Eye in the sky

Pentagon workers inspect a Shadow 200 unmanned aerial vehicle and launching ramp. Photo by Jim Garamone

By Jim Garamone
THE war in Afghanistan has proven the abilities of military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

The US Army showed off its newest UAV at a static display at the Pentagon last month.

The Shadow 200 is a tactical vehicle meant to accompany initial entry ground forces. The aerial vehicle has a 13-foot wingspan and can stay aloft up to 14 000 feet over a target for five to six hours. It can fly off a ramp or an airfield and land on a field the size of a soccer pitch.

Shadow 200 looks like a grown-up radio-controlled aircraft.

But the pictures it transmits back to its ground station are anything but amateur. The images on the full-colour display are sharp and easily transmitted on a tactical operations network.

Sgt 1st Class Hector Godoy, a platoon sergeant with E Coy, 305th Military Intelligence Bn, Fort Huachuca, Arizona, said it takes six months to train the air vehicle operators and mission payload operators.

The 22 members of a Shadow platoon can handle 24-hour surveillance missions. One Hercules can deliver everything the system needs to operate for 72 hours, officials said.

Sgt Godoy said air vehicle operators and mission payload specialists must pass the same physical exams as pilots of manned aircraft.

Army leaders are expected to decide soon whether to proceed to full production.

If approved, the Army would buy 41 systems, each consisting of three Shadow 200 air vehicles, two ground control stations, one portable ground station and four remote video terminals to provide near-real-time video to commanders.
– American Forces Press Service