SEND IN THE DRONES


SHADOW CASTING


An RQ-7 Shadow UAV is launched by U.S. Army Soldiers of the 104th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, New Jersey Army National Guard, at McGregor Base Camp, New Mexico, Feb. 19, 2024. The FTUAS will replace the currently fielded RQ-7B Shadow in ground brigade combat teams. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Bruce Daddis, New Jersey National Guard)


its technology, which has been around since the early 2000s but is not yet ready for active duty. It is, however, advanced enough for use as a test platform for other technologies. Unlike prede- cessors MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper drones, the Avenger is powered by a turbofan engine and its design includes stealth features like internal weapons storage and S-shaped exhaust for reduced infrared and radar signatures. It can also fly up to 18 hours, reaching speeds of 400 mph and altitudes up to 50,000 feet. Its main mission is combat, as it carries an assortment of bombs and missiles attached to its six external hardpoints or inside the weapons bay that can hold up to 3,500 pounds.


COMPETING CAPABILITIES In 2018, the Army began considering the replacement of the Textron RQ-7B Shadow (which replaced the RQ-2 Pioneer) drone, a widely used, yet accident-prone, unmanned aerial system developed in the early 2000s. Te Shadow included four aircraft, two vehicle-mounted ground control stations, a generator and


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backup equipment and took more than two dozen Soldiers to operate.


Te FTUAS “will replace the currently fielded RQ-7B Shadow in ground brigade combat teams, with a low to medium altitude aircraft with modern datalinks, electro-optical/infra-red sensors, intra-red/laser pointer/laser designator/laser range finder, data


“We are learning from the battlefield … that aerial reconnaissance has fundamentally changed.”


Army AL&T Magazine Fall 2024


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