- Performance
- Max Speed: 300km/h
Operating Range : 6-10 hours
- Dimensions
- Wing Span: 19.5m
Fuselage Length: 9.2m
The RU-38A is equipped with a push/pull engine system, with one flat-six engine at each end of the fuselage. Normal operating procedure is to operate with only a single engine during normal cruise operations with the other as a reserve increasing over-water safety. Both engines are heavily muffled and the slow turning geared propellers allow for "stealthy" surveillance of targets. The RU-38A is so quiet that almost any ambient noise - such as wind or waves - will make it impossible to hear the aircraft overhead.
The RU-38A has a "twin-boom" configuration. The forward end of each boom has a "pod" containing various instruments. The port pod contains the AN/APN-215(V) color radar which has search and mapping capabilities. The starboard pod contains an AN/AAQ-15 Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) system, as well as a Low-Light-LevelTV vision system. This equipment is optimized for the RU-38A's primary mission of night-time surveillance. In addition to the above equipment, the RU-38A is fitted with OMEGA and GPS receivers, and HF/VHF/UHF clear voice and communications encryption systems. These aircraft are based at CGAS Miami and operate over the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean in support of various drug interdiction operations.