The Boeing Insitu ScanEagle is a small, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle
built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing. The ScanEagle was designed by Insitu
based on the Insitu SeaScan, a commercial UAV that was intended for
fish-spotting. The ScanEagle continues to receive improvements through upgrades
and changes. Design and development
ScanEagle is a descendant of another Insitu UAV, the Insitu 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 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 lightweight inertial stabilized
turret system, and an integrated communications system having a range of
over 62 miles; it has a flight endurance of over 20 hours. ScanEagle has a
10.2-foot wingspan a length of 4.5 feet and a mass of 44 pounds and can operate
up to 80 knots, with an average cruising speed of 48 knots. 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.
ScanEagle needs no airfield for deployment. Instead, it is launched
using a pneumatic launcher, patented by Insitu, known 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
pole. This is made possible by 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.
Each ScanEagle system costs US$3.2 million. A complete system comprises
four air vehicles or AVs, a ground control station, remote video terminal,
the SuperWedge launch system and Skyhook recovery system.
= Improvements = On 18 March 2008, Boeing, with ImSAR and
Insitu successfully flight-tested a ScanEagle with ImSAR's NanoSAR A radar
mounted aboard. The ImSAR NanoSAR is the world's smallest Synthetic Aperture
Radar, weighs 3.5 lb and is 100 cubic inches in volume. It is designed to
provide high quality real-time ground imaging through adverse weather
conditions or other battlefield obscurants.
In 2009, Boeing and Insitu announced the NightEagle, a modified ScanEagle Block E
with an infrared camera for night operations.
In August 2010, Boeing announced plans to control ScanEagles from control
stations on E-3A AWACS aircraft and on the V-22.
In July 2011, a team of two ScanEagles and another UAV cooperated to search and
navigate a mountain area autonomously. Insitu introduced an improved ScanEagle
2 variant in October 2014 that has a new purpose-built heavy-fuel engine for
increased reliability, which increases electrical power but decreases endurance
to 16 hours. It also has a larger nose to carry day and night sensors at the
same time, an increased payload, and heavier empty and max take-off weights;
wingspan, service ceiling, and cruise and top speed remain the same. Other
upgrades include a fully digital video system, a better navigation system,
Ethernet-based architecture and reduced Electronic Magnetic Interference, and a
new ground control station while using the same launcher and skyhook recovery
system. The ScanEagle 2 was made to appeal to the growing commercial UAV
market and orders will start being taken in 2015, either new built or as an
upgrade for existing ScanEagle aircraft. Operational history
The ScanEagle entered service with the U.S. Navy in 2005. In addition to the
United States military, the Australian Army also operates the ScanEagle UAV and
the Canadian Government also leased the ScanEagle.
On 15 and 16 October 2008, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
conducted three successful test flights of the ScanEagle, launching it from the
fisheries and oceanographic research ship NOAAS Oscar Dyson in Puget Sound,
Washington, flying it remotely from the ship, and recovering it back aboard. In
2009, the NOAA oceanographic research ship NOAAS McArthur II began operating a
ScanEagle owned by the University of Alaska to monitor the distribution and
population of seals in the Bering Sea. In April 2009, a ScanEagle launched by
the U.S. Navy was used during the stand-off between the U.S. Navy and a
lifeboat controlled by pirates holding Captain Richard Phillips of the MV
Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean after a failed hijack attempt.
