The RQ-21A uses the same catapult launcher and skyhook arrestor as the smaller ScanEagle UAS. (NAVAIR)
The USMC has made the first operational deployment of its new Insitu RQ-21A Blackjack unmanned system.
The deployment is being made by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron (VMU) 2 which is based at MCAS Cherry Point in North Carolina to the Middle East area of operations for ISR ground support missions.
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The RQ-21A is a development of Insitu’s ‘Integrator’ UAS, which itself was a growth development of the more familiar ScanEagle which the ADF and other operators successfully operated in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A typical RQ-21A system is comprised of five air vehicles, two ground control systems, and catapult launch and ‘skyhook’ recovery support equipment.
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