RQ-21A UAS commences IOT&E

written by australianaviation.com.au | January 31, 2014

The RQ-21A Blackjack is launched and retrieved the same way as the smaller ScanEagle UAS. (USMC)

The US Marine Corps’ new RQ-21A Blackjack unmanned system has commenced its initial operational test and evaluation period at Twentynine Palms in California.

Built by Insitu as the Integrator, a development of the smaller ScanEagle unmanned system that was operated by the Australian Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Blackjack was selected to fulfil the USMC’s Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (STUAS) requirement.