Navy orders small UAVs with persistent surveillance sensor payloads

摘要

PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md. - Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designers at Insitu Inc. in Bingen, Wash., will build 34 ScanEagle small UAVs for the governments of Malaysia; Indonesia; the Philippines; and Vietnam under terms of a $47.9 million U.S. Navy order in late June. Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., are asking Insitu to provide 12 ScanEagle UAVs for Malaysia; eight for Indonesia; eight for the Philippines; and six for Vietnam. Insitu also will provide spare sensor payloads, spare and repair parts, support equipment, tools, training, technical services, and field service. Insitu is a subsidiary of the Boeing Co. The ScanEagle UAV is 5.1 feet long with a 5.6-foot wingspan. It weighs as much as 48.5 pounds and can carry a 7.5-pound sensor payload. The UAV can fly for more than 24 hours at altitudes as high as 19.500 feet, and at speeds to 80 knots. The unmanned aircraft can fly on gasoline or heavy fuels like jet fuel, diesel, or kerosene.