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59-480: 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. 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. ScanEagle

118-470: A Rover TJ125 turbojet with 510 N (52 kgf / 114 lbf ) thrust. It was launched by a RATO booster and recovered by parachute. It had a boxy fiberglass fuselage with a rear-mounted truncated-delta wing, a single tailfin, and winglet fins at the end of each wing. It had a length of 2.25 meters (7 feet 5 inches), a wingspan of 1.72 meters (5 feet 8 inches), and a launch weight of 142 kilograms (313 pounds), The Epervier has now been replaced by

177-683: A ScanEagle launched by the U.S. Navy was used during the stand-off between the U.S. Navy and a lifeboat controlled by pirates holding Captain Richard Phillips of the MV Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean after a failed hijack attempt . Insitu announced that the ScanEagle had totaled 500,000 combat flight hours and over 56,000 sorties by July 2011. In September 2011, Insitu revealed the ScanEagle had been employed by

236-454: A ScanEagle with ConocoPhillips conducted its first flight from a research vessel and flew for 36 minutes. On its second flight, the aircraft experienced engine failure. It aborted the flight and landed in the water, as it was programmed to. A boat recovered the downed ScanEagle. In July 2016, IHS Janes reported that Royal Navy frigates will cease operating the ScanEagle by November 2017. It will likely be replaced by an unknown UAS, chosen through

295-533: A UAV deployed from a Coast Guard cutter participated in drug interdiction. The trials in May lasted two weeks with 90 flight hours completed. The Coast Guard hopes to begin purchases of unmanned aerial systems by FY 2016, with small UAVs deployed from its National Security Cutter fleet by the following year. Long-term goals are to use unmanned systems to augment their manned fleet, while UAVs on offshore patrol cutters would replace medium endurance cutters. On 26 July 2013,

354-743: A US Government weapons export licence. The ScanEagle entered service with the U.S. Navy in 2005. In addition to the United States military, the Australian Army also operates the ScanEagle UAV and the Canadian Government also leased the ScanEagle. On 15 and 16 October 2008, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conducted three successful test flights of the ScanEagle, launching it from

413-490: A battery-powered quadcopter to act as an urban air taxi, at first with a pilot but potentially autonomous in the future. In the first decades of the 2000s, the quadcopter layout has become popular for small-scale unmanned aerial vehicles or drones. The need for aircraft with greater maneuverability and hovering ability has led to a rise in quadcopter research. The four-rotor design allows quadcopters to be relatively simple in design yet highly reliable and maneuverable. Research

472-414: A beacon and not overshoot. However, despite the much simplified design and operational requirements compared to a piloted machine, the parent company board refused to develop it and it remained a paper project. The Curtiss-Wright VZ-7 of 1958 was a VTOL aircraft designed by Curtiss-Wright in competition for the U.S. Army Transport and Research Command "flying jeep". The VZ-7 was controlled by changing

531-423: A better navigation system, Ethernet -based architecture and reduced Electronic Magnetic Interference (EMI), and a new ground control station while using the same launcher and skyhook recovery system. The ScanEagle 2 was made to appeal to the growing commercial UAV market and orders will start being taken in 2015, either new built or as an upgrade for existing ScanEagle aircraft. In 2014, Insitu began development of

590-488: A copy of the ScanEagle and has put that UAV into service. Iran later released images of this production line. In September 2013, a new UAV named Yasir was delivered to Iran's Army ground force; according to Jane's Information Group , the Yasir UAV appears to share the ScanEagle's 1.37 m length and 3.11 m wingspan, although it does have a slightly different twin tail boom and inverted-V tail plane configuration. In unveiling

649-552: A financial dispute with Israel over the delivery of UAV systems, the center in cooperation with TAM started to develop new medium-sized drones which would compensate the need of modern systems equipped with latest technology. Even though these projects are still in development stage, one variant was exposed in April, 2012. Pakistan developed a number of reconnaissance UAVs. Pakistan's "Air Weapons Complex (AWC)" has completed development of their "Bravo" battlefield surveillance UAV, and

