Textron to perform Shadow Block III upgrade
Upgrade contract for Shadow comes after US Army conducted Follow-on Operational Test and Evaluation (FOT&E) of the Block III configuration in late 2020.
The RQ-7B Shadow Tactical UAS (TUAS) is being upgraded by OEM Textron Systems, the company announced on 18 March.
Under a US Army contract worth up to $607 million over five years, Textron will provide contractor logistics support, field services, and engineering support along with the retrofit of the existing Shadow Block II to upgraded Block III configuration.
Work is scheduled to begin immediately.
‘This award follows a highly successful Follow-on Operational Test and Evaluation (FOT&E) of the Block III configuration by the Army in late 2020,’ Textron added.
Block III replaces the current POP-300 EO/IR payload with a larger MX-10D multi-sensor, multi-spectral imaging and targeting system from L3Harris. Block III also includes a new water-cooled engine to reduce the acoustic signature of the TUAS.
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