AAI RQ - 7 Shadow The RQ - 7 Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle ( UAV ) is used by the United States Army , Marine Corps , Australian Army and Swedish 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 ) . In the US , The Army ' s 2nd Battalion , 13th Aviation Regiment at Fort Huachuca , AZ , trains soldiers , Marines , and civilians in the operation and maintenance of the Shadow UAV . The training program is mainly undertaken by civilian instructors . Design . The RQ - 7 Shadow 200 unmanned aerial vehicle is of a high - wing , constant chord pusher configuration with a twin - tailboom empennage and an inverted v - tail elerudder . The aircraft is powered by a AR741 - 1101 Wankel engine designed and manufactured by UAV Engines Ltd in the United Kingdom . Onboard electrical systems are powered by a GEC / Plessey 28 volt , direct current , 2 , 000 watt generator . Currently , the primary payload for the aircraft is the Israeli Aircraft Industries POP300 Plug - in Optical Payload which consists of a forward - looking Infrared camera , a daytime TV camera with a selectable near - infrared filter and a laser pointer . The aircraft has fixed tricycle landing gear . Takeoffs are assisted by a trailer - mounted pneumatic launcher which can accelerate the 375 pound aircraft to in . Landings are guided by a Tactical Automatic Landing System developed by the Sierra Nevada Corporation which consists of a ground - based micro - millimeter wavelength radar and a transponder carried on the aircraft . Once on the ground , a tailhook mounted on the aircraft catches an arresting wire connected to two disk brake drums which can stop the aircraft in less than . The aircraft is part of a larger system which currently uses the M1152 - series of Humvee s for ground transport of all ground and air equipment . The system consists of four aircraft , three of which are transported in the Air Vehicle Transporter ( AVT ) . The fourth is transported in a specially designed storage container to be used as a spare . The AVT also tows the launcher . The AVT Support Vehicle and trailer contain extra equipment to launch and recover the aircraft , such as the Tactical Automatic Landing System . Maintenance equipment for the aircraft is stored in the Maintenance Section Multifunctional ( MSM ) vehicle and trailer as well as the M1165 MSM Support Vehicle and its associated trailer . The system also contains two HMMWV - mounted Ground Control Stations ( GCS ) which control the aircraft in flight . Each GCS has an associated Ground Data Terminal ( GDT ) . The GDT takes commands generated by the GCS and modulates them into radio waves which are received by the aircraft in flight . The GDT also receives video imagery from the payload as well as telemetry from the aircraft and sends them to the GCS . Each GDT is stored for shipping on a trailer which also houses a 10 kW Tactical Quiet Generator which powers its associated GCS . Each trailer is towed by a M1165 GCS Support Vehicle . Each system also contains one Portable Ground Control Station ( PGCS ) and Portable Ground Data Terminal ( PGDT ) . The PGCS and PGDT are stripped - down versions of the GCS and GDT and are designed to be used as a backup to the two GCSs . A fielded Shadow 200 system requires 22 soldiers to operate it . Army modelling indicates that crew workload is highest at takeoff , and second - highest at landing . Development . The RQ - 7 Shadow is the result of a continued US Army search for an effective battlefield UAV after the cancellation of the RQ - 6 Outrider aircraft . AAI Corporation followed up their RQ - 2 Pioneer UAV with the similar but refined Shadow 200 , and in late 1999 the army selected the Shadow 200 to fill the tactical UAV requirement , redesignating it the RQ - 7 . The army requirement specified a UAV that used a gasoline engine , could carry an electro - optic / infrared imaging sensor turret , and had a minimum range of 31 miles ( 50 kilometers ) with four - hour endurance on station . The Shadow 200 offered at least twice that range , powered by a 38 hp ( 28 . 5 kW ) rotary engine . The army requirement dictated that it be able to land in an athletic field . Operational history . By July 2007 , the Shadow platform accumulated 200 , 000 flight hours , doubling its previous record of 100 , 000 hours in 13 months . The system then surpassed 300 , 000 flight hours in April 2008 , and by May 2010 , the Shadow system had accumulated over 500 , 000 flight hours . As of 2011 , the Shadow had logged over 709 , 000 hours . The Shadow platform has flown over 37 , 000 sorties in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan by US Army and Army National Guard units . On 6 August 2012 , AAI announced that the Shadow had achieved 750 , 000 flight hours during more than 173 , 000 missions . Shadow did not see service in the Afghanistan campaign of 2001 – 2002 , but it did fly operational missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . The operating conditions in Iraq proved hard on the UAVs , with heat and sand leading to engine failures , resulting in a high - priority effort to find fixes with changes in system technology and operating procedures . Shadow UAVs have since flown more than 600 , 000 combat hours in support of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan . In 2007 , the United States Marine Corps began to transition from the RQ - 2 Pioneer to the RQ - 7 Shadow . VMU - 1 , VMU - 2 have completed their transition from the RQ - 2 to the RQ - 7 and ScanEagle while VMU - 3 and VMU - 4 have been activated as Shadow and ScanEagle elements . VMU - 3 , was activated on 12 September 2008 and VMU - 4 conducted its inaugural flight on 28 September 2010 in Yuma , Arizona . In October 2007 , VMU - 1 became the first Marine Corps squadron to see combat in Iraq . VMU - 2 deployed a Shadow detachment to Afghanistan in 2009 , with VMU - 3 following in January 2010 . The Navy provided personnel for four Shadow platoons in support of army brigades deployed in Iraq . The first two platoons returned from 6 - month tours in Iraq in January and February 2008 . The Navy personnel went through the Army ' s training program at Fort Huachuca , Arizona . RQ - 7 in civilian airspace . The Shadow system has also received a special airworthiness certificate ( experimental ) from the Federal Aviation Administration authorizing operations at Benson Municipal Airport , a general aviation facility in southeastern Arizona . This airworthiness certificate is the first issued by the FAA permitting an unmanned aircraft to operate at a public - use airport that serves general aviation , and the first FAA certificate covering the system ' s technologically sophisticated automated landing system . This is currently the only FAA certification category available to UAS manufacturers . Variants . RQ - 7A Shadow . The RQ - 7A was the initial version of the Shadow 200 UAV developed by AAI . The first low - rate initial - production systems were delivered to the US Army in 2002 with the first full - scale production systems being delivered in September 2003 . The RQ - 7A was long and had a wingspan of with a max takeoff weight . The aircraft ' s endurance ranged between 4 to 5 . 5 hours depending on mission . The " A " model aircraft also had the AR741 - 1100 engine which could use either 87 octane automotive gasoline or 100LL aviation fuel . The " A " model also featured IAI ' s POP200 payload . RQ - 7B Shadow . 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 . 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 ( 100 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 . 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 carburetored engine . The most visible improvement to the system will be a wider wing of 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 . Preliminary TCDL testing conducted at Dugway Proving Ground was a success . This led to an estimated fielding date of May 2010 for TCDL . A joint Army - Marine program is testing IED jamming on a Shadow at Yuma . Another joint effort is to view a 4x4km ground area from 12 , 000 feet . A test version called STTB has been flown in Summer 2011 . AAI is developing a bigger version called M2 with a blended wing to include a 3 - cylinder 60 hp Lycoming heavy fuel engine , and began flight testing in August 2012 . 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 . Armed Shadow . On 19 April 2010 the Army issued a " solicitation for sources sought " from defense contractors for a munition for the Shadow system with a deadline for proposals due no later than 10 May 2010 . Although no specific munition has been chosen yet , some possible munitions include the General Dynamics 81 mm 10 - pound air - dropped guided mortar , as well as the QuickMEDS system for delivering medical supplies to remote and stranded troops . The Army subsequently slowed work , and the Marine Corps then took the lead on arming the RQ - 7 Shadow . Raytheon has conducted successful flight tests with the Small Tactical Munition , and Lockheed Martin has tested the Shadow Hawk glide weapon from an RQ - 7 . On November 1 , 2012 , General Dynamics successfully demonstrated their guided 81 mm Air Dropped Mortar , with three launches at 7 , 000 ft hitting within seven meters of the target grid . As of August 2011 , the Marine Corps has received official clearance to experiment with armed RQ - 7s , and requires AAI to select a precision munition ready for deployment . AAI was awarded $ 10 million for this in December 2011 , and claims a weapon has already been fielded by the Shadow . Shadow 600 . AAI has also built a scaled - up Pioneer derivative known as the " Shadow 600 " . It also resembles a Pioneer , except that the outer panels of the wings are distinctively swept back , and it has a stronger Wankel engine , the UAV EL 801 , with . A number of Shadow 600s are in service in several nations , including Romania . SR / C Shadow . AAI intends to modify two Shadows with a Carter rotor on top for vertical take - off and landing , eliminating the need for the recovery and pneumatic launcher systems , while increasing payload and endurance . AAI is working with Textron sister company Bell Helicopter on the project . It is expected to fly in 2012 . AAI also expected to use the SR / C technology for the Shadow Knight , a powered - rotor two - propeller surveillance aircraft for the US Navy MRMUAS program . However , the program was cancelled in 2012 to save $ 1 . 5 billion . Incidents and accidents . On 15 August 2011 a US Air Force C - 130 cargo plane collided with a RQ - 7 while on approach to FOB Sharana in Paktika Province , Afghanistan . The C - 130 made an emergency landing with damage to two engines and one wing , while the RQ - 7 was destroyed completely . The collision caused the cargo aircraft to be grounded for several months while being fixed , while the RQ - 7 wreckage was never recovered . Early reports indicating that the mishap occurred when the C - 130 took off without clearance were incorrect . The investigating board determined that the mishap was largely due to poor local air traffic control training and supervision . Specifications ( 200 Family ) . Note : When outfitted with IE ( Increased Endurance ) Wings , the CRP ( Communications Relay Package ) and the 1102 engine , endurance time is increased to 9 hours , wing span is increased to approx . , and the service ceiling is 18 , 000 ft ( only with authorization ) .