The US Marine Corps expects to launch the initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) activity for its Insitu RQ-21A Integrator small tactical UAS from late October, with initial operational capability (IOC) "still tracking well for 2014", says PMA-263 programme manager Col Jim Rector.
Boeing company Insitu is under contract to produce a combined 36 RQ-21A systems for the USMC and US Navy, comprising a total of 180 air vehicles. Weighing 61.3kg (135lb), and capable of carrying multiple payload types, the modular design will enter service carrying an electro-optical/infrared sensor and automatic identification system for maritime surveillance.
Testing already performed with the type at the Twentynine Palms site in California has demonstrated a flight endurance of up to 14h, and the noise signature from the aircraft's 100cc heavy fuel engine is "as quiet as it gets in this class," Rector says. "We're pretty pleased right now," he adds.
The USMC expects to declare IOC status with the new system in the second or third quarter of next year, "and has already identified a Marine Expeditionary Unit" for a lead deployment, Rector says.
A remaining period of roughly 25h of embarked flight operations still needs to be completed to finish developmental testing of the RQ-21A. "We're going to get back on the boat in the next couple of months," Rector says.
Ryan Hartman, senior vice president for Insitu programmes, says the company has already completed the production of four new RQ-21As for use during the subsequent IOT&E activity. Once launched, this will comprise four weeks of land-based trials and one week of ship-based flight activity.
Source: Flight Daily News
