Canada orders RQ-21A Blackjack UAS
The Canadian Department of National Defense is set to acquire the RQ-21A Blackjack UAS, with an agreement for the UAS signed with the US Navy, Naval Air Systems Command announced on 29 August.
The deal will see one RQ-21A Blackjack delivered to the Canadian Army in the 2017 timeframe.
This marks the first international sale for the RQ-21A. Built by Insitu, Blackjack is comprised of five air vehicles, two ground control stations, and runway-independent launch and recovery equipment. The UAS is eight feet long with a wingspan of 16ft and endurance of 10-12 hours. Its open-architecture configuration designed to integrate multiple sensor payloads.
Col Eldon Metzger, PMA-263 program manager, said: ‘We are very pleased to have our Canadian allies and neighbours as our first foreign military sales case and look forward to helping them grow their small tactical UAS capability and ensure maximum interoperability with our assets, if desired.’
The Blackjack is currently underway with USS San Antonio on its maiden shipboard deployment. The aircraft successfully completed its first operational flight in early July.
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