RQ-2A Pioneer
General
Pioneer was procured starting in 1985 as an interim UAV capability to provide
imagery intelligence (IMINT) for tactical commanders on land and at sea.
We continue to operate nine systems in the active force: the Navy and Marine
Corps operate five and two systems, respectively, and two are assigned to
Ft. Huachuca, AZ. In 12 years, Pioneer has flown nearly 16,000 hours. During
Persian Gulf operations in 1990 – 91, it flew over 300 combat
operations in support of the ground forces. Since 1994, it has flown missions
over Haiti, Somalia, and Bosnia. The two Bosnia deployments (one afloat,
one ashore) involved support of NATO peacekeeping forces, monitoring population
centers, and searching for terrorists. Prime contractor is Pioneer UAV,
Inc., Hunt Valley, MD.
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Subsystems 5 Air Vehicles 1 Ground Control Station 1 Portable Control Station 4 Remote Receiving Stations (max) 1 Truck-Mounted Launcher | |||||
| Key Operational Factors Sensors: EO or IR (EO and IR with new sensor) Deployment: Multipleb C-130/C-141/C-17/C-5 sorties; also shipboard Radius: 185 km (100 nm) Endurance: 5 hrs Ceiling: 4.6 km (15,000 ft) Cruise Speed: 120 km/hr (65 kts) bDepends on equipage and duration | ||||||
| Flight Dataa • Flights / Hours |
Bosnia 39 / 95 |
FY97 1,089 / 2,077 |
Total to Date >5,100 / 15,815 |
Funding (Then-Year $M): • Weapons Procurement, Navy • Other Procurement, Navy |
25.0 |
42.7 |
FY 1997 Activities
With the Navy’s decision to extend Pioneer’s operational life
to FY 2003 or until TUAV systems are fielded in quantity, the Service
has continued to invest in spares and readiness improvements, to include
subsystem upgrades.
Integration and testing of the UAV Common Automated Recovery System (UCARS)
and Modular Integrated Avionics Group (MIAG) were completed in FY 1997.
UCARS will improve UAV recovery operations, while MIAG will improve avionics
functions for less weight and cost (see p. 36). Procurement of production
UCARS and MIAG units will begin in FY 1998, along with a new buy of
15 AVs; fleet retrofits will be made thereafter.
PEO(CU) is currently acquiring two prototype and 20 production versions
of a new EO/IR payload, which will improve performance and reliability at
less weight. It is a modified Versatron 12DS (dual sensor: TV and forward-looking
infrared [FLIR]), which will allow autotrack capability and on-the-fly selection
of day or night sensors. The contract includes two options for 20 additional
payloads, each.
A competition is underway for an alternate engine source to provide replacements
for the Sachs SF2-350 engine, which is out of production. The intent is
to increase engine reliability and power while minimizing impacts to AV
configuration. A contract award is planned for December 1997.
These new subsystems will enhance Pioneer’s contributions to naval
and joint operations into the 21st century.
The fleet passed the 15,000-hour flying mark in July 1997. VC-6 was the first unit to exceed 1,000 hours in a single year, with 1,161.5 hours during FY 1997. NAMTRAGRUDET also broke its annual flight hour record with 577.9 hours.