 | |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Unmanned aerial systems |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | Bingen, Washington, US |
Key people | Diane Rose (President & CEO) |
| Products |
|
Number of employees | c. 1,000 (2022)[1] |
| Parent | Boeing Defense, Space & Security |
| Website | insitu |
| Footnotes / references [2][3][4] | |
Insitu Inc. is an American company that designs, develops and manufactures unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and has several offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.[4] Its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms—ScanEagle, Integrator, Integrator Extended Range (ER), ScanEagle 3 and RQ-21A Blackjack, have logged 1.3 million operational flight hours as of May 2022.[5]
History
Insitu was founded in 1994 by engineers interested in creating miniature robotic aircraft. [6] It went on to develop the Aerosonde concept for long-range weather reconnaissance. The company derives its name from the process of measuring the atmosphere in situ (in place), as opposed to remotely, by satellite. At the end of the 1990s the company transitioned to the SeaScan concept for imaging reconnaissance from tuna seiners. With the onset of the Iraq War in 2003, SeaScan turned into ScanEagle, and Insitu focused their efforts on military applications. Insitu was acquired by long-time partner Boeing in 2008.
In 2015, it acquired the 2d3 company.[7][8] In addition to its defense business, the company announced the establishment of its commercial business unit, Insitu Commercial, in 2016.
Products
Insitu, with the U.S. Navy, developed the RQ-21A Blackjack to fill the requirement for a small tactical UAS capable of operating from both land and sea.[9] The Integrator is the standard variant of the RQ-21A. Insitu's UAVs are launched via a pneumatic catapult launcher and are recovered using the SkyHook recovery system.[4] Insitu also provides services and training for its UAVs.
Insitu customer documentation is written to the ASD-STE100 standard.
Gallery
Insitu’s Common Open-mission Management Command and Control (ICOMC2) ground control station (GCS) is the core system used for controlling Integrator and providing access for total payload control
A ScanEagle unmanned aircraft is captured by Insitu’s patented SkyHook recovery system
An Integrator UAV takes flight
ScanEagle prepares for launch
ScanEagle is pictured aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton, which was the first U.S. Coast Guard Cutter to deploy fully equipped with a small UAS for an entire patrol.[10][11]
References
- ↑ "Community Engagement". Retrieved 2022-05-24.
- ↑ "Insitu, Inc. Contact Information". Retrieved 18 June 2008.
- ↑ "Insitu Team". Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- 1 2 3 Corfield, Gareth (18 May 2018). "Eye in the sea skies: Insitu flies Scaneagle 3 UAV in first public demo". The Register. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ↑ "Why Insitu". 2022.
- ↑ "Insitu, founded in 1994, produces aircraft for militaries". The Bulletin. 2022-04-20. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
- ↑ "Insitu History page". 2015.
- ↑ "Boeing Acquires 2d3 Sensing to Enhance ISR on UAS". Avionics. 2015-04-13. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
- ↑ "Products". Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ↑ "Acquisition update: Stratton completes first deployment with small UAS". www.dcms.uscg.mil. United States Coast Guard. April 4, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
Coast Guard Cutter Stratton returned to its Alameda, California, homeport April 2, completing the first long-term deployment of a national security cutter (NSC) with a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) on board as an operational asset.
- ↑ "Coast Guard offloads approximately 12,000 lbs of cocaine from Eastern Pacific interdictions". www.southcom.mil/. U.S. Southern Command. April 3, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
Stratton's crew made history by being the first Coast Guard cutter to deploy fully equipped with a small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) for an entire patrol.