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708-612: A ground control station, remote video terminal, the SuperWedge launch system and Skyhook recovery system. On 18 March 2008, Boeing, with ImSAR and Insitu successfully flight-tested a ScanEagle with ImSAR's NanoSAR A radar mounted aboard. The ImSAR NanoSAR is the world's smallest Synthetic Aperture Radar , weighs 3.5 lb (1.6 kg) and is 100 cubic inches (1.6 litres) in volume. It is designed to provide high quality real-time ground imaging through adverse weather conditions or other battlefield obscurants. In 2009, Insitu announced

767-657: A high-altitude reconnaissance drone, the "Vector", as well as two target drones, the "Nishan" and the "Hornet". Yakovlev is currently working on two new tactical UAVs: Bayraktar TB1 (or Bayraktar Çaldıran) is the prototype UAV, made for the Tactical UAV program of the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries ( Savunma Sanayii Mustesarligi or SSM ; now the Presidency of Defense Industries ) of Turkey, started in 2007. SSM invited two companies to compete for

826-474: A lack of orders for commercial or military versions however, the project was terminated. Convertawings proposed a Model E that would have a maximum weight of 42,000 lb (19 t) with a payload of 10,900 lb (4.9 t) over 300 miles and at up to 173 mph (278 km/h). The Hanson Elastic Articulated (EA) bearingless rotor grew out of work done in the early 1960s at Lockheed California by Thomas F. Hanson, who had previously worked at Convertawings on

885-522: A mass of 44 pounds (20 kg) and can operate up to 80 knots (92 mph; 150 km/h), with an average cruising speed of 48 knots (55 mph; 89 km/h). Block D aircraft featured a higher-resolution camera, a custom-designed Mode C transponder and a new video system. A Block D aircraft, flying at Boeing's test range in Boardman, Oregon , set a type endurance record of 22 hours, 8 minutes. ScanEagle needs no airfield for deployment. Instead, it

944-399: A new purpose-built heavy-fuel engine for increased reliability, which increases electrical power but decreases endurance to 16 hours. It also has a larger nose to carry day and night sensors at the same time, an increased payload, and heavier empty and max take-off weights; wingspan, service ceiling, and cruise and top speed remain the same. Other upgrades include a fully digital video system,

1003-863: A prototype demonstration phase of the Tactical UAS Program. In 2009, Kale-Baykar, a joint venture between the Kale Group and Baykar Technologies, demonstrated Block A (named Bayraktar Çaldıran) with its dual redundant avionics system and fully autonomous takeoff and landing capability. The aircraft was selected as the winner of the program. While the contract was signed with the Presidency of Defense Industries for Bayraktar TB1s, these products were not delivered and remained as prototypes for Bayraktar Block 2s. Instead, serial production commenced with Baykar Bayraktar TB2 . Quadrotor A quadcopter , also called quadrocopter , or quadrotor

1062-553: A scale that was described as "game changer". Throughout the 21st century, there have been reported cases of quadcopter drones being used for criminal activity. Due to the construction of the Mexico–United States border wall, some drug cartels have resorted to the use of quadcopters to smuggle drugs. However, quadcopter drones do not necessarily only smuggle drugs across the border, but there are also cases where weapons and other prohibited items are smuggled into prisons around

1121-560: A time, and on April 14, 1924, it established the first-ever FAI distance record for helicopters of 360 m (390 yd). It demonstrated the ability to complete a circular course and later, it completed the first 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) closed-circuit flight by a rotorcraft. Dr. George de Bothezat and Ivan Jerome developed the de Bothezat helicopter , with six-bladed rotors at the end of an X-shaped structure. Two small propellers with variable pitch were used for thrust and yaw control. The vehicle used collective pitch control. Built by

