Boeing Company,
ST. LOUIS: The Boeing Company, in partnership with Insitu Inc., has been awarded a $65 million contract to provide continuing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) services through the ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system.
The contract, awarded by Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., runs through May 2009 with options for extensions.
The long-endurance, fully autonomous ScanEagle unmanned aircraft (UA) entered service with the U.S. Navy in 2005 and has been deployed with both sea and land detachments in Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas of the world.
It's been deployed aboard 15 different vessels in various classes, including the USNS Stockham, USS Whidbey Island, USS Oscar Austin, USS Oak Hill and USS Carter Hall. ScanEagle is currently being readied for deployment aboard the USS Mahan.
“Boeing is pleased and excited to continue our relationship with the U.S. Navy by providing superior ISR services so critical to the success of the warfighter's mission,” said Don Iverson, ScanEagle U.S. Navy program manager for Boeing.
The ScanEagle UA carries inertially stabilized electro-optical and infrared cameras. The gimbaled cameras allow the operator to easily track both stationary and moving targets. Capable of flying above 16,000 feet and loitering over the battlefield for more than 20 hours, the platform provides persistent low-altitude reconnaissance.
ScanEagle is launched autonomously via a pneumatic SuperWedge catapult launcher and flies preprogrammed or operator-initiated missions. An Insitu-patented SkyHook system is used for retrieval — the aircraft catches a rope suspended from a 50-foot-high tower. The patented system makes the ScanEagle system runway-independent, with a small footprint similar to that needed for vertical takeoff and landing vehicles.
Insitu, of Bingen, Wash., designs, develops and manufactures unmanned aircraft systems for commercial and military applications. Insitu in 1998 introduced the first unmanned aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, using only 1.5 gallons of fuel. Insitu partners with Boeing to develop, market and support ScanEagle operations.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32.1 billion business with 71,000 employees worldwide.