Insitu announced that the ScanEagle had totaled 500,000 combat flight hours and
over 56,000 sorties by July 2011. In late May 2013, the U.S. Coast Guard
used a ScanEagle to seize over 1,000 lb of cocaine from a fast boat in the
eastern Pacific. The ScanEagle was being deployed off the USCGC Bertholf during
demonstrations to assess UAV use in the Coast Guard. The aircraft was able to
maintain visual surveillance of the boat until a cutter was able to interdict the
vessel, marking the first time a UAV deployed from a Coast Guard cutter
participated in drug interdiction. The trials in May lasted two weeks with 90
flight hours completed. The Coast Guard hopes to begin purchases of unmanned
aerial systems by FY 2016, with small UAVs deployed from its National Security
Cutter fleet by the following year. Long-term goals are to use unmanned
systems to augment their manned fleet, while UAVs on offshore patrol cutters
would replace medium endurance cutters. On 26 July 2013, the ScanEagle became
one of the first unmanned aerial vehicles to be granted certification by
the Federal Aviation Administration to fly in U.S. airspace for commercial
purposes. ScanEagles will be deployed to Alaska off a ship for ConocoPhillips to
scout for icebergs and count whales, protecting drilling platforms and
fulfilling environmental requirements. The ScanEagle can safely accomplish
observation missions in hazardous Arctic locations, which is safer, cheaper, and
more environmentally friendly than using manned aircraft. Commercial
certification was the result of previous military certification and the
Congressionally mandated opening of airspace over much of Alaska to small
UAVs. Only four ScanEagles were certified with strict requirements: only
one aircraft of the type is allowed airborne at any one time, they cannot
fly through clouds or icing conditions, and they cannot take off or land during
certain gust and wind conditions. The certifications did not mention
line-of-sight control. On 12 September 2013, a ScanEagle with ConocoPhillips
conducted its first flight from a research vessel and flew for 36 minutes.
On its second flight, the aircraft experienced engine failure. It aborted
the flight and landed in the water, as it was programmed to. A boat recovered
the downed ScanEagle. = Iranian capture and reverse
engineering claims = In December 2012, Iran stated it had
captured an American ScanEagle that allegedly violated its airspace over the
Persian Gulf. Iran later stated it had also captured two other ScanEagles. The
U.S. Navy stated that none of its ScanEagles were missing. Photo evidence
of a ScanEagle in Iran showed no U.S. military markings. In August, 2013, CBC
News reported that the Canadian Navy had lost a ScanEagle drone in June 2012. The
Navy denied it was obtained by Iran. On 17 December 2012, Iran announced it was
starting mass production for a copy of the ScanEagle and has put that UAV into
service. Iran later released images of this production line.
On September 2013 a new UAV named Yasir was delivered to Iran's Army ground
force; according to Jane's Information Group, the Yasir UAV appears to share
the ScanEagle's 1.37 m length and 3.11 m wingspan, although it does have a
slightly different twin tail boom and inverted-V tail plane configuration. In
unveiling the Yasir, the Commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Forces,
Brigadier General Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan, is quoted by the Iranian Fars News
Agency as saying it is capable of flying at an altitude of 15,000 ft, has an
endurance of 8 hours, and an operational radius of 200 km.
In October 2013, during a five-day visit to Iran by Russian Air Force Commander
Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps
presented him with a copy of the US ScanEagle drone as a gift. In November
2013, a video appeared on YouTube showing a Yasir UAV flying over
Damascus, Syria in support of Syrian Arab Army forces fighting against
rebels. Operators
Australia Australian Defence Force
Canada Canadian Army
Czech Republic Czech Army
Malaysia Malaysian Armed Forces
Colombia Colombian Air Force
Netherlands Royal Netherlands Army
Japan Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
Iran Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of
Iran - see Yasir Italy
Italian Navy Poland
Romania Spain
Spanish Navy Singapore
Republic of Singapore Navy Tunisia
Tunisian Navy United Kingdom
Royal Navy United States
United States Air Force United States Marine Corps
United States Navy National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Yemen
Yemeni Air Force Variants
ScanEagle X200 A civilian-variant with a restricted
category type certificate issued by the United States Federal Aviation
Authority. CU-169
Canadian military designation for the ScanEagle.
Notable appearances in media The ScanEagle is mentioned by name and
its camera POV is shown as a major plot element in the 2013 drama Captain
Phillips Specifications
Data from Insitu, USAF General characteristics
Crew: none on-board Payload: 7.5 lb
Length: 5.1-5.6 ft Wingspan: 10.2 ft
Height: Empty weight: 30.9-39.68 lb
Loaded weight: 39.7 lb Max. takeoff weight: 48.5 lb
Powerplant: 1 × 2-stroke 3W piston engine, 1.5 hp
Performance Maximum speed: 80 knots
Cruise speed: 60 knots Endurance: 24+ hours
Service ceiling: 19,500 ft Avionics
High resolution, day/night camera and thermal imager
See also AAI RQ-2 Pioneer - an earlier sea-based
fixed-wing UAV Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Integrator -
developed from the ScanEagle. National Navy UDT-SEAL MuseumScanEagle
on display, References
External links ScanEagle product page on Insitu.com
ScanEagle page on Boeing.com