ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has successfully delivered 10,000 surveillance and reconnaissance flight hours to help protect Australian troops on active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. The fully autonomous ScanEagle UAV, developed by Boeing and Insitu, Inc., can capture stationary and moving imagery using an inertially stabilized electro-optical or infrared camera.

Measuring four feet (1.2 meters) long with a 10-foot (3 meters) wingspan, the UAV provides more than 15 consecutive hours of “on-station” coverage. It is launched autonomously via Insitu’s pneumatic catapult launcher and flies pre-programmed or operator-initiated missions guided by a Global Positioning System. It is retrieved using the SkyHook™ system in which the UAV catches a rope hanging from a 50-foot (15 meters) high pole.

nsitu, Inc., located in Bingen, Wash., designs, develops and manufactures unmanned aircraft systems for commercial and military applications. Insitu introduced the first unmanned aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean and has partnered with Boeing to develop ScanEagle™ and Fugro Airborne Surveys to develop GeoRanger™.