The Army is deploying version 2 upgrades to its RQ-7B Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle, an update that will integrate with the service's Blue Force Tracker 2 platform, among other improvements.
Beyond Blue Force Tracker and JTRS, v2 updates also include a Joint Tactical Radio System relay, voice over Internet protocol capabilities, universal operator support, reliability improvements to system software, improved ability to withstand weather elements and a new block III engine, according to Lt. Col. Tory Burgess, Shadow UAS product manager for Army Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
The v2 upgrade also will incorporate encryption protection on video and control data links, software enhancements that will allow interoperability between Army UAS platforms, a common control station and control terminal for all Army UAS platforms and an expeditionary portable control system.
Ultimately, those improvements will increase commonality and interoperability, reduce lifecycle costs and improve the ability to control the Shadow from greater distances, Burgess said.
The Army will field two to three Shadow v2 systems per month for the next four to five years, deploying to every Army combat aviation brigade and every Marine Corps unmanned aerial vehicle squadron, Burgess said May 5 at the AUVSI conference in Atlanta. V2 will be fielded in 28 states plus Germany, South Korea and Italy.
While the first version of Shadow weighed 280 pounds, v2 weighs 480 pounds – hence the need for the block III engine, Burgess said.
The upgrades to the Shadow fit in with broader Army emphasis on teaming manned and unmanned capabilities, Burgess said.
"It's huge – it's this enormous thing where it's manned-unmanned anything," he said. "From an aviation perspective, we want to take strengths of manned systems and the strength of unmanned systems and get that synergy that neither could have on its own."
The 1/501st Aviation Battalion, 1st Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade out of Fort Bliss, Texas, was the first group to be outfitted with the Shadow v2, which was completed in April, according to the Army. The next units to be equipped will be the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade this summer and the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade by the end of fiscal year 2016.
