USA: U..S ARMY TRAINING MILITARY TO USE AERIAL DRONE "SHADOW 200 TACTICAL UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE FOR RECONNAISSANCE

Record ID: 640704

  • Title: USA: U..S ARMY TRAINING MILITARY TO USE AERIAL DRONE "SHADOW 200 TACTICAL UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE FOR RECONNAISSANCE
  • Date: 7th November 2002
  • Summary: (U1) VICTORVILLE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 8, 2002) (REUTERS) PAN FROM EXTERIOR OF GROUND CONTROL VEHICLES, PAN TO DRONE SLV, SIDE VIEW OF DRONE ZOOM IN TO CAMERA UNIT MOUNTED ON BELLY OF DRONE WIDE OF DRONE PARKED ON TARMAC WITH TWO GUARDS SLV VIEW OF DRONE FROM REAR CLOSEUP OF WING AND PROPELLER (3 SHOTS) CLOSEUP OF CAMERA UNIT, TRACKING SHOT AROUND DRONE SMV SOLDIERS GUARDING DRONE, PAN TO DRONE ON TARMAC WIDE OF DRONE PARKED ON TARMAC PAN OF EXTERIOR OF GROUND CONTROL VEHICLES COVERED WITH CAMOFLAGE NETTING VARIOUS, OPERATOR CONSOLE INSIDE GROUND CONTROL VEHICLE, ZOOM IN TO SCREEN (2 SHOTS) CLOSEUP OF COMPUTER SCREEN VARIOUS OF COMPUTER SCREEN AND MONITOR WITH IMAGE ON SCREEN WIDE/ PAN OF OPERATING CONSOLE SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER PARRINELLO SAYING: "The difficulty in an urban fight which we refer to as MOUT (Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain) is that behind every door, behind every window, in every sewer there can be a potential enemy, so it's very hard for a person to identify someone who is hiding. And when there's a contact, when there's a sniping, we can divert the aircraft, circle over that area and with our optics either day or night identify that enemy force." SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) LIEUTENANT COLONEL JIM CASHWELL SAYING: "You can go up and down the street from six thousand feet and determine whether there are mines on the road, timber on the road, any obstructions at all and so it creates a situational awareness that the soldier would not otherwise have when he first drove into the street. And so the combination of an unmanned aerial vehicle, and that really is the power of it, it's unmanned. We're not putting somebody at risk to provide us all that information, we are literally driving it from a safe haven that's 30 kilometres away from here."
  • Embargoed: 22nd November 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: VICTORVILLE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Defence / Military,Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVAMTC265K6GODG73WNB4JLKN3J
  • Story Text: The U.S. Army is training soldiers to use its next generation aerial drone, known as the "Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle," to conduct reconnaissance missions in hostile terrain.
    The U.S. Army is investing in an aerial drone called the Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle as part of an effort to provide better reconnaissance data to infantry troops as they move through unfamiliar towns and cities.
    The remote-controlled aircraft can fly at relatively low speeds (approx. 120 km/h) for more than five hours and transmit a real-time image of hostile terrain to a ground control station located dozens of kilometres away. Using a single engine running on unleaded gasoline, the propeller-driven craft can fly at altitudes up to 4500m.
    Army officials consider the Shadow 200 to be a significant improvement on the previous generation, twin-engine "Hunter" aircraft, in part because of the Shadow's modest size and weight which allows for quick and cost-effective transport into a combat setting. Just as importantly, the craft can be launched from a catapult device making a takeoff runway unnecessary; also, the Shadow 200 does not require a trained pilot for launch and landing.
    At a training exercise in Victorville, California, one Army official explained the need for up-to-the minute airborne reconnaissance during urban combat. "Behind every door, behind every window, in every sewer there can be a potential enemy," explained the officer, Captain Christopher Parrinello.
    "So it's very hard for a person to identify someone who is hiding. And when there's a contact, when there's a sniping, we can divert the aircraft, circle over that area and with our optics, either day or night, identify that enemy force," he added.
    Parrinello's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Jim Cashwell was equally enthusiastic, adding: "You can go up and down the street from six thousand feet and determine whether there are mines on the road, timber on the road, any obstructions at all and so it creates a situational awareness that the soldier would not otherwise have when he first drove into the street."
    So far, Shadow 200 units have been delivered to the Army's 2nd, 4th and 25th Infantry Divisions, as well as to the 1st Cavalry Division.
    Just last month, defense officials approved full-rate production of the Shadow 200 for fiscal year 2003 calling for the delivery of 41 units, each consisting of four aircraft and two ground stations. But because of lengthy training and certification procedures, it is unlikely that any Shadow 200 units would be deployed into combat until the middle of 2003 at the earliest.
    The Shadow 200 system is manufactured by Hunt Valley, Maryland-based AAI, a subsidiary of New York-based United Industrial Corporation.
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