Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack
Twin-boom tactical UAV for land and sea reconnaissance.
Last updated
The Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack, also known as the Integrator, is an American unmanned air vehicle designed and built by Boeing Insitu to meet a United States Navy requirement for a small tactical unmanned air system (STUAS). It is a twin-boom, single-engine monoplane intended as a supplement to the Boeing Scan Eagle, weighing 61 kg and using the same launcher and recovery system as the Scan Eagle. The RQ-21A Blackjack is notable for its role in providing forward reconnaissance for the U.S. Marine Corps and for its ability to operate from land or sea without runways.
Background
The RQ-21 was selected in June 2010 over the Raytheon Killer Bee, AAI Aerosonde, and General Dynamics/Elbit Systems Storm. The RQ-21A Integrator first flew on 28 July 2012, and on 10 September 2012 entered developmental testing with a 66-minute flight launched by a pneumatic launcher and recovered using the Skyhook system. On 10 February 2013, it completed its first at-sea flight from the USS Mesa Verde.
The Block II variant first flew on 19 February 2013, weighing 121 lb and flying for 2 hours, controlled by a new ground control system. The RQ-21A received Milestone C approval on 15 May 2013, authorizing low-rate initial production. In September 2013, the Integrator was renamed the RQ-21A Blackjack. The first low-rate production aircraft began Integrated Operational Test and Evaluation in January 2014.
The U.S. Marine Corps deployed its first Blackjack system to Afghanistan in late April 2014, flying nearly 1,000 hours in 119 days. The system achieved full operational capability in 2019. In Marines service, the Blackjack sometimes uses the designation MQ-21, where the 'M' prefix indicates a multipurpose operations platform.
More in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Country
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced