Shadow 200 RQ-7 – Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System, USA

Shadow 200 is the smallest of the Shadow family of unmanned aircraft systems developed by AAI. It is in operational service with the US Army and US Marine Corps.

Shadow 200 is used to locate, recognise and identify targets up to 125km from a brigade tactical operations centre. The system recognises tactical vehicles by day and night from an altitude of 8,000ft and at a slant range of 3.5km. Imagery and telemetry data is transmitted in near-real time from the Shadow ground control station to joint stars common ground station, all-sources analysis system and to the army field artillery targeting and direction system.

Shadow is in operational service in Afghanistan and in Iraq. By the end of December 2007, it had amassed more than 234,000 flight hours and flown in more than 55,000 missions.

The Shadow family of unmanned aircraft systems is produced at AAI's facilities in Hunt Valley, Maryland. AAI Corporation is a subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation.

TUAS programme

The AAI Shadow TUAS team is led by the prime contractor AAI Corporation with major team members CDL Systems Ltd, Chandler May Inc, Sierra Nevada Corporation, IAI-TAMAM and UAV Engines Ltd. The programme is managed by the US army unmanned aircraft systems project manager's office in Huntsville, Alabama.

In 1999 the US Army awarded AAI Corporation a low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract to develop the Shadow tactical unmanned aircraft system (TUAS). The Shadow TUAS carries the US Army designations RQ-7A and RQ-7B, although all RQ-7A model aircraft have now been retired and replaced by the RQ-7B model. The system provides brigade commanders with improved capability in target acquisition, battle damage assessment and battle management.

At the beginning of 2001, AAI delivered the first four Shadow TUAV systems ordered by the US Army and built under the LRIP phase of the programme.

The US Government conducted a series of demonstration trials under the Operational Tempo (OPTEMPO) programme at Fort Huachucaa, Arizona during 2001. The systems were then transferred to Fort Hood in Texas for the US Army to carry out initial operational test and evaluation (IOTE) trials.

In March 2002, AAI received a contract valued at $22.3m to extend TUAS production, bringing the value of the TUAV programme to $135m. The contract covered the production of five additional Shadow systems. The first full-rate system was delivered to the US Army in September 2003. Shadow was deployed to Iraq in January 2004.

By May 2009, Shadow had completed 400,000 flight hours.

In the first quarter of 2004, the US Army ordered 33 Shadow systems with over 140 air vehicles and delivery of the longer-range RQ-7B was started by August 2004.

By June 2007, the US Army had ordered 74 Shadow 200 systems (including 296 air vehicles and 148 ground control systems) for system deliveries through January 2009 and 14 in April 2008, for deliveries though March 2010. Over 61 systems have been delivered.

Also in June 2007, it was announced that Shadow 200 would replace the Pioneer UAV in US Marine Corps service. Two systems were ordered for the USMC and entered service in November 2007.

By October 2008, the US Army had ordered 113 Shadow 200 systems for system deliveries through November 2010. Over 71 systems have been delivered.

Shadow system

A typical block 1 Shadow system includes three air vehicles (plus one spare air vehicle) with payloads, two ground control stations, portable ground control station, air vehicle transport truck, launch and recovery equipment and personnel carrier. The complete system can be transported to and within a battlefield in two C-130 aircraft.

TUAS air vehicle

The air vehicle system can be transported by two military wheeled vehicles and can be operated round-the-clock from unprepared sites by the 22-soldier crew. The Shadow TUAS can carry payloads up to 27kg (60lb) including sensors and electronic warfare systems.

Larger variants of other Shadow aircraft with a larger fuselage and wingspan are capable of carrying payloads up to 45.4kg (100lb) with minimal impact on cost or performance.

The air vehicle is of composite structure. Its compact size and small engine produce a very low radar and infrared signature, making it very difficult to detect.

The original RQ-7A air vehicle has a wingspan of 3.89m and carries a maximum payload of 25.3kg. The maximum endurance is five hours 30 minutes. The RQ-7B is a longer-endurance version, with increased wingspan of 4.27m and larger tail unit, payload up to 27.2kg and endurance of six to seven hours, depending on mission profile.

