40 Dossier | Insitu ScanEagle VTOL & Integrator VTOL “As a control console, we’ve designed it to be as open as possible to non-Insitu UAVs and computer peripherals. If the end-user wants to wirelessly connect a field tablet computer to it, or plug in five huge monitors and joysticks, they can,” Hartley says. “As we integrate different radios and data links for our systems, or for others, it is just a matter of putting those in ruggedised boxes, and connecting them with standard power and data interfaces via our Device Control Unit, which is what we call the central computer block in the CGCS.” Future Looking back over the way ScanEagle and Integrator have evolved since the early 2000s, one finds that Insitu’s UAVs entered life as disconnected systems, owned and operated outside of their users’ circles of control. But, as data links, networks and the need for multidomain solutions arose, the Washington company has toiled strenuously to reimagine its aircraft under the lenses of connectivity and standards compliance. “As people’s understanding of what small UAVs can do has advanced, so too have we seen opportunities to leverage technological advancements to extend the range of our platforms, both in terms of increased endurance, longer-distance connectivity and more robust autonomy,” Todorov says. On the last of these points, Todorov, Hartley and Pearce note that considerable work has gone into each stage of the extended logic tree that the ScanEagle and Integrator go through when the operator triggers a high-level function, encompassing both normal and emergency flight behaviours that they can engage in. They add that while many mission-specific autonomy engines are coming to market, both open-source and otherwise, system-wide vehicle autonomy is just as critical for the utility and survivability of uncrewed systems. “That is really what we see as the future of UAV engineering: users have increasing expectations around the aircraft’s ability to sense its environment and react accordingly, including maintaining normal flight control, without needing its operator’s permission to keep itself flying safely,” Todorov says. “With that in mind, we are receiving more requests from other Group 2 and Group 3 UAV manufacturers to licence some of our autonomy and automation subsystems, including I-Muse and INEXA. “So, as large as our ecosystem of suppliers is across North America, and as important as they will continue to be in our capacity as a provider of global ISR solutions and services, going forward we will likely take an increased role in the uncrewed industry as a supplier ourselves, providing the mission and vehicle systems we have innovated here back out to this industry that has supported us so consistently for so long.” June/July 2024 | Uncrewed Systems Technology ScanEagle VTOL Fixed-wing Spark-ignited engine Gasoline & heavy fuel Wingspan: 3.1 m Length: 1.71 m MTOW: 26.5 kg Max payload weight: 5 kg Max payload power: 150 W Maximum endurance: 18 hours Ceiling: 5950 m Max horizontal airspeed: 41.2 m/s (148.32 kph) Integrator VTOL Fixed-wing Spark-ignited engine Heavy fuel Wingspan: 4.9 m Length: 2.5 m MTOW: 74.8 kg Max payload weight: 18 kg Max payload power: 300 W Maximum endurance: 24 hours Ceiling: 5944 m Max horizontal airspeed: 46 m/s (165.6 kph) Some key suppliers ScanEagle-specific Autopilots: In-house Autopilots: Collins Aerospace Engines: NWUAV Engines: Orbital UAV Integrator-specific Autopilots: Collins Aerospace Embedded computers: VersaLogic Engine: In-house Engine: NWUAV Multi-sensor gimbals: Overwatch Imaging Both UAVs Antennas: In-house Antennas: Antcom Corporation Antennas: Radiall USA Antennas: NovAtel Carbon composite: Carbon by Design Carbon composite: Decavo Carbon composite: Sekisui Aerospace Gimbals: Hood Tech Vision GNSS: NovAtel Launch and recovery systems: Hood Tech Mechanical Launch and recovery systems: Zepher Multi-sensor gimbals: Overwatch Imaging Radios: Freewave Radios: L3 Radios: Persistent Systems Synthetic aperture radar: IMSAR Transponders: Sagetech Wide area optical sensors: Sentient Vision System Key specifications
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