1180-481: Is a descendant of another Insitu UAV, the Insitu SeaScan , which was conceived of as a remote sensor for collecting weather data as well as helping commercial fishermen locate and track schools of tuna . ScanEagle emerged as the result of a strategic alliance between Boeing and Insitu . The resulting technology has been successful as a portable Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) for autonomous surveillance in

1239-415: Is a type of helicopter or multicopter that has four rotors . Although quadrotor helicopters and convertiplanes have long been flown experimentally, the configuration remained a curiosity until the arrival of the modern unmanned aerial vehicle or drone. The small size and low inertia of drones allows use of a particularly simple flight control system, which has greatly increased the practicality of

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1298-462: Is continuing to increase the abilities of quadcopters by making advances in multi-craft communication, environment exploration, and maneuverability. If these developing qualities can be combined, quadcopters would be capable of advanced autonomous missions that are currently not possible with other vehicles. While small toy remote-controlled quadcopters were produced in Japan already in the early 1990s,

1357-428: Is launched using a pneumatic launcher, patented by Insitu, known as the "SuperWedge" launcher. It is recovered using the "Skyhook" retrieval system, which uses a hook on the end of the wingtip to catch a rope hanging from a 30-to-50-foot (9.1 to 15.2 m) pole. This is made possible by high-quality differential GPS units mounted on the top of the pole and UAV. The rope is attached to a shock cord to reduce stress on

1416-456: Is now in service with law enforcement and border security organizations. The Bravo is apparently a fairly conventional piston-powered small UAV, has a composite airframe, a maximum payload of 20 kilograms (44 pounds), and a radius of action of up to 80 kilometers (50 mi). It is guided by a preprogrammed navigation system. The AWC "Vision-1" is an improved version of the Bravo, and AWC also makes

1475-440: Is relatively simple to program for autonomous flight. This has allowed experiments with complex swarming behaviour based on basic sensing of the adjacent drones. The longest flight time achieved by a battery-powered quadcopter was 2 hours, 31 minutes and 30 seconds. The record was set by Ferdinand Kickinger of Germany in 2016. In setting the record, Kickinger used low discharge-rate, high-capacity lithium-ion batteries and stripped

1534-643: Is safer, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly than using manned aircraft. Commercial certification was the result of previous military certification and the Congressionally mandated opening of airspace over much of Alaska to small UAVs. Only four ScanEagles were certified with strict requirements: only one aircraft of the type is allowed airborne at any one time, they cannot fly through clouds or icing conditions, and they cannot take off or land during certain gust and wind conditions. The certifications did not mention line-of-sight control. On 12 September 2013,

1593-582: The NightEagle , a modified ScanEagle Block E with an infrared camera for night operations. In August 2010, Boeing announced plans to control ScanEagles from control stations on E-3A AWACS aircraft and on the V-22 . In July 2011, a team of two ScanEagles and another UAV cooperated to search and navigate a mountain area autonomously. Insitu introduced an improved ScanEagle 2 variant in October 2014 that has

1652-654: The Persian Gulf . Iran later stated it had also captured two other ScanEagles. The U.S. Navy stated that none of its ScanEagles were missing. Photo evidence of a ScanEagle in Iran showed no U.S. military markings. In August 2013, CBC News reported that the Canadian Navy had lost a ScanEagle drone in June 2012. The Navy denied it was obtained by Iran. On 17 December 2012, Iran announced it was starting mass production for

1711-530: The U.S. Coast Guard used a ScanEagle to seize over 1,000 lb (450 kg) of cocaine from a fast boat in the eastern Pacific. The ScanEagle was being deployed off the USCGC ; Bertholf  (WMSL-750) during demonstrations to assess UAV use in the Coast Guard. The aircraft was able to maintain visual surveillance of the boat until a cutter was able to interdict the vessel, marking the first time

