ScanEagle | |
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General information | |
Type | Small unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Insitu |
Primary users | United States Navy |
History | |
Manufactured | 2002–present |
Introduction date | 2005 (U.S. Navy) |
First flight | 20 June 2002 |
Developed from | Insitu SeaScan |
Developed into | Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack |
The Boeing Insitu ScanEagle is a small, long-endurance, low-altitude unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, and is used for reconnaissance.[1][2] 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.
The Boeing-Insitu ScanEagle is based on a civil UAV (the SeaScan used by commercial fishers). The ScanEagle layout is the least conventional of CF mini-UAV candidates (the low aspect-ratio wings are swept with endplate vertical tails fitted to either tip). The SeaScan's arrangement is not unique among UAVs – the absence of conventional empennage allows for a pusher propeller – as it frees the nose for the placing of sensors.