Army UAV, Then and Now: The RP-71 and RQ-7

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