1770-523: The United States Army Air Service , it made its first flight in October 1922. About 100 flights were made by the end of 1923. The highest it ever reached was about 5 m (16 ft 5 in). Although demonstrating feasibility, it was underpowered, unresponsive, mechanically complex and susceptible to reliability problems. Pilot workload was too high during hover to attempt lateral motion. The Convertawings Model A Quadrotor

1829-636: The fisheries and oceanographic research ship NOAAS Oscar Dyson (R 224) in Puget Sound , Washington , flying it remotely from the ship, and recovering it back aboard. In 2009, the NOAA oceanographic research ship NOAAS McArthur II (R 330) began operating a ScanEagle owned by the University of Alaska to monitor the distribution and population of seals in the Bering Sea . In April 2009,

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1888-541: The vortex ring state . The main mechanical components are a fuselage or frame, the four rotors (either fixed- pitch or variable-pitch), and motors. For best performance and simplest control algorithms, the motors and propellers are equidistant. In order to allow more power and stability at reduced weight, a quadcopter, like any other multirotor can employ a coaxial rotor configuration. In this case, each arm has two motors running in opposite directions (one facing up and one facing down). The quadcopter configuration

1947-457: The BZK-005C. ^B CH-1and CH-2 variants are for reconnaissance. The Belgians were early adopters of reconnaissance UAVs, introducing the "Epervier (Sparrowhawk)" UAV in the early 1970s. It was built by Manufacture Belge De Lampes Et De Materiel Electronique SA (MBLE) of Belgium. Epervier prototypes were propeller-driven, but the production Epervier UAV, the "X.5" model, was fitted with

2006-555: The Flying Launch and Recovery System (FLARES), a system designed to launch and recover the ScanEagle without the need to transport and assemble the launch catapult and recovery crane. "It consists of second, quadrotor UAV that carries the ScanEagle vertically and releases it into forward flight. For recovery, the quadrotor hovers trailing a cable that it captures, as it would the cable from the SkyHook crane." FLARES incorporates

2065-658: The IAI Hunter, which was obtained by the Belgian military with Belgian-specified systems. Croatia has fielded a series of tactical UAVs, beginning with the MAH-1 in early 1993 built by Igor Pongrac. Later on Israel's IAI Malat tactical UAVs were built and developed on behalf MAH-1. Matra BAe Dynamics developed a UAV named "Dragon". The Dragon was roughly the same size as and similar to the SAGEM Crecerelle , with

2124-500: The Royal Navy's Unmanned Warrior exercise in 2016. The Yemeni Air Force ordered 12 ScanEagles that were never delivered due to the ongoing Yemeni Civil War . On August 19, 2022 the U.S. announced it was giving 15 ScanEagles to Ukraine as part of a $ 775M military weapon aid package to assist in their war with Russia . In December 2012, Iran stated it had captured an American ScanEagle that allegedly violated its airspace over

2183-411: The ScanEagle as two fuselage slices, ahead of and behind the wing, without affecting performance. The ViDAR can cover an area greater than 13,000 square nautical miles (17,000 sq mi; 45,000 km) over a 12-hour mission, and detected small and large surface, air, and even submerged targets during the demonstration. The Scaneagle 3 is reportedly ITAR -free, meaning that it can be sold without

2242-545: The ScanEagle became one of the first unmanned aerial vehicles to be granted certification by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly in U.S. airspace for commercial purposes. ScanEagles will be deployed to Alaska off a ship for ConocoPhillips to scout for icebergs and count whales, protecting drilling platforms and fulfilling environmental requirements. The ScanEagle can safely accomplish observation missions in hazardous Arctic locations, which

2301-530: The U.S. Navy in Operation Unified Protector during the 2011 Libyan Revolution . The UAV was launched and recovered by the destroyer USS  Mahan  (DDG-72) to provide video imagery over three days that located "contacts of interest that no one else could find," which was relayed to the ship and then to the NATO command center by the secure video injection system. In late May 2013,

