Il Boeing ScanEagle è un piccolo drone ad alta autonomia

Il Boeing ScanEagle è un piccolo drone ad alta autonomia prodotto dall'omonima compagnia e utilizzato da varie aviazioni militari per la ricognizione, ma anche per uso commerciale civile.

Sviluppo

Lo ScanEagle ha origine dal progetto SeaScan, per opera dell'azienda Insitu Inc. e finalizzato a compiere opere di studio meteorologico, oltre che zoologico seguendo gli spostamenti dei pesci. Le caratteristiche richieste per tali scopi (dimensioni ridotte, autonomia di 20 ore, capacità di volo in ambienti marini, sistemi di decollo e atterraggio più pratici) hanno attirato l'attenzione anche per operazioni militari. Questo ha portato nel 2004 a una partnership con la Boeing (che più tardi ha acquisito nel 2008 la Insitu), entrando subito nel mercato con un primo contratto per la United States Marine Corps, durante la guerra in Iraq.

Ma lo ScanEagle non è solo un drone, bensì una vera e propria famiglia di droni. Al modello originale si aggiunge una versione "NightEagle" per missioni notturne. Dal gennaio 2013 la Insitu collabora con la Orbital Corporation, realizzando nel settembre 2014 un nuovo propulsore per lo ScanEagle 2. Questa versione è stata introdotta nell'ottobre 2014 ed è caratterizzata da peso e lunghezza maggiori, ma autonomia ridotta. Nel maggio 2018, infine, è stato presentato lo ScanEagle 3 alla Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Xponential.

Caratteristiche

Questi aeromobili a pilotaggio remoto sono caratterizzati da decollo su catapulta e atterraggio senza ruote, ma con aggancio su "skyhook", permettendo di operare anche a bordo di navi. Le prestazioni includono una lunga autonomia (+24 ore), superiore anche a diversi droni di classe MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance), benché il suo limite di peso del carico utile sia significativamente più piccolo. Il modello base presenta un'apertura alare di 3,11 m, con due stabilizzatori alle estremità, una lunghezza di 1,55 m e peso massimo al decollo di 22 kg, con un carico permesso di 3,4 kg. Le prestazioni includono una tangenza di 5 950 m, un'autonomia di oltre 24 ore, una velocità massima di 148,3 m/s e una velocità di crociera di 111,2 m/s, per mezzo di un motore a elica spingente della potenza di 60 W.

NightEagle

Nell'arco di 2-3 ore il drone si può convertire nella versione "NightEagle", specializzata per compiere missioni di sorveglianza, intelligence e ricognizione notturna. È equipaggiato con un sistema MWIR (Medium Wave InfraRed) di telecamere a infrarossi che ha riscosso successo, permettendo di operare anche in condizioni di nebbia, polvere o pioggia, oltre a fornire uno zoom più continuo e un più ampio campo visivo. Rispetto al modello base ha una lunghezza di 1,64 m, stessa apertura alare e un'autonomia di oltre le 18 ore, mentre nella conformazione differisce per un muso a bulbo e un terzo stabilizzatore verticale posto sulla fusoliera.

ScanEagle Compressed Carriage

Un'altra versione è data dallo ScanEagle "Compressed Carriage" (SECC), dotato di ali pieghevoli in modo da essere lanciato da un aereo, venendo sganciato, per poi aprirsi. Ha fatto il suo primo volo il 12 maggio 2010.

ScanEagle 2

Nell'ottobre 2014 è stato introdotto il modello ScanEagle 2, la cui differenza più evidente è il muso a bulbo preso dal NighEagle, permettendo di combinare sensori diurni e notturni con un marcatore laser. L'apertura alare resta di 3,11 m, ma la lunghezza viene portata a 1,71 m, il carico utile a 3,5 kg e il peso massimo al decollo a 23,5 kg. Con queste modifiche la velocità resta invariata, mentre l'autonomia si riduce da 24 a 16 ore. Lo ScanEagle 2 è alimentato da un motore a combustibile pesante (JP-5 o JP-8) della Orbital Corporation. Si tratta del primo sistema alternativo di propulsione a combustione interna progettato appositamente per APR più piccoli e consente di aumentare l'affidabilità e ridurre i costi del ciclo di vita. Questo sistema di propulsione include anche un nuovo sistema di controllo, che offre monitoraggio in tempo reale di tutti i sistemi vitali, sensori e attuatori. A ciò si aggiunge un sistema di iniezione diretta di carburante FlexDITM brevettata dalla Orbital, che conferisce prestazioni ottimali al motore. Rispetto alla prima versione presenta una potenza incrementata da 60 W a 100 W o 150 W, a seconda del tipo di motore.

