PATUXENT RIVER, Md., Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Ground and shipboard testing of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps' newest small drone is now under way, Naval Air Systems Command reports.
The Blackjack, previously called the RQ-21A, is a larger twin-tailed follow-up to the ScanEagle small tactical unmanned aerial system by Insitu Inc. and is being tested to demonstrate effectiveness and reliability in realistic combat conditions.
"Receiving the first production-level Blackjack is a great accomplishment for our government and industry team," said Col. James Rector, program manager for the Navy and Marine Corps' STUAS program office, who oversees the RQ-21A program. "It is a very capable system that will meet the needs of our warfighters deployed on land or at sea with our Marine expeditionary units."
The ground and shipboard testing is being conducted over a period of several months the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. The system will later be transitioned to a Marine UAV squadron in North Carolina for operational use.
Blackjack is 8 feet long and has a wingspan of 16 feet. It is to be used for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications relay. Its sensor payload capacity is as much as 25 pounds.
A Blackjack system package is comprised of five aircraft, two ground control systems, and launch and recovery equipment.
