FLARES

Insitu, a Boeing company, in collaboration with Hood Tech, has released new capability upgrades for its Flying Launch and Recovery System, or FLARES, aimed at expanding the operational reach of the long-endurance Integrator uncrewed aerial system. The updates were announced on December 17, 2025, and are focused on improving resilience, communications, and expeditionary performance in demanding environments. According to Insitu, the latest FLARES upgrades are designed to allow the Integrator UAS to operate more reliably during extended deployments in harsh climatic conditions and electronically contested environments. The company said the enhancements strengthen the system’s ability to support maritime and land-based missions without sacrificing endurance, range, or payload capacity. “Our updated, resilient VTOL kit for multi-mission Integrator is a game-changer for customers that need truly expeditionary capability in challenging electronic and climatic environments,” said Diane Rose, Insitu CEO. “This enhanced resilience paired with battle-proven Integrator’s long endurance and multi-intelligence payload capacity enables our customers to fly expanded mission sets with confidence anytime, anywhere, even in the most contested environments.” The FLARES system enables vertical takeoff and landing operations for the Integrator UAS, allowing launch and recovery from confined areas as small as a 10-by-10-meter footprint. Insitu said this capability remains unchanged under the new upgrade, while endurance continues to reach up to 27.5 hours, with a point-to-point range of up to 2,000 nautical miles and payload capacity of up to 50 pounds across 10 bays. The latest update introduces several resilience and performance improvements. These include enhanced environmental tolerance to support operations in high winds, heavy seas, adverse weather, and complex terrain. Insitu also added encrypted GPS options and jam-resistant datalinks to improve mission reliability when operating in contested or denied environments. Updated navigation solutions are intended to improve performance during GNSS-contested operations, allowing the aircraft to maintain autonomy when satellite navigation signals are degraded or disrupted. The company also highlighted improved supportability, with rapidly replaceable components such as propellers designed to reduce downtime and simplify field maintenance. FLARES has also been upgraded to support increased launch weights, giving operators more flexibility when configuring payloads while maintaining endurance and operational range. Hood Tech, which worked alongside Insitu on the system’s development and testing, said the platform has been pushed beyond typical operational limits during qualification trials. “Throughout qualification testing together with Insitu, we find ourselves continuing to fly FLARES in more wind, more precipitation and more deck motion than our competitors,” said Cory Roeseler, Lead Engineer at Hood Tech Mechanical. “We have the test range to ourselves in adverse weather, and we’re pleased to see opportunities arise as customers gravitate towards our safe, robust and very capable system.” Insitu said Integrator is equipped with multiple beyond-line-of-sight satellite communications options, including support for proliferated low Earth orbit satellite constellations. This allows for remote-split operations and missions conducted at extended distances, particularly useful for maritime surveillance and expeditionary missions. As noted by the company, the FLARES upgrade is available to current and future Integrator customers without requiring modifications to the aircraft. Setup and deployment procedures remain unchanged, allowing the system to be rapidly packed, transported, and deployed in forward locations. When paired with Insitu’s Common Ground Control System and INEXA Control, FLARES provides what the company describes as an expeditionary Group 3 UAS capability designed to operate in contested electronic environments and difficult climates. Insitu said the system continues to be optimized for both maritime and land applications, supporting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions for government and commercial operators. Insitu is a Boeing subsidiary specializing in autonomous uncrewed air systems, with a product line that includes the ScanEagle and Integrator platforms. The company also develops command-and-control and data-processing solutions, along with a range of sensor, communications, and electronic warfare payloads.

FLARES

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FLARES

Insitu rolls out FLARES upgrades for Integrator drone

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