Sun, Jun 23, 2013
UK Warships Are To Benefit From A New UAV Surveillance Aircraft
ScanEagle is a maritime reconnaissance asset that can be launched off the back of Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships day or night to gather intelligence and survey the wider area of operations. Built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing Defense UK Limited, the ScanEagle is the first maritime-specific unmanned air system capability to be delivered in support of naval operations. It will complement the existing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets used on operations such as helicopters and long-range radar.
The unarmed aircraft, which has a wingspan of just over nine feet and weighs 48.5 pounds, is launched from ships into the sky by a pneumatic catapult. Flying at about 60 knots, it is commanded by a specialist team on board the ship who will plan the ScanEagle’s missions, control its flights and monitor and analyze the information it gathers using its state-of-the-art sensors. At the end of its flight, the ScanEagle is recovered back to the ship.
“ScanEagle represents an important addition to the Royal Navy’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability," said Royal Navy Captain Ian Annett, who’s been involved with the project. "Its ability to deploy during the day and night, coupled with the technology it uses, will give commanders a clearer picture of the operational situation whenever it’s required.”
“ScanEagle provides the Royal Navy with proven surveillance capability that has already been used on operations by other nations, so we know we are getting top quality equipment," said Minister for Defense Equipment, Support and Technology Philip Dunne. "The technology is off-the-shelf and will be available to the Royal Navy as soon as possible. Our continued investment in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems is essential to keeping our Armed Forces up-to-date with the latest capabilities and this will be a central part of MOD’s investment in new equipment over the next 10 years.”
The U.K. Ministry of Defense entered into a contract worth some $46 million for the aircraft.
(Image provided by the U.K. MoD.)
More News
An Amazing Experience Awaits The Chosen Few... Oshkosh, to us, seems the perfect place to get started on watching aviation recover the past couple of years... and so ANN is putting>[...]
“NBAA has a tremendous responsibility to the business aviation industry, and we are constantly collaborating with them. Our flight departments, professionals and aircraft own>[...]
Dead Reckoning Dead reckoning, as applied to flying, is the navigation of an airplane solely by means of computations based on airspeed, course, heading, wind direction, and speed,>[...]
Aero Linx: Vertical Aviation Safety Team (VAST) We are a public–private initiative to enhance worldwide flight operations safety in all segments of the vertical flight indust>[...]
We're Everywhere... Thanks To You! Even with the vast resources and incredibly far-reaching scope of the Aero-News Network, every now and then a story that should be reported on sl>[...]
ANNouncement: Now Accepting Applications For Oshkosh 2024 Stringers!!!
See All