Griffon Aerospace MQM-170 Outlaw

History

The Griffon Aerospace MQM-170A "Outlaw" was developed as a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for military applications and provides air defense training services for the U.S. Army and Navy. Griffon Aerospace was founded in Madison, Alabama in 1993 by aerospace engineer Larry French.

Following the successful development of the six-person single-engine biplane ("Lionheart"), French founded the company as a private company. The sale of this product eventually led to France's entry into the field of drones.

The Outlaw was launched in July 2004 and has been in production ever since, surpassing 3,000 units in 2012.

The Outlaw used a very traditional aircraft layout with a slender fuselage, straight monoplane wings and a "V" tail. The airframe contains the avionics suite, mission suite, fuel storage and engines. The V-tail has a pair of vertical fins that slope outward. Like other propeller-driven drones, the Outlaw's twin-blade propeller assemblies are arranged in a "thrust" configuration that propels the aircraft through the air.

Power comes from a single 3W 150i twin-cylinder, two-stroke, 17hp piston engine.

The Outlaw is usually launched using a pneumatic catapult system (landing recovery on landing), and can also be equipped with tricycle landing gear for conventional runway takeoffs and landings. The Outlaw can even be launched from a catapult with the landing gear installed, allowing for a runway landing on the return trip (a trick that can be appreciated when managing expensive sensors and optical payloads).

The aircraft is controlled via preset GPS waypoints or by manual controls from the ground operator. The range is 60 nautical miles.

Outlaw's mission load is variable to suit client (and mission) requirements. Its payload can hold up to 40 pounds of gear, and a compartment near the mid-hull can be used for gear or fuel supply as needed.

Griffon Aerospace sells a full line of drone products, including the similar-looking (but larger) Broadsword, the high-performance Outlaw G2 with its high-mounted wing and "tee" style tail and twin-engine, two-armed Tactical drone "Outlaw SeaHunter".

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