The US Army has announced the deployment of 30 RQ-28A quadcopter reconnaissance drones
received from California-based firm Skydio.
The unmanned systems were handed over to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Fort
Benning in Georgia.
Before this, soldiers were trained in Small UAS Master Trainer Schoolhouse at Fort Benning
in September of this year, which is the US Army’s only Group 1 UAS Master Trainer course
used to qualify soldiers on Group 1 UAS systems such as the RQ-11B Raven.
In this video, Defense Updates reports on the deployment of
the RQ-28A drone in the US Army
Let’s get into the details.
RQ-28A is fielded as part of US Army’s short-range reconnaissance (SRR) program.
The program aims to develop an inexpensive, rucksack-portable, vertical take-off and landing
(VTOL) small unmanned aircraft to provide rapidly deployable intelligence, surveillance,
and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.
Skydio’s RQ-28A is the US Army’s first-ever rucksack-portable quadcopter issued to maneuver
platoons.
Carson L. Wakefield, product lead for Soldier UAS said,
“The SRR RQ-28A capability will provide game-changing technology to Army platoons,
enhancing both Soldier lethality and survivability.
It is a new capability for the Army, and I am so proud of my team for delivering an innovative
solution in just under three years from prototype to delivery.”
The drone weighs about 5 pounds or 2.2 kilograms, making it suitable for quick deployment in
strategic locations.
It can be launched by hand and has vertical take-off and landing, hover, perch, and stare
capabilities.
US Army platoons will operate the aircraft using its proprietary controller equipped
with a 6.8” LED touchscreen capable of displaying a 720p video feed.
With the help of an internal antenna, operators will use this controller to communicate with
the RQ-28A while the aircraft is in flight from up to 3.6 miles (6 km) away utilizing
a 5 GHz wireless connection, though the range is dependent on various environmental factors.
Additionally, Skydio says that X2D can fly for up to 35 minutes in both day and night
time conditions.
“It’s very intuitive with great obstacle avoidance, additionally the thermal is better
than expected,” Staff Sgt.
Adam McDevitt explained.
“I can’t wait to use this on full mission profiles to see what it can really do.”
The US Army unmanned systems office plans to field 480 more RQ-28As by 2023.
As evident, from the Ukraine-Russia conflict drone of different types are playing a pivotal
role.
Even commercially available drones have been employed by both sides when it comes to platoon
level.
On 27th Apr, the world’s largest drone manufacturer DJI Technology Co said it will temporarily
suspend business in Russia and Ukraine to ensure its products are not used in combat.
The situation can be better understood by this fact - since February, drones have risen
in price by 30% (similar to electronics prices), but in the professional segment, prices have
tripled in that region.
For the infantry to have a decisive edge, situational awareness is key and this is where
RQ-28A would be of great use.
Since there are currently no well-defined tactics, techniques, or procedures (TTP) for
operating the system, it is expected that teams will experiment with the new systems
to understand how it could be best utilized.