Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack (Integrator)

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) [ 2014 ]

Formerly known as the Integrator, the Boeing Insitu RQ-21 UAV is now recognized as the Blackjack.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 11/01/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

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The Boeing Insitu RQ-21 "Blackjack" (formerly known as the "Integrator") is an in-development Unmanned Air System (UAS) intended to supplant the Boeing Scan Eagle UAV currently in service with the United States Navy and several other US allies. Both drones are low-cost, small-class unmanned aerial systems intended for at-sea launch and recovery and over-water surveillance operations. Insitu is a subsidiary of defense industry powerhouse Boeing and is based in Bingen, Washington. Boeing acquired the medium-sized UAV developer in the summer of 2008.

Unlike the preceding Scan Eagle design, the Blackjack makes use of a twin-boom configuration utilizing a centralized fuselage nacelle, straight wing assemblies and a rear-mounted engine situated in a "pusher" arrangement (the Scan Eagle was simpler design with no discernible tail section and swept-back wings. Borrowing from its Scan Eagle roots, Insitu has included support for existing Scan Eagle equipment to be used in the function of the Blackjack including its in-house Insitu "SuperWedge" pneumatic catapult launching system and precision "Skyhook" retrieval system, the latter "hooking" the incoming aircraft by a dangling rope atop a mast making contact with a hook fitted to a wingtip. The Blackjack is also dimensionally larger than the preceding Scan Eagle and, therefore, can showcase much improved mission performance specifications. The Blackjack sports a running length of just over 7 feet with a wingspan measuring 16 feet. The available engine fitting (an NWUAV gas / HFE powerplant) supplies the airframe with a cruising speed of 63 miles per hour and a useful mission endurance time of 24 hours. The aircraft's operating service ceiling is listed at 15,000 feet. Overall weight is a manageable 120lbs. All told, the provided specifications make the Blackjack a viable option for at-sea service, being both budget-conscious and portable compared to larger UAV brethren.

The official American military designation for the Blackjack is "RQ-21A". The vehicle recorded its first flight on July 28th, 2012 and has since gone on to complete several requisite over-land and at-sea trials. The Blackjack was most recently (February of 2013) seen in evaluations with the USS Mesa Verde, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock. The United States Navy is validating the Blackjack system for possible quantitative procurement which currently is set at 5 air vehicles across 4 complete Blackjack packages. They are joined by the United States Marine Corps which is optimistically eyeing some 32 complete Blackjack systems with 5 air vehicles per package. The Netherlands is the only other notable potential operator and is considering five packages total. It is expected that the Blackjack would see operational service levels reached sometime in 2013-2014 with the US military and 2014 with the Royal Netherlands Army.©MilitaryFactory.com

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September 2016 - It was announced that Canada had become the RQ-21's first true export customer. A package of five air vehicles has been committed to.

October 2018 - An RQ-21 Blackjack UAV has been successfully tested with UTC Aerospace Systems' new high-resolution InfraRed camera for the United States Navy.

Specifications

Service Year

2014

Origin

United States

Status

ACTIVE
In Limited Service.

Crew

0
UNMANNED

Production

12
UNITS

Boeing Insitu - USA

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Canada; Netherlands; United States

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Unmanned Capability
Aircraft inherently designed (or later developed) with an unmanned capability to cover a variety of over-battlefield roles.

Length

7.2 ft
(2.20 m)

Width/Span

16.1 ft
(4.90 m)

Empty Wgt

134 lb
(61 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the base Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack (Integrator) production variant)

Installed: 1 x NWUAV gas / HFE powerplant arrangement.

Max Speed

92 mph
(148 kph | 80 kts)

Ceiling

15,000 ft
(4,572 m | 3 mi)

Range

1,491 mi
(2,400 km | 4,445 nm)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack (Integrator) production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

None. Mission equipment will revolve around data collection for the maritime surveillance role.

Supported Types

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

RQ-21 "Blackjack " - Base Series Designation; formerly recognized as the "Integrator".

RQ-21A - US military designation of initial production models.

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Image of the Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack (Integrator)

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