Insitu is being awarded a $35,507,379 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-11-C-0061) for additional operational and maintenance services in support of the ScanEagle unmanned aerial system.
ScanEagle
These services will provide electro-optical/infrared and mid-wave infrared imagery in support of land-based operations in Operation Enduring Freedom to provide real-time imagery and data. Work will be performed in Bingen, Wash., and is expected to be completed in December 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $35,507,379 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Boeing foresees customers using ScanEagle vehicles individually or in groups to loiter over trouble spots and provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data or communications relay. As standard payload ScanEagle carries either an inertially stabilized electro-optical or an infrared camera. The gimbaled camera allows the operator to easily track both stationary and moving targets, providing real-time intelligence. Capable of flying above 16,000 feet, the UAV has also demonstrated the ability to provide persistent low-altitude reconnaissance.
In April 2005, Boeing received a $14.5 million contract from the Navy for unmanned aerial vehicle services in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terror. Boeing is providing ScanEagle UAVs, communication links and ground equipment for Naval Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) and oil platform security in the Persian Gulf. The Navy awarded Boeing a $13 million contract modification in September 2005 to provide ScanEagle system support for Navy high-speed vessels and an afloat forward staging base as well.
The UAV’s unique ISR and long-endurance capabilities provide the Navy with real-time intelligence and situational awareness. For ESG missions, ScanEagle is ship-launched and recovered. Since being deployed with the Navy in July, ScanEagle already has surpassed 900 flight hours.
Boeing’s Navy contract followed on the heels of a U.S. Marine Corps contract signed in June 2004 to provide two ScanEagle mobile deployment units for use with the First Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq.
With 10,000 combat flight hours under its belt to date, ScanEagle has demonstrated that it is a valuable net-centric system that can provide real-time information to those who need it. ScanEagle’s imagery allows tactical commanders to develop a clearer picture of the battlefield, which in the end has resulted in improved situational awareness and saved lives.
The ScanEagle system also has been used to support the UK Ministry of Defence’s Joint UAV Experimentation Programme (JUEP), through an industry team that includes Thales, QinetiQ and Boeing. During trials conducted off the coast of Scotland, team JUEP successfully controlled ScanEagle flights from a Royal Navy warship, which was a UK-first. Proving its ability to support maritime operations and land reconnaissance, ScanEagle was launched from land and then handed over to the ship-based control station.
For a vehicle of its size, ScanEagle’s endurance/payload combination is unmatched. The UAV — four-feet long with a 10-foot wingspan — can remain on station for more than 15 hours. Planned variants will have an endurance of more than 30 hours.
