Army UAV, Then and Now: The RP-71 and RQ-7
The Army’s use of balloons and aircraft for observation and
reconnaissance missions date back to pre-World War I. But it wasn’t until the
1950s when the service began experiments and trials into its first unmanned
aerial vehicle (UAV).
The Army’s Signal
Corps used Radioplane Company’s drone designated as RP-71 for reconnaissance
testing at Fort Huachuca, Arizona (Blom, 2010). Solid rocket boosters launched
the RP-71 from a metal launcher. Capable of cruising speeds of up to 224 miles
per hour, it operates at altitudes up to 20,000 feet and stay aloft for up to
30 minutes. Crews can launch the RP-71 in a matter of minutes and was designed
to be used by combat troops close to the front lines. Using a rudimentary
ground control station, a controller on the ground flew the drone beyond the
forward line of troops into enemy territory to perform its surveillance
mission. After the mission it was flown back to friendly territory where the
operator can safely recover the UAV. Recovery consisted of cutting the engines
and deploying a parachute to allow the craft to safely float down. The troops were
able to process the captured film footage in very little time and into the
hands of the commander to aid his wartime decisions. The Army gave later
variants of the RP-71 the designation AN/USD-1 System, or commonly known as the
SD-1, which was taken to mean “surveillance drone.” In the 1960s the SD-1
systems were re-designated as MQM-57s. Radioplane, later bought by Northrop
Grumman, built approximately 1500 MQM-57s for the Army that remained in service
until the 1970s (Northrop Radioplane RP-71 Falconer, SD-1, 2014).
Fast-forward 30 years
later, AAI Corporation developed the RQ-7 Shadow UAS for the Army and Marines’
intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance (ISR) and battlefield damage
assessment missions. Similar in concept to the RP-71, the Shadow UAV launches
into flight from a pneumatic-driven launcher. Close to the RP-71’s
specifications, the Shadow measures 12 feet in length and weighs in at about
467 pounds. However, the Shadow’s longer “wet” wing spans over 20 feet, almost
twice as long as the RP-71, giving it an extended endurance of about nine hours
(Cast A Powerful SHADOW®, 2014). Control comes from the ground control station
(GCS) housed in a ruggedized shelter mounted on the back of a High Mobility
Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) or from a miniaturized remote control
version the size of a travel luggage. Recovery of the Shadow UAV is a
controlled flight back to the launch/recovery area where it engages an
automatic landing system controlling its descent to the runway. The aircraft’s
momentum is then arrested by a mesh net system installed at the end of an
improvised or hard runway.
The MQM-57 and RQ-7 are both designed to be tactically deployed
with combatant units to support their ISR needs, and they were both highly
sought after by commanders at war. Advances in technology, however, give the
Shadow far more capabilities than its predecessor. Datalink technology links
the UAV with the GCS giving near real-time access to footage as it is being
taken. Advanced payload of cameras, radars, and sensors also give the Shadow
the ability to see “up to 125 kilometers away from the tactical operations
center, and recognize tactical vehicles up to 8,000 feet above the ground at
more than 3.5 kilometers slant range, day or night.” (Shadow, 2014).
The RQ-7 continues its modernization; using improved Tactical
Common Data Link for greater bandwidth and secure communications. And with the
Universal GCS it is capable of interoperability desirable on joint service
missions. With its proven track record the Shadow Tactical UAS will endure as
one of the Army’s premier choice for airborne ISR assets.
References
Barnhart, R. K. (2011). Introduction
to Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Boca Ratton: CRC Press.
Blom, J. D. (2010). Unmanned Aerial
Systems: A Historical Perspective. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies
Institute Press.
Cast A Powerful Shadow®. (2014, March 28).
Retrieved from AAI Corporation:
https://www.aaicorp.com/sites/default/files/datasheets/aai_shadow_200.pdf
Northrop Radioplane RP-71 Falconer,
SD-1.
(2014, March 28). Retrieved from Western Museum of Flight:
http://www.wmof.com/rp71falconer.html
Shadow. (2014, March 29).
Retrieved from AAI Corporation:
https://www.aaicorp.com/products/unmanned/shadow
Unmanned Aircraft Systems: PercePtions
& Potential. (2014, March 26). Retrieved from AIA-Aerospace.org:
http://www.aia-aerospace.org/assets/AIA_UAS_Report_small.pdf
