Sun, Jul 11, 2004
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.
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