HESA Ababil vs Northrop Grumman X-47B

HESA Ababil — licensed reference photograph

ADrones & UAVs

HESA Ababil

Ababil-1 : Loitering munition Ababil-2 Ababil-B : Target drone Ababil-S : Surveillance and reconnaissance Qasef-1 : Loitering munition Ababil-3 , Ababil-4 and Ababil-5 : Surveillance and reconnaissanc

Credit

Frode Bjorshol · CC BY 2.0 · Resized · CC BY 2.0 · Source ↗ · Modified

Northrop Grumman X-47B — licensed reference photograph

BDrones & UAVs

Northrop Grumman X-47B

Unmanned combat aerial vehicle Technology demonstrator

Credit

US Navy · Public domain · Resized · Public domain · Source ↗ · Modified

First system

Second system

At a glance

Side by side

Length comparisonOne shared metre scale

HESA AbabilAbabil-2 · Length

2.88 m

Length source ↗

Northrop Grumman X-47BX-47B · Length

11.63 m

Length source ↗

Lengths retain their source configuration and measurement scope.

Measured figures

Head to head

15 of 29 rows sourced on both sides

2.88mAbabil-2 · Length

11.63mX-47B · Length

LengthScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

2.88 m

Ababil-2 · Length

Single source

2.88 m (9 ft 5 in)^[source]

11.63 m

X-47B · Length

Single source

38 ft 2 in (11.63 m)^[source]

3.25mAbabil-2 · Wingspan

18.9mX-47B · extended

WingspanScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

3.25 m

Ababil-2 · Wingspan

Single source

3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)^[source]

18.9 m

X-47B · extended

Single source

9.4 m

X-47B · folded

Single source

62.1 ft (18.9 m) extended; 30.9 ft (9.4 m) folded^[source]

910mmAbabil-2 · Height

3.1mX-47B · Height

HeightScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

0.91 m

Ababil-2 · Height

Single source

0.91 m (3 ft 0 in)^[source]

3.1 m

X-47B · Height

Single source

10 ft 5 in (3.10 m)^[source]

83kg

20.2t

MassScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

30 kg

Empty; Ababil-2 · approx

Single source

83 kg

Maximum take-off; Ababil-2 · Max takeoff weight

Single source

30 kg (66 lb) approx.^[source]

83 kg (183 lb)^[source]

13,080 kg

Empty; X-47B · zero fuel weight

Single source

20,185 kg

Maximum take-off; X-47B · Max takeoff weight

Single source

28,837 lb (13,080 kg) zero fuel weight^[source]

44,501 lb (20,185 kg)^[source]

370km/hMaximum; Ababil-2 · in level flight

1,110km/h

SpeedScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

250–305 km/h

Cruise; Ababil-2 · Cruise speed

Single source

370 km/h

Maximum; Ababil-2 · in level flight

Single source

370 km/h (230 mph, 200 kn) in level flight^[source]

250–305 km/h (155–190 mph, 135–165 kn)^[source]

1,110.44736 km/h

Cruise; X-47B · Mach 0.9+ / high subsonic

Single source

Mach 0.9+ / 690 mph (high subsonic)^[source]

—

3,900kmX-47B · Range

Range

All recorded figures & sources

3,900 km

X-47B · Range

Single source

2,400 mi (3,900 km, 2,100 nmi)^[source]

120kmAbabil-2 · Combat range

—

Combat radius

All recorded figures & sources

120 km

Ababil-2 · Combat range

Single source

120 km (75 mi, 65 nmi)^[source]

19kW

—

Power

All recorded figures & sources

19 kW

Ababil-2 · 1 × WAE-342 twin-cylinder piston engine

Single source

1 × WAE-342 twin-cylinder piston engine, 19 kW (25 hp)^[source]

1.8m²Ababil-2 · Wing area

88.6m²X-47B · Wing area

Wing areaScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

1.76 m²

Ababil-2 · Wing area

Single source

1.76 m 2 (18.9 sq ft)^[source]

88.59 m²

X-47B · Wing area

Single source

953.6 sq ft (88.59 m 2 )^[source]

3,000mAbabil-2 · or higher

12,800mX-47B · Service ceiling

Service ceilingScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

3,000 m

Ababil-2 · or higher

Single source

3,000 m (9,800 ft) or higher^[source]

12,800 m

X-47B · Service ceiling

Single source

42,000 ft (12,800 m)^[source]

Bars compare reported quantities only. A larger figure does not make a system better; configurations and test conditions differ.

Configuration

Details

HESA Ababil and Northrop Grumman X-47B configuration
Specification	HESA Ababil	Northrop Grumman X-47B
Crew	none^[source]	None aboard (semi-autonomous operation)^[source]
Type	Ababil-1 : Loitering munition Ababil-2 Ababil-B : Target drone Ababil-S : Surveillance and reconnaissance Qasef-1 : Loitering munition Ababil-3 , Ababil-4 and Ababil-5 : Surveillance and reconnaissance Armed variant: Combat drone^[source]	Unmanned combat aerial vehicle Technology demonstrator^[source]
National origin	Iran^[source]	United States^[source]
Manufacturer	HESA Isfahan factory Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (Ababil-3)^[source]	Northrop Grumman^[source]
Designer	Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company^[source]	—
Status	In service^[source]	Active^[source]
Primary user	Iran Iraq Sudan Syria (Historical)^[source]	United States Navy^[source]
Number built	Unknown (Hundreds)^[source]	2^[source]
Manufactured	1980s–present^[source]	—
Introduction date	disputed^[source]	—
First flight	1986^[source]	4 February 2011^[source]
Capacity	40 kg payload^[source]	—
Fuel capacity	16 liters^[source]	—
Endurance	1 ¼ – 2 hr^[source]	—
Propellers	2-bladed^[source]	—
Developed from	—	Northrop Grumman X-47A Pegasus^[source]
Powerplant	—	1 × Pratt & Whitney F100-220U turbofan^[source]
Reported operators	Reported operator · Iran Reported operator · Iraq	—

FORCETALLY

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HESA Ababil

Northrop Grumman X-47B

Crew

none^[source]

None aboard (semi-autonomous operation)^[source]

Type

Unmanned combat aerial vehicle Technology demonstrator^[source]

National origin

Iran^[source]

United States^[source]

Manufacturer

HESA Isfahan factory Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (Ababil-3)^[source]

Northrop Grumman^[source]

Designer

Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company^[source]

—

Status

In service^[source]

Active^[source]

Primary user

Iran Iraq Sudan Syria (Historical)^[source]

United States Navy^[source]

Number built

Unknown (Hundreds)^[source]

2^[source]

Manufactured

1980s–present^[source]

—

Introduction date

disputed^[source]

—

First flight

1986^[source]

4 February 2011^[source]

Capacity

40 kg payload^[source]

—

Fuel capacity

16 liters^[source]

—

Endurance

1 ¼ – 2 hr^[source]

—

Propellers

2-bladed^[source]

—

Developed from

—

Northrop Grumman X-47A Pegasus^[source]

Powerplant

—

1 × Pratt & Whitney F100-220U turbofan^[source]

Reported operators

Reported operator · Iran
Reported operator · Iraq

—