A new wing design being planned for the aircraft is expected to increase Shadow's payload capacity, expanding the wingspan to 20ft. Retrofit kits with the new design will be fixed to the aircraft from late 2009.

Engine

The air vehicle is powered by a UEL AR 741 rotary engine developing 28.3kW and driving a two-bladed pusher propeller. Fire and explosion-resistant fuel cells are installed in the wings. The RQ-7A and the longer-endurance RQ-7B models have a fuel capacity of 40l and 57l.

Payloads

The payloads are selected according to the mission requirements and include advanced electro-optical and infrared systems, planned synthetic aperture radar and moving target indicator, hyperspectral imagery, lightweight communications relay package, marker / illuminator, laser range finder and target designator.

The US Army Shadow 200 is fitted with the POP-200 or POP-300 lightweight electro-optical system supplied by IAI Tamam.

The system is two-axis gyro-stabilised and fitted with forward-looking infrared (FLIR) and CCD TV sensor array. It can be fitted with a laser rangefinder and target designator and is capable of correlative automatic target tracking.

BAE Systems has supplied five Aurora Generation IV remote sensing systems to the US Army for use on the Shadow 200. The systems provide target detection and wide-area surveillance, using daytime hyperspectral imaging from high-resolution electro-optic sensors.

In February 2008, it was announced that the US Army is installing Falcon III AN/PRC-152 radios, supplied by Harris Corporation RF Communications Division, in Shadow 200 UAVs. The radios, which have SINCGARS capability, will act as part of a relay system to extend the communication range for ground troops with obstructed line-of-sight.

Under contracts awarded in October 2008, 50 US Army systems are being fitted with laser designation systems and the Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL).

Shadow 200 is equipped with WESCAM 11SST (Step-Stare Turret), a lightweight EO payload. This payload provides a unique capability to rapidly cover a large area. The sensor captures seven video frames per second, images are compressed and streamed to the control station, where they are tiled together to create a hi-resolution digital image of a large area. 11SST covers up to 300km2 per hour, from an altitude or distance of 4,000m.

The payload can include an optional geo-positioning and image processing package that allows for flexible automatic positioning and automatic target tracking. The payload can also include third-generation 3-5nm InSb FLIR, an eyesafe laser rangefinder, and a colour daylight CCD sensor with x14 zoom lens (2.2-28.5mm).

Launch and recovery

The launch of the Shadow 200 TUAS can be conducted in two ways allowing the military personnel the flexibility to choose the most appropriate launch site during field operations. A standard wheeled take-off procedure can be used or the air vehicle can be launched from a hydraulic rail launcher.

The guidance of the air vehicle can be pre-programmed before take-off or remotely controlled during the flight.

The air vehicle climbs at a rate of 300m to 450m (1,000ft to 1,500ft) a minute. The vehicle has a cruise speed and quick-dash speed of 148km/h to 250km/h (80kt to 135kt) to proceed to the operating area. Its minimum speed is 111km/h (60kt).

The Shadow TUAS air vehicle can use a conventional wheeled landing on a flat surface about 95m in length. An alternative recovery method uses a deployable arresting hook on the air vehicle and ground based arresting cables.

Ground station

CDL Systems, based in Calgary, Alberta, was contracted to develop the vehicle control system software. The ground control station (GCS) is a sheltered ruggedised portable system with a suite of vehicle control and C4I interface software. The ground control segment of the system has been developed by AAI using pre-existing and proven hardware and software components. The software was modified to meet the operational requirements of the TUAV programme.

The portable ground control station (PGCS), one of the units of the ground control system, is installed in a set of rugged transit cases.

The rugged transit cases are easily transported and allow the PGCS to be rapidly set up and torn down in the field. The ground data terminal (GDT), that includes transmit and receive units and an antenna system, is easily set up without tools.

The PGCS and GDT are used to control the launch of the air vehicle, operation of the payload, the reception and display of the downloaded data from the sensors on the airborne platform and for the recovery of the air vehicle.

The forward battle commanders can view the area under surveillance using a remote video terminal (RVT). The RVT displays the observed view on a flat-panel screen display in near-real time. AAI Corporation developed the airborne video surveillance (AVS) capability demonstrated on the Shadow TUAS, with the US DOD Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).