Eye in the sea skies: Insitu flies Scaneagle 3 UAV in first public demo

The Register was among the first news outlets to get a close-up look at Insitu's new Scaneagle 3 aerial surveillance drone during its first public demo at a naval test range in Spain. The Scaneagle will be known to British readers as the successful unmanned aircraft used by the Royal Navy right up until the UK ran out of money …

[Alister]

trade-in

Maybe if we knock an F-35B off the order, we could get ten of these?

[}{amis}{]

Re: trade-in

Meh the F35 is a bad deal but our Watchkeeper drones are far worse £1,000,000,000 spent and nothing to show but a list of crashes I seriously dought that those things will ever do anything useful leave out justify there existence.

I personally wonder whether they are kept around by the RAF flyboys for the sole purpose of being able to point at them and say how crap drones, are and we really do need super shiny new fighter jets with mad-boys at then helm.

We could send troubled Watchkeeper drones to war, insists UK minister

[Floydian Slip]

Re: trade-in

Not sure that the F35 is such a bad deal, it might be the most astute UK military purchase in history?

Why? If 15% of the plane is built in the UK then we receive revenue for EVERY F35 built and sold. With hoped for international sales in the thousands it's actually likely to be self-funding

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: trade-in

See the article about the F35 how that 15% is, to say the least, stretched.

[Mark 85]

Re: trade-in

"Trade-in"? No need actually. Just work out a deal to put advertising on wings and fuselage. Maybe tow an advertising banner in non-hostile zones. Advertising works for Google so why not a drone?

[x 7]

Skyhook

BAe might get upset over the "Skyhook" name.........

that was used by them for the planned (but never implemented) Sea Harrier crane launch system

[Blockchain commentard]

The Skyhook has to be kept vertical. And the Royal Navy wants these. Let's hope it's all calm sailing then.

[Empire of the Pussycat]

yep, for boats surely what they need is a skynet

[Ken 16]

does that incorporate neural networking and satellite comms to cope with adverse sea conditions?

[Anonymous Coward]

"does that incorporate neural networking and satellite comms to cope with adverse sea conditions?"

No it uses Blockchain and DevOps

[SkippyBing]

Well as the RN have already successfully operated them at sea I'd suggest they've already got that problem solved. Gyro stabilisation, it's a thing.

[Anonymous Coward]

Lovely bit of kit

I've seen the ScanEagle 2 in action. Lovely kit. More than 18 hr endurance, an EO ball that is "good 'nuff". Visible and audible signatures are low enough that if I stay downwind of a point of interest, people there will likely not notice anything. Obviously this did not begin life as a DoD acquisition! Thank you fishing fleet...

[Screwed]

Did they really, really, use measurements like 33 feet, and two feet?

(Mind, can believe the 1,000 square miles quoted from a USA source...)