US orders 15 unmanned aerial vehicles for ANA

KABUL (Pajhwok): Fifteen small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and onboard sensor payloads are being purchased by the United States for Afghanistan

US military experts have signed a $9.8 million contract with Boeing Insitu Inc to provide 15 ScanEagle UAVs for the Afghan National Army (ANA) intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

A US military news site reports the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle UAV is 5.1 feet long, with a 5.6-foot wingspan. It weighs as much as 48.5 pounds and can carry a 7.5-pound sensor payload.

The UAV can fly for more than 24 hours at altitudes as high as 19.500 feet and at speeds to 80 knots.

Capable of flying on gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and kerosene, the ScanEagle UAV provides persistent surveillance and reconnaissance imagery on land or at sea at lower costs than other surveillance methods.

The UAV has an analog digitally encrypted video data links, as well as encrypted or unencrypted command-and-control data links.

PAN Monitor/mud