April 26,
2008: The U.S. Army has bought another 56 Shadow 200 UAVs, for $2.4 million
each (including ground equipment.) These
aircraft weigh 327 pounds each and can carry 56 pounds of equipment (usually a
day or night vision camera and a transmitter). The Shadow 200 is eleven feet
long and has a wingspan of 12.75 feet. It can fly as high as 15,000 feet (out
of range of small arms). The Shadow has a range of about 50 kilometers and can
stay in the air for up to six hours.
The army
is equipping each combat brigade with a Shadow system, to provide the brigade
with its own aerial reconnaissance capability.
Each Shadow platoon has four UAVs and ground control equipment. The army already has about 400 Shadow 200
UAVs in service.
The Shadow
has been in use for eight years, and the
troops are pleased with the ease of use and the quality of the video they get
from it. The Shadow has been very reliable, with UAVs being available for use
95 percent of the time. Recently, Five of the new AURORA target recognition
systems were installed on Shadow 200s. These 35 pound units combine cameras and
heat sensors, with computers and databases, to identify "items of interest"
(usually targets of one sort or another), and alert UAV operators to do a
visual check. This enables more UAVs to be put in the air, on automatic,
without requiring a lot more personnel to control the aircraft and monitor the
sensors.
