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Naval
Forces News - USA |
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US Navy tests New expeditionary RQ-21 Tactical UAV at China Lake |
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The
US Navy successfully launched its newest small unmanned aircraft without
using a runway Sept. 10 at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif.
A little more than two years into its engineering, manufacturing and
development phase, the RQ-21A Small Tactical Unmanned Air System (STUAS)
entered developmental test at China Lake, beginning with a 66-minute
flight Monday.
During the initial developmental flight test at the weapons station,
operators flew the RQ-21A using a unique pneumatic launcher and a recovery
system known as Skyhook. This system, developed by Insitu, Inc., eliminates
the need for runways and enables a safe recovery and expeditionary capability
for tactical missions on land or sea.
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Navy and
Insitu personnel lift the RQ-21A Small Tacticall Unmanned Aircraft System(STUAS)onto
launcher in prepartion for flight at Naval Air Station China Lake, Calif.
Sept. 10. (U.S. Navy Photo)
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“The
flight at China Lake marks the start of a new test phase for RQ-21A
STUAS, the first expeditionary, multi-intelligence UAS in its class,”
said Col. Jim Rector, STUAS program manager (PMA-263) at Patuxent River,
Md. “Developmental test will be fast-paced, like the rest of the
program has been. We are on track for initial operational capability
in 2013.”
Sailors and Marines from from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX)
30 at China Lake are not the first to experience the expeditionary “no
runway” solution. Three hours southeast of the base, Marines at
Twentynine Palms are already training with an RQ-21A Early Operational
Capability (EOC) system. The CONUS-based deployment allows the Navy
and Marines to train units and operators, collect additional performance
data and identify opportunities to expand the flight envelope. |
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ScanEagle
in Naval Use
(Artist Impression: Insitu)
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“Marines
are getting experience on how to operate and use the system while our
team is collecting valuable data,” Rector said. “Lessons
learned from this deployment will be directly applied to the program
of record. EOC helps us mitigate and evaluate risks early on.”
While both RQ-21A variants are similar to operate, the RQ-21A STUAS
is more robust. RQ-21A EOC uses long-wave infrared (LWIR) camera, which
will be replaced with mid-wave infrared (MWIR) camera for production.
The upgraded variant also adds enhanced features for operational security
and an automatic identification system for maritime missions.
RQ-21A provides expanded payload capacity and rapid payload integration
so that the warfighter can use the most advanced, and relevant, payload
for their unique land and maritime missions and counter-warfare actions.
The platform provides persistent maritime and land-based tactical Reconnaissance,
Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) data collection and dissemination
capabilities to the warfighter.
From Naval Air Systems Command |