ScanEagle 3

Lo ScanEagle 3 è stato introdotto nel maggio 2018 e si distingue perché combina le capacità dei due droni ScanEagle e Integrator (chiamato anche Blackjack) della Insitu. È progettato per svolgere molteplici missioni commerciali, che vanno dalla gestione di catastrofi naturali, ricerca di risorse minerarie o petrolifere, fino alle ricerche oceanografiche, offrendo prestazioni e capacità di carico migliorate. Nella conformazione è un incrocio tra i due UAV, avendo muso e fusoliera come lo ScanEagle e la configurazione a doppia coda dell'impennaggio presa dall'integrator. Lo ScanEagle 3 ha una lunghezza compresa tra 2,3 m e 2,5 m, un'apertura alare estesa a 4 m e un peso massimo al decollo di 36,3 kg. Il drone offre una capacità di carico di 9,1 kg e una facile integrazione per merito della struttura modulare. Il carico comprende una torretta elettro-ottica (EO), dotata di una telecamera e un telescopio EO, oltre a una telecamera MWIR e due sensori ottici. Come nello ScanEagle 2 anche questa versione è mossa da un motore JP-5 o JP-8 e il sistema di alimentazione ha una potenza aumentata a 170 W. Le prestazioni includono una velocità massima di 148 km/h, velocità di crociera compresa tra 74 e 93 km/h, tangenza di 6 096 m e un'autonomia fino a 18 ore.

Yasir

Lo Yasir è un modello prodotto senza licenza in Iran, basato sul velivolo della Boeing. Viene prodotto dalla Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO) in seguito alla cattura di uno ScanEagle entrato negli spazi aerei iraniani nel dicembre 2012. Le prestazioni includono una velocità massima di 145 km/h, velocità di crociera di 113 km/h, tangenza di 4 575 m e una capacità di percorrere fino a 450 km.

Utilizzatori

Grazie a una combinazione di versatilità, lunga autonomia e dimensioni ridotte ha riscosso molto successo nel mercato globale e senza compromettere radicalmente il mercato di APR convenzionali:

• Afghanistan Esercito nazionale dell'Afghanistan
• Australia Royal Australian Navy
• Camerun Esercito Camerunense
• Canada Canadian Army
• Colombia Fuerza Aérea Colombiana - Armada de la República de Colombia
• Filippine Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas
• Giappone Rikujō Jieitai
• Indonesia Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut
• Iran Forze armate dell'Iran – lo Yasir prodotto senza licenza
• Iraq Forze armate irachene
• Italia Marina Militare Italiana - acquistati nel 2013 2 sistemi, ciascuno comprendente 4 velivoli, stazione di controllo a terra e relative attrezzature.
• Kenya Forze di difesa del Kenya
• Libano Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiyya al-Lubnaniyya
• Lituania Lietuvos ginkluotosios pajėgos
• Malaysia Angkatan Tentera Malaysia-ATM
• Paesi Bassi Koninklijke Landmacht
• Pakistan Pak Bahr'ya
• Polonia Wojska Lądowe
• Rep. Ceca Armáda České republiky
• Singapore Marina militare di Singapore
• Spagna Armada Española
• Regno Unito Royal Navy
• Stati Uniti United States Air Force - United States Marine Corps - United States Navy - United States Coast Guard - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Tunisia Forze armate della Tunisia
• Vietnam Các Lực lượng Vũ trang Nhân Dân Việt Nam
• Yemen Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiyya al-Yamaniyya.

ENGLISH

The Boeing Insitu ScanEagle is a small, long-endurance, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 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.

Design and development

ScanEagle 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 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 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 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 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, a ground control station, remote video terminal, the SuperWedge launch system and Skyhook recovery system.

Improvements

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 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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 km2) 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 a US Government weapons export licence.

Operational history

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 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, 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 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, 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 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, 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 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, 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 the Royal Navy's Unmanned Warrior exercise in 2016.

Iranian capture and reverse engineering claims

In December 2012, Iran stated it had captured an American ScanEagle that allegedly violated its airspace over 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 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 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, has an endurance of 8 hours, and an operational radius of 200 km.

Variants:

• ScanEagle X200 - A civilian-variant with a restricted category type certificate issued by the United States Federal Aviation Administration.
• CU-169 - Canadian military designation for the ScanEagle.
• MQ-27A and MQ-27B - U.S. military designations for the ScanEagle.
• ScanEagle RM1 - Royal Navy designation for basic military variant.

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