| RQ-7 Shadow | |
|---|---|
 A Shadow UAS in flight | |
| General information | |
| Type | Tactical reconnaissance UAS for ground maneuver forces Unmanned combat aerial vehicle (optionally) |
| Manufacturer | AAI Corporation |
| Status | Active, in production |
| Primary users | United States Army 9 other users |
| Number built | 500+[1] |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 2002[2] |
| First flight | 1991 |
| Developed from | AAI RQ-2 Pioneer |
The AAI RQ-7 Shadow is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the United States Army, Australian Army, Swedish Army, Turkish Air Force and Italian Army for reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition and battle damage assessment. Launched from a trailer-mounted pneumatic catapult, it is recovered with the aid of arresting gear similar to jets on an aircraft carrier. Its gimbal-mounted, digitally stabilized, liquid nitrogen-cooled electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) camera relays video in real time via a C-band line-of-sight data link to the ground control station (GCS).
The US Army's 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, trains soldiers, Marines, and civilians in the operation and maintenance of the Shadow UAS. The Shadow is operated in the U.S. Army at brigade-level.[3]
- ^ "Pakistan gets U.S. drones" Archived 29 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine United Press International, 26 January 2010.
- ^ "RQ-7 Shadow UAV". Olive-Drab. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ U.S. Services Outline Future Plans for Unmanned Aircraft Archived 13 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine - Ainonline.com, 2 November 2016