Textron Systems Corporation, a Textron Inc. company, announced today the sale of 36 Shadow aircraft in the latest Block III configuration to the U.S. Army. The total contract award value of $66 million includes ongoing engineering services to continue fielding and supporting the new Block III system configuration. With 1.2 million flight hours and counting, the Shadow system’s proven track record provides a solid foundation for continued development and use around the world.
“We are proud to maintain our strong partnership of more than 20 years with the U.S. Army on the Shadow program,” said Senior Vice President David Phillips of Textron Systems. “The Shadow Block III will support the customer with the enhanced capabilities soldiers need to fulfill today’s and tomorrow’s missions.”
The Shadow Block III system builds on the proven success of previous configurations. The upgraded system incorporates design improvements, allowing for increased availability to operate in adverse weather conditions, the latest high-definition day-and-night video payload, increased engine power and reliability with a reduced acoustic signature, enhanced manned-unmanned teaming with the U.S. Army’s Apache assets and an advanced communications relay.
The AAI RQ-7 Shadow is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by AAI (Aircraft Armaments, Inc) Corporation. The Shadow used by the United States Army, Australian Army, Swedish Army, and Italian Army for reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and battle damage assessment. AAI Corporation is an aerospace and defense development and manufacturing firm, located in Hunt Valley, Maryland, US. Formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation, AAI was acquired by Textron in 2007. It currently operates as a unit of Textron Systems and employs more than 2,000.