AAI RQ-7 Shadow - Operational History

Operational History

By July 2007, the Shadow platform accumulated 200,000 flight hours, doubling its previous record of 100,000 hours in 13 months. The system then surpassed 300,000 flight hours in April 2008, and by May 2010, the Shadow system had accumulated over 500,000 flight hours. As of 2011, the Shadow had logged over 709,000 hours. The Shadow platform has flown over 37,000 sorties in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan by US Army and Army National Guard units. On 6 August 2012, AAI announced that the Shadow had achieved 750,000 flight hours during more than 173,000 missions.

Shadow did not see service in the Afghanistan campaign of 2001–2002, but it did fly operational missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The operating conditions in Iraq proved hard on the UAVs, with heat and sand leading to engine failures, resulting in a high-priority effort to find fixes with changes in system technology and operating procedures. Shadow UAVs have since flown more than 600,000 combat hours in support of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2007, the United States Marine Corps began to transition from the RQ-2 Pioneer to the RQ-7 Shadow. VMU-1, VMU-2 have completed their transition from the RQ-2 to the RQ-7 and ScanEagle while VMU-3 and VMU-4 have been activated as Shadow and ScanEagle elements. VMU-3, was activated on 12 September 2008 and VMU-4 conducted its inaugural flight on 28 September 2010 in Yuma, AZ. In October 2007, VMU-1 became the first Marine Corps squadron to see combat in Iraq. VMU-2 deployed a Shadow detachment to Afghanistan in 2009, with VMU-3 following in January 2010 .

The Navy provided personnel for four Shadow platoons in support of army brigades deployed in Iraq. The first two platoons returned from 6-month tours in Iraq in January and February 2008. The Navy personnel went through the Army's training program at Fort Huachuca, AZ.