Drone Academy · Contents · Chapter 3 · §3.1 · Nederlandse versie

§3.1 Altitudes, speeds and reference heights

Three reference altitudes determine where detection and defence do and do not work.

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16,400 ft 11,500 ft 660 ft 0 ft FPV COTS Lancet Shahed Orlan
Simplified operational altitude bands per platform type, with the three reference altitudes (not to linear scale).
Reference altitudeMeaning
~660 ftBelow this altitude ground radar is typically blind — radar shadow
~11,500–14,800 ftCeiling of MANPADS — a low-altitude weapon (SA-24 Igla-S ~11,500 ft, SA-29 Verba ~14,800 ft). MANPADS do not reach cruise altitude
~16,400 ftAbove this altitude radar coverage becomes reliable