RQ-7B Shadow 200 UAS - Fort Huachuca, Arizona - Static Aircraft Displays on Waymarking.com

Text of plaque:

RQ-7B Shadow 200 UAS

The AAI Corporation RQ-7 Shadow is an unarmed tactical reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle currently in active service with the United States Army and Marine Corps.  The system serves as a day-night, target acquisition, surveillance and battlefield assessment platform by commanders on the ground.  The RQ-7 Shadow has seen extensive service in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan.

A Shadow system consists of four Shadow UAVs, a rail launch trailer, personnel vehicles and two ground stations.  The Shadow is rail-launched and recovered on a runway via a tail hook and Tactical Automated Landing System (TALS).  Preparation time to get a Shadow in the air can be as little as 1 hour.

The RQ-7B variant is an improvement over the original production A models in almost every way.  The wings have been redesigned with a larger surface and new airfoil along with a new tail unit.  Fuel capacity has been increased which has effectively increased the Shadow's operation endurance limit to 6 hours (up from 5 hours in initial production models).  Payload options have been expanded and the data link system has been upgraded to the Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL).  Production of the RQ-7B began in the summer of 2004.

102 Shadows are expected to be delivered with at least 20 already in operation as of January 2009.  Shadows have flown over 37,000 sorties and 300,000 flight hours with United States Army, Army National Guard, and United States Marine Corps units in Iraq.

RQ-7 derives its name from the Department of Defense designation system for UAV's.  The "R" stands for Reconnaissance while the "Q" designates it as an unmanned aircraft.  The number "7" notes it as the seventh purposely developed unmanned aircraft in the series of unmanned aerial aircraft systems in service with the U.S. Military.

Type of Aircraft: (make/model): RQ-7B Shadow 200 UAS Tail Number: (S/N): 1051 Construction:: original aircraft Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): Fort Huachuca inside / outside: outside Access restrictions: Access Fort Huachuca through main gates. Need government issued id for all adults. Need proof of insurance and registration for automobile. Access is normally open. Do not take photos of areas that are marked indicating no photography. Other Information:: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Photo of aircraft (required - will be interesting to see if the aircraft is ever repainted or progress if being restored)
Photo of serial number (required unless there is not one or it is a replica)
Photo(s) of any artwork on the aircraft (optional but interesting)

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