Posted by Courtney E. HowardBINGEN, Wash., 20 Aug. 2011. Insitu Inc.’s ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system (UAS) worked alongside U.S. and NATO Forces in a 72-hour counter-terrorism surge supporting Operation Unified Protector (OUP), protecting civilians and reducing the flow of arms to Libya. The ScanEagle UAS, operating organically aboard USS Mahan (DDG 72), provided intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) support.
“What happened over that period of time, no one expected,” says ScanEagle Detachment Officer in Charge Lt. Nick Townsend. “ScanEagle was locating contacts of interest that no one else could find. After the dust settled, ScanEagle was credited with locating a host of contacts of interest due to its ability to capture superior image quality and to operate covertly at relatively low altitudes.”
Captured imagery was delivered from the ship to the task force via secure networked channels provided by the Secure Video Injection system from The Boeing Company, Insitu’s parent company. The UAV-provided, near-real-time video helped enable quick, tactical decisions.
ScanEagle's 24-hour endurance enabled its use in support of additional phases of the mission, such as battle damage assessment. ScanEagle delivered real-time, full-color imagery to improve overall battlefield awareness and mission effectiveness. Lt. Townsend commented that ScanEagle provided “shockingly effective combat support.”
The USS Mahan team was able to employ ScanEagle over a three-day period to obtain precise imagery--actionable intelligence--quickly. This event marked ScanEagle's second deployment aboard USS Mahan. The team achieved a 100 percent mission-readiness rate, accruing 1,154 flight hours and 167 sorties.
Insitu ScanEagle contract services maintain a 99 percent mission-readiness rate and the ability to respond to time-sensitive, unplanned tasking within 30 minutes of notification, reveals a company representative.
