla Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH (Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter) est un petit hélicoptère drone construit par la Gyrodyne Company of America pour être utilisé comme une arme anti-sous-marine à longue portée sur des navires qui seraient autrement trop petits pour faire fonctionner un hélicoptère de grande taille. Il est resté en production jusqu’en 1969. Plusieurs sont encore utilisés aujourd’hui pour divers rôles terrestres.

The Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH (Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter) was a small, unmanned helicopter developed by Gyrodyne Company of America in the late 1950s for the United States Navy. It was designed to carry a single torpedo or other payload and operate from the decks of destroyers and frigates as a guided weapon system. The QH-50 was the first operational drone helicopter and the first rotary-wing aircraft to be used in combat by the US Navy.
The QH-50 was controlled remotely by an operator on board the ship using a radio link and a television camera mounted on the drone. The operator could direct the QH-50 to search for, locate, and attack enemy submarines with its acoustic homing torpedo. The QH-50 could also perform reconnaissance, surveillance, target designation, and electronic warfare missions. The QH-50 had a range of about 30 miles (48 km) and a speed of up to 80 knots (150 km/h). It could fly at altitudes of up to 12,000 feet (3,660 m) and hover for up to two hours.
The QH-50 was first deployed in 1962 and saw extensive service during the Vietnam War, where it was used to attack North Vietnamese coastal targets and patrol boats. The QH-50 also participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Dominican Republic intervention, and the Iran-Iraq War. The QH-50 was retired from active service in 1979, but some were used for testing and training purposes until the early 1990s. The QH-50 was a pioneering example of a drone helicopter and paved the way for later developments in unmanned aerial vehicles.