UV-Pacific 2012: Australia mulls lessons of Shadow procurement
The Australian Army is reflecting on the lessons learned after the first 1,000 hours of AAI RQ-7B Shadow 200 operations in Afghanistan.
The service currently has four platforms operating in Afghanistan, which were purchased as part of JP 129 Phase 2 programme, after a number of false starts in fielding a tactical UAV.
Speaking at the UV-Pacific conference in the Gold Coast, Australia on 24 May, Lt Col Nathan Loynes, commanding officer of the 20th Surveillance and Target Acquisition Regiment, said the Shadow achieved the 1,000 hours milestone on 14 May following its first flight in October 2011.
‘We have
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