AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems Awarded $358 Million for Upgraded U.S. Army and Marine Corps RQ-7B Shadow(R) TUAS

HAMPSHIRE, England, AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. TXT +1.20% company, announced today that it has received a $358 million award from the U.S. Army’s Program Manager – Unmanned Aircraft Systems for engineering support and system upgrades that will create a fleet of 45 upgraded RQ-7B Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (TUAS). Deliveries of 43 systems for the Army and two for the Marine Corps are expected to begin in late 2013. “The RQ-7B Shadow upgrade, dubbed V2 by the Army, includes enhancements to every part of the system, from the aircraft itself to the ground and support systems,” says Senior Vice President & General Manager Steven Reid of AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems. “It represents all of the agility and performance needed for current mission requirements, as well as robust capabilities to meet future needs. As a result, the Shadow system will perform even more reliably in core areas including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; target designation; communications relay; and battlefield damage assessment; but it also will excel in new missions such as manned/unmanned teaming.” The new RQ-7B Shadow aircraft builds on the same architecture that has proven highly successful on the current Shadow aircraft throughout nearly […]
AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems Awarded $358 Million for Upgraded U.S. Army and Marine Corps RQ-7B Shadow(R) TUAS