'Go for Launch'

摘要

It is Blackjack time for the Marine Corps, but the service is not playing the casino card game. The Corps is preparing for the first operational deployment of the RQ-21A Blackjack unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which will bring a big increase in capability to its expeditionary forces. The Blackjacks will deploy for the first time this summer with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), said Col. Chris Patton, head of the Aviation Expeditionary Enablers Branch, which manages aviation command and control, aviation ground support and unmanned aircraft systems. The MEU will take one Blackjack system, which consists of five air vehicles and two ground control stations, he said. Each control station can manage two air vehicles at once.