The Brazilian Navy is scheduled to receive its Insitu ScanEagle Block E (known in Brazil as the RQ-1 ScanEagle) long-endurance fixed-wing small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS) in the first half of 2022, the service told Janes .
The fleet will conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions with Squadron QE-1 located at the Naval Air Base of São Pedro da Aldeia. The RQ-1s are fitted with the Hood Tech Vision EO900 electro-optical sensor, the navy told Janes .
The SUASs will be initially operated from Niterói-class frigates and Amazonas-class offshore patrol vessels, and later by other ships, the navy said.
Six RQ-1s were purchased through the US Foreign Military Sales programme, according to a Letter of Offer and Acceptance signed on 11 December 2019, to meet the SARP-E (Sistema de Aeronaves Remotamente Pilotadas-Embarcado) requirement.
The package also included a Compact Mark4 catapult launcher, a Skyhook recovery system, one flight training device, one Insitu Video Exploitation System (IVES), two ICOMC2 mobile control stations, a training package, and five-year contractor logistics support.
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