Aerial drone manufacturer Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary, has reported that its Integrator tactical Unmanned Aircraft System broke a new record.
As noted by the company, the Integrator drone flew 25.5 hours on an operational mission. The previous record was set in 2014 by unmanned aircraft that had been in the air for twenty-four hours and twenty minutes.
The Integrator, known to the U.S. Army service as the RQ-21 Blackjack, is multi-mission unmanned aircraft that can be launched from remote land or a very small naval vessel.
The aircraft can be rapidly deployed with a limited footprint and provide anything from route reconnaissance and target confirmation to intelligence collection for both unilateral and multilateral operations. These capabilities are amplified by the system’s ability to extend its flight distance using spoke sites as a way of extending the hub site’s reach.
Integrator was developed using the tested technology of Insitu’s ScanEagle UAS, in response to the growing needs of military customers.
The multi-mission drone features a payload-centric design and can be configured with different payload options to support electronic warfare, communications relay or ISR missions.
The RQ-21 is a valuable source of accurate, real-time intelligence to the United States and allies such as Australia.