AAI RQ-7 Shadow
The AAI RQ-7 Shadow is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the United States Army, Australian Army, Swedish Army, Turkish Air Force and Italian Army for reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and battle damage assessment. Launched from a trailer-mounted pneumatic catapult, it is recovered with the aid of arresting gear similar to jets on an aircraft carrier. Its gimbal-mounted, digitally stabilized, liquid nitrogen-cooled electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) camera relays video in real time via a C-band line-of-sight data link to the ground control station (GCS).
| RQ-7 Shadow | |
|---|---|
| A Shadow UAS in flight | |
| Role | Tactical reconnaissance UAS for ground maneuver forces Unmanned combat aerial vehicle (optionally) |
| Manufacturer | AAI Corporation |
| First flight | 1991 |
| Introduction | 2002 |
| Status | Active, in production |
| Primary users | United States Army 9 other users |
| Number built | 500+ |
| Developed from | AAI RQ-2 Pioneer |
The US Army's 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, trains soldiers, Marines, and civilians in the operation and maintenance of the Shadow UAS. The Shadow is operated in the U.S. Army at brigade-level.