美 Boeing 社의 ScanEagle 무인기 자료와 최근 소식...

 

美 Boeing 계열社 Insitu Inc. 가 개발, 제작하고 있는 ScanEagle UAS (Unmanned aircraft system) 소식과 관련 자료를

소개 합니다.

 

ScanEagle 은 육상과 해상에서 공히 운용할 수 있는 무인정찰기로써 육군의 경우 여단/연대급이 주로 운용할 수 있습니다.

2005년 美 해군이 처음으로 도입 운용하고 있는 ScanEagle 은 美 해병대와 호주 및 캐나다 육군 그리고 폴란드가 도입 운용

하고 있습니다.

 

최근 Aviation Week 의 보도에 의하면, 유럽의 6개국이 ScanEagle 도입에 관심을 보이고 있다고 합니다. 또한 ScanEagle

의 확장형인 Integrator 에 대한 개발도 마무리 단계에 있으며, 이들 2개 기종은 동일한 발사대를 사용할 수 있다고 합니다.

 

ScanEagle 과 Integrator 의 경우, 손쉽게 구할 수 있는 상용부품들을 많이 사용하고 있으므로 수출에는 큰 어려움이 없을

것이며, 도입국 역시 운용과정에서 발생되는 각종 부속품의 조달이 용이할 것으로 제작사는 밝히고 있습니다. 다만, 이들

무인기에 장착되는 EO 및 SAR 장비는 美 정부의 승인이 필요한 사항이라 합니다.

 

아래 소개하는 동영상은 지난 5월 호주 언론사를 상대로 실시한 ScanEagle 설명회 장면이며, 사진들은 지난 2월 호주군이

아프카니스탄 중남부 Ripley FOB (Forward Operating Base) 에서 운용중인 모습 입니다.

 

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ScanEagle Takes Aim At Europe

Aviation Week.com, 06/16/2010

Author : Michael A. Taverna

 

Boeing affiliate Insitu is pursuing talks to sell its ScanEagle light tactical/maritime UAV in six European countries as it prepares to bring out a more readily exportable higher payload version.

 

So far, Poland is the only European country to order the ScanEagle, which can carry a 13-lb. electro-optical (EO) or synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) payload and has an endurance in excess of 20 hr. However, the expanding role of European NATO nations, the European Union in Afghanistan, and naval operations off the Horn of Africa is prompting growing interest in ScanEagle and its larger follow-on, known as the Integrator.

 

Scheduled to be introduced onto the market this summer, the Integrator is equipped with new avionics and two hardpoints and is sized for a 50-lb. plug-and-play payload that can accommodate EO and SAR sensors at the same time, as well as a data relay system. A common launch vehicle, currently entering the market, will enable Integrator and ScanEagle to operate using the same ground equipment.

 

Equally important, the Integrator features a baseline configuration based largely on commercial off-the-shelf components, which will make it easier to export, says Curtis Chestnutt, Insitu’s director of business development. However, payload item availability will remain subject to U.S. International Traffic in Arms (ITAR) Regulations.

 

The new model is also a candidate for the U.S. Navy’s Small Tactical UAS (Stuas) Tier II program, but the selection date is still unknown, Chestnutt told reporters at the recent Eurosatory defense show in Paris. The ScanEagle is already in operation with the Navy as well as with the U.S. Marines and Australian and Canadian defense forces.

 

Chestnutt says Insitu is in talks with up to six European countries about a ScanEagle/Integrator procurement, which the company generally does on a turnkey per-flight-hour basis. Executives say interested nations include Spain and Italy, which are eying the UAVs for naval anti-piracy duty, as well as the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. The company is also due to meet with officials from France, which is in the process of finalizing its tactical UAV requirement.

 

Interest is not confined to Europe. Several South American nations are investigating the possibilities, notably Colombia, which is mulling a foreign military sales purchase. Asian prospects are said to be bright, too.

 

The ScanEagle has accumulated more than 15,000 flight hours in both land and maritime applications, Chestnutt says. More than half of flight time has been accumulated in Afghanistan, with the remainder divided primarily between Iraq and the Horn of Africa.

 

 

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  ⓒ Australian Gov. DoD

 

  ⓒ Australian Gov. DoD

 

  ⓒ Australian Gov. DoD

 

  ⓒ Australian Gov. DoD

 

  ⓒ Australian Gov. DoD

 

  ⓒ Australian Gov. DoD

 

  ⓒ Australian Gov. DoD

 

  ⓒ Australian Gov. DoD

 

  ⓒ Australian Gov. DoD

 

  ⓒ Australian Gov. DoD