PhantomWorks product will serve with Marine Expeditionary Force I in Iraq

Boeing last week received a contract from the U.S. Marine Corps to provide two ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle “mobile deployment units” for use with the First Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) in Iraq. ScanEagle is a low-cost, long-endurance fully autonomous UAV developed and built by Boeing and The Insitu Group.

Each ScanEagle mobile deployment unit will consist of several UAVs as well as the computers, communication links and ground equipment necessary to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) support for I MEF during operational missions.

“ScanEagle’s ISR capabilities will give the warfighter an immediate, clear picture of the battlefield,” said Kim Michel, Boeing Advanced Unmanned Systems director. “Additionally, its communications relay technology will allow Marines on the ground to more easily receive and share information.”

ScanEagle is four-feet long and has a 10-foot wingspan. For a vehicle of its size, ScanEagle’s endurance/payload combination is unmatched. The ScanEagle “A-15” -- the company’s current model -- can remain on station for more than 15 hours. Future planned variants will have an endurance of more than 30 hours.

Another key design feature of the UAV is its internal avionics bay. The avionics bay allows seamless integration of new payloads and sensors to meet emerging customer requirements, and ensures the vehicle will be able to incorporate the latest technology as it becomes available.

ScanEagle is launched autonomously via a pneumatic wedge catapult launcher and flies pre-programmed or operator-initiated missions. It is retrieved using a “Skyhook” system in which the UAV catches a rope hanging from a 50-foot high pole. The patented system allows ScanEagle to be runway independent with a small footprint for launch and recovery operations.

ScanEagle, which made it first flight in 2002, most recently participated in the U.S. Joint Forces Command Forward Look exercises that concluded in June 2004. Forward Look was a series of demonstrations and experiments that began in December 2003 to improve interoperability and increase data fusion among multiple UAVs in operational scenarios.

FMI: www.boeing.com/phantom/flash.html, www.insitugroup.net