ScanEagle UAV Aircraft No 274

In modern warfare the front line is often undefined, and the difference between insurgent and civilian is often difficult to determine. Technology, therefore, plays a vital role. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) such as this unarmed Boeing ScanEagle aircraft deliver real-time video surveillance back to operators on the ground. From 2006 to 2012 ScanEagle UAVs were the ever-present and watchful eyes in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan, racking up more than 41,000 flight hours over that period. Aircraft No. 274 had its first flight from Talil Air Base in Iraq on 14 December 2006. In all, it served the Australian Army for a year, providing real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in support of Australian troops. During one mission it even performed an emergency landing.

The ScanEagle can carry a number of interchangeable surveillance and target-acquisition payloads. Its system includes a stabilised colour electro-optical camera and an infrared camera for night operations. The gimbaled cameras allow the operator to easily track both stationary and moving targets. The aircraft weighs 20 kilograms fully laden, has a 3.1-metre wingspan, and a length of 1.4 metres. It is fabricated largely from carbon fibre, which has extremely high strength-to-weight properties. It has a maximum effective height ceiling of 5,944 metres, a cruising speed of 48 knots, and is propelled by a 1.9-horsepower, two-stroke unleaded petrol engine. ScanEagle uses a pneumatic launcher and is recovered using the “Skyhook” retrieval system, which uses a hook on the end of the wingtip to engage with a cable suspended from a telescopic boom. This system allows the aircraft to be launched and recovered from virtually any location, including on board ships.