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Which Are The Four Tactical Drones That Are In Race To Replace US Military’s RQ-7 Shadow?

The US Army is currently testing four drones to replace its tactical reconnaissance unmanned air vehicle (UAV), the Textron RQ-7 Shadow.

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The US military has carried out the tests of the four Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (FTUAS) demonstrators at a ‘Rodeo’ test event at Fort Benning, Georgia, with reports stating that results have been encouraging. The event started on February 22 and is scheduled to run till March 05.

While the Army is yet to choose the ideal replacement for its RQ-7 Shadow drone, it is using the event to set requirements for an open competition for the next drone.




File:AAI Corporation RQ-7A Shadow 200.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
RQ-7 Shadow drone

The drones are being tested by the US Army brigade as part of the “buy, fly, inform” approach. Four UAV types are currently being tested which include the Arcturus Jump 20, L3Harris Unmanned Systems FVR-90, Martin UAV V-Bat, and Textron Aerosonde Hybrid Quad drone.

Following the testing, the soldiers will provide feedback which will then guide the army’s acquisition and help the drone manufacturers in refining the designs further.

“We saw a very agile system from every performer. We saw the soldiers uniformly fall in love with this capability and want to keep it,” said Brigadier General Walter Rugen, director of the Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team.

The RQ-7 Shadow Drone

The RQ-7 Shadow is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that has been manufactured by the Maryland-headquartered aerospace and defense firm AAI Corporation.

The drone is used by the US Army, Australian Army, Swedish Army, Turkish Air Force, and Italian Army for carrying out reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition, and battle damage assessment.

The UAV is launched from a trailer-mounted pneumatic catapult and is recovered with the aid of arresting gear similar to jets on an aircraft carrier.

Developed in the 1990s, it is an order drone and is considered an inelegant weapon from a less sophisticated age.

Now thirty years on, the US Army feels the need for replacing the drones with a much more advanced type that can carry out missions in a more efficient manner.

As per reports, the US Army wants the future unmanned system to improve upon the RQ-7 Shadow drones in three areas.

The new drones should have automatic vertical take-off and landing capability, be quieter and also fit within the US Air Force 463-L pallets, which can be transported by Boeing CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopters.

The four drones that are in race to replace the RQ-7 are as follows:

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