2360-449: The UAV into a broad area maritime surveillance (BAMS) asset capable of covering up to 80 times more area in a single sortie than is possible with standard cameras. The self-contained ViDAR system consists of high-resolution digital video cameras and software that analyses image feed and autonomously detects, tracks, and photographs each contact with a 180-degree pan. It can be incorporated into

2419-466: The VTOL advantages of launch and recovery in confined areas, as well as eliminating the rail and crane equipment, with the flying efficiency of a fixed-wing body. Demonstrations of the system took place from late 2014 to mid-2015, and low-rate production is scheduled for late 2016. In November 2015, a Royal Australian Navy ScanEagle tested Sentient Vision Systems ’s ViDAR optical detection system, turning

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2478-996: The Yasir, the Commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Forces, Brigadier General Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan, is quoted by the Iranian Fars News Agency as saying it is capable of flying at an altitude of 15,000 ft (4,600 m), has an endurance of 8 hours, and an operational radius of 200 km. Data from Insitu, USAF, 3W engines General characteristics Performance Avionics Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle ^A The Harbin BZK-005 family encompasses reconnaissance variant like BZK-005 alongside combat-focused models like

2537-543: The airframe imposed by the abrupt stop. NavtechGPS worked with the manufacturer of the GPS receiver system to enable the system to work in different environments, expanding the capabilities of the UAS for different mission types and areas of the world. The GPS receiver system NavtechGPS designed for the ScanEagle is still in use today. Each ScanEagle system costs US$ 3.2 million (2006). A complete system comprises four air vehicles or AVs,

2596-425: The airframe of non-essential weight to reduce power draw and extend endurance. Alternative power sources like hydrogen fuel cells and hybrid gas-electric generators have been used to dramatically extend endurance because of the increased energy density of both hydrogen and gasoline, respectively. The first heavier-than-air aerodyne to take off vertically was a four-rotor helicopter designed by Louis Breguet . It

2655-473: The battlefield, and has been deployed since August 2004 in the Iraq War . ScanEagle carries a stabilized electro-optical and/or infrared camera on a lightweight inertial stabilized turret system, and an integrated communications system having a range of over 62 miles (100 km); it has a flight endurance of over 20 hours. ScanEagle has a 10.2-foot (3.1 m) wingspan a length of 4.5 feet (1.4 m) and

2714-411: The first one with a camera to be produced in significant quantities (Draganflyer Stabilized Aerial Video System, retrospectively also Draganflyer I, by Canadian start-up Draganfly ) was not designed until 1999. Around 2005 to 2010, advances in electronics allowed the production of cheap lightweight flight controllers, accelerometers ( IMU ), global positioning system and cameras. This resulted in

2773-407: The net centre of thrust , with yaw controlled by varying the net torque . Unlike conventional helicopters, quadcopters do not usually have cyclic pitch control, in which the angle of the blades varies dynamically as they turn around the rotor hub. In the early days of flight, quadcopters (then referred to either as quadrotors or simply as helicopters ) were seen as a possible solution to some of

2832-666: The persistent problems in vertical flight. Torque-induced control issues (as well as efficiency issues originating from the tail rotor , which generates no useful lift) can be eliminated by counter-rotation, and the relatively short blades are much easier to construct. A number of manned designs appeared in the 1920s and 1930s. These vehicles were among the first successful heavier-than-air vertical take off and landing (VTOL) vehicles. However, early prototypes suffered from poor performance, and latter prototypes required too much pilot work load, due to poor stability augmentation and limited control authority. If all four rotors are spinning at

2891-442: The propellers, spinning in the horizontal plane, stabilized the machine laterally. Another propeller was mounted at the nose for steering. The remaining pair of propellers functioned as its forward propulsion. The aircraft exhibited a considerable degree of stability and increase in control-accuracy for its time, and made over a thousand test flights during the middle 1920s. By 1923 it was able to remain airborne for several minutes at

