Yemen gets Scan Eagle UAS
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עברית (Hebrew)
Yemen has become the latest export customer for American Scan Eagle UAVs. Yemen has ordered a dozen of these aircraft, along with a launcher, control and maintenance equipment. The U.S. is also providing operator and maintenance training. The entire package costs $11 million.
Before this deal, the United States has provided Yemen with Raven micro (4.5 pound) UAVs.
According to Strategy Page, Yemen is not the first customer in the region. Iraq ordered ten Scan Eagle UAVs in late 2013 and these were rushed to Iraq in 2014 because Iraqi troops have already gotten a taste of how effective these small remotely controlled aircraft are from using some 4.5 pound Ravens the U.S. left behind and seeing American troops benefit from the many UAVs they regularly used.
The Scan Eagle weighs 40 pounds, has a ten feet wingspan, and uses day and night video cameras. It uses a catapult for launch and can be landed via a wing hook that catches a rope hanging from a fifty feet pole. There is also a smaller CLRE (Compact Launch and Recovery System) that will eventually be available for ship use. On land Scan Eagle can also land on any flat, solid surface.
Unmanned systems conference 2014 – Israel
The Scan Eagle can stay in the air for up to 15 hours per flight and fly as high as 16,000 feet. Scan Eagles cruising speed is 110 kilometers an hour and it can operate at least a hundred kilometers from the ground controller. Scan Eagle carries an optical system that is stabilized to keep the cameras focused on an object while the UAV moves. Scan Eagle has been flying for over a decade now and has been in military service since 2005.
Meanwhile the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy have ordered a new UAV that is basically a larger Scan Eagle. This is the RQ-21A Blackjack. Production began in 2013 and deliveries began shortly after that. RQ-21A is a 121 pound UAV, which has a 16 foot wingspan and can fly as high as 15,000 feet at a cruise speed of 100 kilometers an hour. RQ-21A can stay in the air up to 24 hours and can carry a payload of 50 pounds. It uses the same takeoff and landing equipment as the Scan Eagle. RQ-21A also uses many of the Scan Eagle sensors, in addition to new ones that were too heavy for Scan Eagle. The additional weight of the RQ-21A makes it more stable in bad weather or windy conditions.
