A gunner launches a Desert Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Helmand Province, Afghanistan, 2008

Digital photograph by Sergeant Anthony Boocock, Royal Logistic Corps, 2008.

Desert Hawk is a portable UAV surveillance system which provides aerial video reconnaissance and was developed by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works group. It was originally designed for the United States Air Force. The craft is monitored using a laptop on the ground but flies automatically. The equipment can be used for a variety of tasks, such as force protection for convoys and patrols, route clearance, base security, reconnaissance or target tracking.