2950-482: The quadcopter configuration becoming popular for small unmanned aerial vehicles . With their small size and maneuverability, these quadcopters can be flown indoors as well as outdoors. For small drones, quadcopters are cheaper and more durable than conventional helicopters due to their mechanical simplicity. Their smaller blades are also advantageous because they possess less kinetic energy, reducing their ability to cause damage. For small-scale quadcopters, this makes

3009-403: The quadrotor's rotor design and control system. The Gloster Crop Sprayer project of 1960 was an early example of a quadcopter drone. To be powered by a 105 hp Potez 4E air-cooled flat four-cylinder engine, its 20 gal payload was discharged through a 22 ft spray boom. Two operators carried homing beacons at opposite ends of the spray run, so that the quadcopter would always home in on

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3068-442: The same angular velocity , with two rotating clockwise and two counterclockwise, the net torque about the yaw axis is zero, which means there is no need for a tail rotor as on conventional helicopters. Yaw is induced by mismatching the balance in aerodynamic torques (i.e., by offsetting the cumulative thrust commands between the counter-rotating blade pairs). All quadcopters are subject to normal rotorcraft aerodynamics, including

3127-644: The same pusher-prop delta configuration, except that instead of having a single tailfin mounted on the fuselage, the Dragon had a tailfin on each wingtip. It was intended as a jamming platform. It seems to have dropped out of sight, possibly because the French Army acquired the Crecerelle for the jamming mission. Georgia's defense research center developed a series of small for infantry purpose unmanned areal vehicles, including multiple fixed-rotor variants. After

3186-510: The size of the rotor disk does not significantly impact the ability to control blade pitch. Due to their ease of construction and control, quadcopters are popular as amateur model aircraft projects. Recreational and commercial drones started to be used, initially by Ukrainian armed forces and then by Russian forces, in the 2022 Russian invasion on Ukraine , initially to compensate for lack of aerial and satellite reconnaissance, and then increasingly as small bombers and loitering munitions on

3245-429: The small quadrotor in this application. Each rotor produces both lift and torque about its center of rotation, as well as drag opposite to the vehicle's direction of flight. Quadcopters generally have two rotors spinning clockwise (CW) and two counterclockwise (CCW). Flight control is provided by independent variation of the speed and hence lift and torque of each rotor. Pitch and roll are controlled by varying

3304-412: The thrust of each of the four ducted fan rotors. The Piasecki PA-97 was a proposal for a large hybrid aircraft in which four helicopter fuselages were combined with a lighter-than-air airship in the 1980s. The Bell Boeing Quad TiltRotor concept takes the fixed quadcopter concept further by combining it with the tilt rotor concept for a proposed C-130 sized military transport. Airbus is developing

3363-468: The vehicles safer for close interaction. It is also possible to fit quadcopters with guards that enclose the rotors, further reducing the potential for damage. However, as size increases, fixed propeller quadcopters develop disadvantages relative to conventional helicopters. Increasing blade size increases their momentum. This means that changes in blade speed take longer, which negatively impacts control. Helicopters do not experience this problem as increasing

3422-429: Was intended to be the prototype for a line of much larger civil and military helicopters. The design featured two engines driving four rotors through a system of v belts. No tail rotor was needed and control was obtained by varying the thrust between rotors. Flown many times from 1956, this helicopter proved the quadrotor design and it was also the first four-rotor helicopter to demonstrate successful forward flight. Due to

3481-497: Was tested only in tethered flight and to an altitude of a few feet. In 1908 it was reported as having flown 'several times', although details are sparse. Etienne Oehmichen experimented with rotorcraft designs in the 1920s. Among the designs he tried was the Oehmichen No. 2, which employed four two-blade rotors and eight propellers, all driven by a single engine. The angle of the rotor blades could be varied by warping. Five of

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