page_title: AAI RQ-7 Shadow
section_title: RQ-7B Shadow
hierarchical_section_title: AAI RQ-7 Shadow / Variants / RQ-7B Shadow
caption_attribution_description: English: Spc. Raymond Poltera, a Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Mech with 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, launches an RQ-7B Shadow 200 TUAV on Camp Taji, Aug. 11. The Shadow provides commanders on the ground throughout the MND-B area of operations the ability to quite literally see the entire battlefield.
context_page_description: The AAI RQ-7 Shadow is an American unmanned aerial vehicle used by the United States Army, Australian Army, Swedish Army, 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 camera relays video in real time via a C-band line-of-sight data link to the ground control station.
  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.
context_section_description: Production of Shadow aircraft shifted to a generally improved RQ-7B variant in the summer of 2004. The RQ-7B features new wings increased in length to 14 ft (4.3 m). The new wings are not only more aerodynamically efficient, they are "wet" to increase fuel storage up to 44 liters for an endurance of up to 6 hours. The payload capability has been increased to 45 kilograms (99 pounds). After reports from Iraq that engines were failing, in 2005, the Army's UAV project manager called for the use of 100LL, an aviation fuel, rather than the conventional 87 octane mogas. Avionics systems have been generally improved, and the new wing is designed to accommodate a communications relay package, which allows the aircraft to act as a relay station. This allows commanders or even the aircraft operators themselves to communicate via radio to the troops on ground in locations that would otherwise be "dead" to radio traffic.
  The Shadow can operate up to 125 km (78 mi) from its brigade tactical operations center, and recognize tactical vehicles up to 8,000 ft (2,400 m) above the ground at more than 3.5 km (2.2 mi) slant range.
  Other incremental improvements to the system include replacing the AR741-1100 engine with the AR741-1101 which increases reliability through the use of dual spark plugs as well as limiting the fuel to 100LL. Also, the older POP200 payload was replaced with the newer POP300 system. In February 2010, AAI began a fleet update program to improve the Shadow system. The improvements include installing the wiring harnesses and software updates for IAI's POP300D payload which includes a designator for guiding laser-guided bombs. Other improvements in the program will include an electronic fuel injection engine and fuel system to replace the AR741-1101's carburetted engine. The most visible improvement to the system will be a wider wing of 20 feet (6.1 m) in span which is designed to increase fuel capacity and allow for mission endurance of almost 9 hours. The new wings will also include hardpoints for external munitions.
  A joint Army-Marine program is testing IED jamming on a Shadow at MCAS Yuma. Another joint effort is to view a 4 km × 4 km (2.5 mi × 2.5 mi) ground area from 3,650 m (12,000 feet).
  The Army is now proposing the upgraded Shadow 152A, which includes Soldier Radio Waveform software, which allows both the command post and their troops to see the images that the UAV is projecting, as long as they are on the same frequency. It also increases the distance and area of communication.
  Preliminary TCDL testing conducted at Dugway Proving Ground was a success. This led to an estimated fielding date of May 2010 for TCDL. In March 2015, the first Shadow unit was equipped with the upgraded RQ-7BV2 Shadow version.  New capabilities for the BV2 include the TCDL, encryption of video and control data-links, software that allows interoperability between other UAS platforms, integration of a common control station and control terminal for all Army UAS platforms, an electronic fuel-injection engine, and increased endurance to nine hours through a lengthened wingspan of 20 ft (6.1 m), with weight increased to 204 kg (450 lb). Shadow systems are being upgraded at a rate of 2-3 per month, with all Army Shadows planned to become BV2s by 2019.
caption: The RQ-7B leaves its launcher.
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