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AUVSI: Insitu hits major milestones with Scan Eagle
Boeing subsidiary Insitu is positioned well after reaching a number of major milestones with its Scan Eagle UAS and passing the critical design phases for its new Integrator offering.
CEO and President Steve Sliwa said that Scan Eagle had recently surpassed 200,000 operational hours and that the company had gained a wealth of experience from the use of the system in theatre. A number of customers use the Scan Eagle, but the lion's share of those operational hours have been logged by the US Navy (USN) and US Marine Corps (USMC). The UAV has been integrated aboard 24 different ships since becoming operational in 2005 as well as being used ashore by the USMC.
Another major milestone reached last week was 25,000 operational hours flight of a heavy fuel engine (HFE) powered Scan Eagle. Sliwa said that this version of Scan Eagle was now deployed aboard seven ships and demonstrated the company's commitment to providing its customers with the best service.
The HFE, developed jointly by Sonex Research and Insitu, was certified 18 months ago. Sliwa said that the engine, which includes proprietary Insitu intellectual property, gives the company a competitive edge over its rivals, particularly in the maritime domain.
The high demand for the system means that the company has now completed production of over 1,000 Scan Eagles. To reach that milestone the company has ramped up production of the UAV - at the start of the year the company was producing around 30 air vehicles a month, but is now manufacturing more than 50 a month.
On the sensor front the company expects to fly Scan Eagle with a cooled IR sensor for the first time this month in operations for one of its customers.
Turning to the company's new UAV Sliwa said that the first operational deployment of Integrator could happen as early as the first quarter of next year. The service provision contract the company has in place with Canada means that the company could swap out Scan Eagle for Integrator and be rewarded with extra cash for the upgrade in the service.
Sliwa said that the company was pursuing a two-pronged development of Integrator. Insitu is using its own funds to pursue the development of what it is calling 'Commercial Integrator' while it continues to await a decision from the USN on the Tier II/small tactical UAS project.
The commercial system, which is the version that could see operational deployment with Canadian forces, has passed both preliminary and critical design reviews Sliwa stated. The system has been demonstrated to several potential customers and Insitu continues to be bullish about its prospects.
By Darren Lake, Washington DC
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