AAI (Textron) RQ-7 Shadow

History

The AAI Corporation RQ-7 Shadow is a tactical reconnaissance drone currently in service with the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. The system serves as a day/night, targeting, surveillance and battlefield assessment platform for ground commanders.

The RQ-7 Shadow is similar in design to AAI's previous UAV offerings in the RQ-2 Pioneer, which has seen extensive service over Iraq and Afghanistan.

In terms of design, the Shadow features a straight single high wing mounted to the rear of the fuselage. The fuselage itself was smooth, with a flat surface, and the fixed landing gear consisted of two main wheels and a front wheel.

Tubular tail booms extend from the trailing edge of each wing, straddling the rear-mounted propeller-driven thrust motors. The tail ends in a distinctive upward sloping shape. The heart of the system is a real-time electro-optical/infrared relay camera mounted under the hull.

The camera comes with a gimbal and digital stabilization.

Shadow drones do not have the ability to work independently, so the integrated components that make up the complete shadow system are deployed. The Shadow system consists of four Shadow drones, an orbital launch trailer, passenger vehicles, and two ground stations.

Shadows are launched from the rails and retrieved via tail hooks on the runway. The preparation time for a shadow to float in the air can be as short as 1 hour.

The RQ-7A is just over 11 feet long, with a wingspan of nearly 13 feet and a height of 3 feet. The system has an empty weight of approximately 165 pounds and a maximum payload of 328 pounds. Power comes from a UEL AR-741 rotary engine with a displacement of 208cc and 38 hp.

The engine is "pushed" at the very end of the fuselage nacelle. The ceiling is reported to be as high as 14,000 feet and the battery life is about 5 hours.

The RQ-7B variant improves on the original A-series model in almost every way. The wing has been redesigned with a larger surface area and a new airfoil and tail. Fuel capacity has been increased, effectively increasing the Shadow's runtime limit to 7 hours (up from 5 hours on the first production models). Payload options have been expanded and the data link system has been upgraded to Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL).

Production of the RQ-7B began in the summer of 2004.

In addition to providing ground commanders with a real-time "bird's-eye view" of the battlefield, Shadow is also able to deliver and drop valuable medical supplies to ground troops via the "Quick-MEDS (Medical Emergency Delivery System)". Two of these 20-pound canisters that can deliver "signal interception" packages under the wings are also in development.

Over 550 Shadow drones have been built and operators now include the US (Army, Navy and Marine Corps), Australia, Italy, Pakistan, Romania and Sweden. There are more than 450 units in the U.S. Army.

The name RQ-7 is derived from the Department of Defense's UAV designation system. The "R" stands for reconnaissance, while the "Q" means it's a drone. The number "7" indicates that it is the seventh dedicated drone in a family of drones used by the U.S. military.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes