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Naval
Forces News - Australia |
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Insitu Pacific to provide ScanEagle services to Royal Australian Navy |
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Insitu
Pacific, the Australia-based affiliate of Insitu Inc., announced today
it has extended and expanded its existing Australian Defence Force contract
with the Australian Army to include the provision of ScanEagle unmanned
aircraft system (UAS) services for trials with the Royal Australian
Navy (RAN). ScanEagle will be installed on a number of RAN vessels commencing
with a first-of-class flight trial on a Frigate in September 2012.
“These trials will enable the RAN to examine the issues affecting
an embarked UAS capability and to determine the installation requirements
on board our vessels,” said RAN UAS Development Project Manager
Lieutenant Commander Bob Ferry, “The RAN’s endorsed Aviation
vision, NA2020, is to have a UAS dedicated unit by 2020, and these embarked
UAS trials are an important step towards Navy achieving that vision.”
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The ScanEagle.
(Picture: Insitu)
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Insitu
Pacific, and its parent company, Insitu Inc., have supported navies
globally since 2004, accumulating nearly 25,000 shipboard flight hours
including continued support to anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of
Aden and ship-launched littoral surveillance operations during the Libyan
conflict in 2011. The small operational footprint and runway-independence
of Insitu UAS enable integration and operation on maritime vessels ranging
from small multi-role vessels to large amphibious ships. Flown independently
or in conjunction with embarked rotary wing assets these UAS will provide
the ship’s commander with unprecedented, over-the-horizon surveillance
and intelligence information. |
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ScanEagle
in Naval Use
(Artist Impression: Insitu)
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The Australian Army
has successfully operated ScanEagle for more than 45,000 hours in support
of land operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and Insitu Pacific now looks
forward to showing the true versatility and effectiveness of this system
as a proven maritime capability in support of the RAN,” said Insitu
Pacific Managing Director Andrew Duggan. “ScanEagle is unique in
that it is the only proven fixed-wing UAS solution operating from ships
in the world today with over 25,000 shipborne flight hours globally. It
also has the advantage of not requiring the use of a helicopter deck.
This is critical on frigates and smaller combatants where there is often
only space to embark and operate one rotary wing platform at a time.” |
