Hunter-killer

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For the Top Cow Productions comic series Hunter-Killer, see Hunter-Killer (comics).

1 In the Military
2 In Hollywood
3 References

[edit] In the Military

Hunter-Killer is a military term traditionally used to describe an entity in which the roles of "sensor" and "shooter" are separated. However, in the case of unmanned aerial vehicles, it means the opposite: an aircraft system designed to find, identify and kill its target; the first purpose-designed hunter-killer UAV is the MQ-9 Reaper.<ref>http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123027012&page=2 'Reaper' moniker given to MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle]</ref>

[edit] Teams

A hunter-killer team's primary mission is to seek out and destroy the enemy, particularly in contexts where the enemy is attempting to evade detection rather than seek engagement.

Examples include:

pairs of F-4G "Wild Weasels" and F-16Cs, where the F-4G "hunter" can detect, identify, and locate an enemy's radar and then direct the F-16C's weapons to the site
M2 Bradley Infantry / Cavalry Fighting Vehicle often "hand off" fire missions to M1 Abrams main battle tanks
one or more antisubmarine aircraft carriers and a number of escort vessels whose primary mission is to detect and destroy submarines
Teams of scout and attack helicopters in highly effective "pink teams", such as OH-6 "Loach" or OH-58 Kiowa scout helicopters and the AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter during the Vietnam War

[edit] Submarines

Smaller submarines tasked with coastal defense are sometimes referred to as "hunter-killers" even though they may not operate in teams with other platforms. In the United States Navy and Canadian Navy such submarine types are given the hull classification symbol "SSK".

[edit] Aircraft

The USAF Hunter-Killer program is developing tactical unmanned combat air vehicles.

[edit] Armoured Fighting Vehicles

A hunter-killer sight in an armoured vehicle refers to a vehicle commander's sight which is independent of the gunner's sight and main armament. It allows the crew commander to scan an arc separate from the gunner, or for the crew commander to continue scanning while the gunner engages a target. With the press of a button, the crew commander can cause the gunner's sight and the main armament to slew onto his point of aim.

[edit] In Hollywood

In the Terminator saga, Hunter Killers were unmanned vehicles that were built in automated factories. There were two types that were viewed on all three of the terminator movies, which were the tank and the aerial versions.