VISIT JMTC ONLINE AT WWW.HQJMTC.ARMY. MIL
FEATURE
Blackhawks cast Shadow UAV over the Black Sea operation saber dawn demonstrates uav capabilities for partner nations Story by Sgt. Charles D. Crail, 172nd Infantry Brigade Public Affairs
W
ith a growling engine like an angry chainsaw, “The product they can produce with the aircraft is very the Shadow is catapulted above the Black Sea, high-quality. I would gladly serve with their Shadow crews July 1, as Soldiers of the 504th Military again in theater.” Intelligence Company, part of the 172nd Infantry Brigade, The demonstration allowed the Soldiers to learn about ‘Blackhawks’, from Grafenwoehr, Germany, deployed for Opereach other, as well as, the aircraft. ation Saber Dawn in Romania. The demonstration, part of the “The Shadow provides eyes on the target at all times and larger Task Force-East (TF-EAST) initiative, showed European nearly real-time intelligence,” Schubert continued. allies the capabilities of the Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle. The UAV platoon maintains four aircraft for continual sur“This is my first time meeting this system,” said Romanian veillance, explained Schubert. Three aircraft are rotated over Land Forces Lt. Col. Sava Claudio, commander, 20th Infantry the target area in eight-hour shifts and the fourth aircraft is Battalion, 2nd Infantry Brigade. “This system is a real intelliheld in reserve as a backup. “It is possible for one UAV crew to pass control of the gence capability multiplier. I am very impressed with the aircraft to another crew located hundreds of miles away,” Shadow’s day and night capabilities.” said Pfc. Christopher Abreu, air vehicle operator with the 504th. This was the first time the 172nd deployed the UAV aircraft Each 172nd battalion to Eastern Europe for has UAV assets assigned, training. which enables the “The biggest advantage the shadow unmanned aerial vehicle (uav) leadership to monitor the UAV provides the the battle space during battalion commander is Speed. . . . . . . 194.5km/h (121 mph) operations. deep threat capability,” Flight Ceiling. . . . . 4,572m (15,000 ft) The video optics of the said Warrant Officer Endurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 to 7 hours aircraft, which are both Marc Schubert, UAV Mission Radius. . 200 km (124 miles) in regular video and infratechnician of the 504th Cruising Speed. .167km/h (102 mph) red (IR), allow the UAV MI Co. Loiter Speed. . . . . 111km/h (69 mph) to spot potential threats The TF-East 2010 or target information in Payload Max. . . . . . . . 25.3kg (55.7 lbs) rotation marks the all lighting conditions. Wingspan. . . . . . 4.27m (approx 14 ft) fourth year of the “It is cool to watch bi-lateral training people moving around between Romanian, State of the art optics; video streaming, in the IR mode,” said infra-red scanning capability. Bulgarian and U.S. Abreu. “As they move forces. The exercise is through tall grass or designed to facilitate w o o d s , yo u can see strategic partnerships tiny trails behind them and promote regional showing where they security. have been.” Romanian and U.S.
UAV
Army UAV crews are working side-by-side throughout the training exercise. The Romanian military uses a similar version of the Shadow UAV. “The Romanian UAV crews are very proficient,” said 1st Lt. Todd Flores, platoon leader at the 504th Military Company.
ABOVE: BABADAG TRAINING AREA, Romania-Spc. Norman Grimm, crew chief, 504th Military Intelligence Company from Grafenwoehr, Germany, answers questions about the Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle for senior officers from the Romanian Land Forces. Romanian and U.S. Army UAV crews are working side by side during Operation Saber Dawn in Romania, a bi-lateral training exercise designed to bolster partnerships and regional security cooperation. RIGHT: A Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle sits ready for launch into the skies over Romania as part of Operation Saber Dawn. The American UAV operators are working with partner crews from the Romanian Land Forces in order to build relationships and facilitate cooperation for future operations. Photos by Sgt. Charles D. Crail
23