| ScanEagle | |
|---|---|
| A ScanEagle in its catapult launcher | |
| Role | unmanned aerial vehicle |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Insitu |
| First flight | 20 June 2002 |
| Introduction | 2005 (United States Navy) |
| Primary users | United States Military Australian Army Canadian Army |
ScanEagle is a small, low-cost, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing.[1] The ScanEagle was designed by Insitu based on a commercial UAV that helped fishermen look for fish. The ScanEagle continues to be upgraded with improved technology and reliability improvements.
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ScanEagle is a descendant of another Insitu UAV, SeaScan, which was conceived of as a remote sensor for collecting weather data as well as helping commercial fishermen locate and track schools of tuna. ScanEagle emerged as the result of a strategic alliance between Boeing and Insitu. The resulting technology has been successful as a portable Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) for autonomous surveillance in the battlefield, and has been deployed since August 2004 in the Iraq War.
ScanEagle carries a stabilized electro-optical and/or infrared camera on a light-weight inertial stabilized turret system integrated with communications range over 100 km, and flight endurance of 20+ hours. ScanEagle has a 10-foot (3 m) wingspan and can fly up to 75 knots (139 km/h), with an average cruising speed of 60 knots (111 km/h). Block D aircraft featured a higher resolution camera, a custom-designed Mode C transponder and a new video system. A Block D aircraft, flying at Boeing's test range in Boardman, Oregon set a type endurance record of 22 hours, 8 minutes.[2]
ScanEagle needs no airfield for deployment. Instead, it is launched using a pneumatic launcher designed as part of a university engineering design project, now patented by Insitu as the "SuperWedge" launcher. It is recovered using the "SkyHook" retrieval system, which uses a hook on the end of the wingtip to catch a rope hanging from a 30 to 50-foot (15 m) pole. This is made possible by a high-quality differential GPS units mounted on the top of the pole and UAV. The rope is attached to a shock cord to reduce stress on the airframe imposed by the abrupt stop.
In 2009, Boeing and Insitu announced the NightEagle, a modified Block E ScanEagle with an infrared camera for night operations.[3]
In August 2010, Boeing announced plans to control ScanEagles from control stations on E-3A AWACS aircraft and on the V-22.[4]
In July 2011, a team of two ScanEagles and another UAV cooperated to search and navigate a mountain area autonomously.[5]
The ScanEagle entered service with the U.S. Navy in 2005.[6] In addition to the United States military, the Australian Army also operates the ScanEagle UAV.[7] As well the Canadian Government announced in August 2008 that they would lease the ScanEagle for use of their military operations in Afghanistan.[8]
On 18 March 2008, Boeing, with ImSAR and Insitu successfully flight-tested a ScanEagle with a Nano-SAR radar mounted aboard. The Nano-SAR is the world's smallest Synthetic Aperture Radar, weighs two pounds and is roughly the size of a shoe box. It is designed to provide high quality real-time ground imaging through adverse weather conditions or other battlefield obscurants.[9]
In April 2009 a ScanEagle launched by the US Navy was used during the stand-off between the US Navy and a lifeboat controlled by pirates holding Capt. Richard Phillips of the MV Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean after a failed hijack attempt.[10][11][12]
Insitu announced that the ScanEagle had totaled 500,000 combat flight hours and over 56,000 sorties in July 2011.[13]
| External images | |
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| Cutaway drawing of ScanEagle | |
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