12 Facts About ScanEagle

1.

Boeing Insitu ScanEagle is a small, long-endurance, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, and is used for reconnaissance.

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2.

The ScanEagle was designed by Insitu based on the Insitu SeaScan, a commercial UAV that was intended for fish-spotting.

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3.

The ScanEagle continues to receive improvements through upgrades and changes.

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4.

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.

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5.

ScanEagle emerged as the result of a strategic alliance between Boeing and Insitu.

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6.

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.

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7.

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 asset capable of covering up to 80 times more area in a single sortie than is possible with standard cameras.

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8.

On 15 and 16 October 2008, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducted three successful test flights of the ScanEagle, launching it from the fisheries and oceanographic research ship NOAAS Oscar Dyson in Puget Sound, Washington, flying it remotely from the ship, and recovering it back aboard.

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9.

In 2009, the NOAA oceanographic research ship NOAAS McArthur II began operating a ScanEagle owned by the University of Alaska to monitor the distribution and population of seals in the Bering Sea.

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10.

Insitu announced that the ScanEagle had totaled 500,000 combat flight hours and over 56,000 sorties by July 2011.

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11.

In September 2011, Insitu revealed the ScanEagle had been employed by the US Navy in Operation Unified Protector during the 2011 Libyan Revolution.

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12.

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 US airspace for commercial purposes.

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