25 users realised what 15-25 kg UAVs were technologically capable of. As Michael Hartley, product manager for the Insitu ScanEagle, says: “In much of its early military usage, ScanEagle really just flew full-motion video payloads, but then demand for additional payload capabilities started coming in, specialised for varying mission sets. “In its second decade, there was a significant design effort throughout Insitu to modernise ScanEagle from its old, serial-based, analogue architecture to a system of digital networks, high-end computers and modular adaptability, with the result that what customers are flying today is technologically very different to what flew in Iraq in 2005.” The Integrator has built on the lessons gleaned from ScanEagle, initially to serve requests from the US Navy and Marine Corps in 2007. This morphed into the Small Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (STUAS) competition, which Insitu won in 2010 (under the product designation of RQ-21A Blackjack). “Like ScanEagle, Integrator has predominantly been used as an ISR platform, but, technologically, it has evolved past that as market applications for its higher endurance and payload capacity have grown and diversified to include ISTAR [intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance] and maritime domain awareness,” says Steven Todorov, Insitu’s senior product manager for the Integrator UAS. As of writing, the Integrator has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 74.8 kg, a wingspan of 4.9 m and a length of 2.5 m, with an 18 kg payload weight limit and 350 W of payload power capacity. Through its engine it can achieve airspeeds of 90 knots (46 m/s), altitudes of 19,500 ft (5944 m) and endurances of up to 24 hours (or 16 hours at maximum payload). The ScanEagle, by contrast, has a 26.5 kg MTOW, a 3.1 m wingspan and a length of 1.71 m length. Maximum endurance is 18 hours, with a flight ceiling of 5950 m and an 80 knot top speed. These differences mark the complementary nature of the two platforms. Integrator may be slightly larger and heavier, with advantages in endurance and payload capacity, but it nonetheless leverages vast portions of the technical know-how gained from ScanEagle’s development. To Insitu, one of the most important shared technical properties between the ScanEagle and Integrator is their historic use of the same launch and recovery equipment (LRE). For most of the last 20 years, this has consisted of the company’s well-documented Mark 4 pneumatic launch catapult and SkyHook rope-capture assembly. But, today, as vehicle take-off and landing (VTOL)-transitioning has taken the UAV world by storm as a must-have capability across all applications, Insitu has optimised and matured its Flying Launch and Recovery System (FLARES), developed by Hood Tech Mechanical, as a mission-ready solution for VTOL with either UAV. Insitu ScanEagle VTOL & Integrator VTOL | Dossier Uncrewed Systems Technology | June/July 2024 Insitu’s ScanEagle (pictured) and Integrator UAVs are two of the longest continually produced uncrewed vehicles in the world (Images courtesy of Insitu) Through FLARES, Integrator (pictured) and ScanEagle are now VTOL-capable, but lose none of their aero or other performance qualities to onboard lift rotors
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