Military drone Integrator: Insitu adds P-LEO satellite control for up to 2,000 nautical miles

Insitu, a Boeing company, is introducing control via satellite communications in proliferated low Earth orbit (P-LEO) for its Integrator unmanned aircraft system (UAS). The military drone thereby gains range and endurance.

With this capability, Integrator can cover point-to-point distances of up to 2,000 nautical miles (NM), with missions lasting up to 27.5 hours. According to the company, this is “the longest range/endurance achieved in the small UAS class”.

Control from anywhere in the world

When fitted with P-LEO SATCOM, Integrator can be operated from any point on Earth. Existing control via SATCOM in geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) remains in place; the new option is added to it. Operators who want to control the system beyond line of sight (BLOS) thus have even more options.

Justin Pearce, Vice President of Engineering, Programs and Flight at Insitu, said: “We are pleased to bring this groundbreaking capability to the combat-proven Integrator UAS platform. With a range of 2,000 nautical miles, Integrator can easily fly from Guam to Okinawa and operate from small naval vessels in any part of the vast INDOPACOM area. This is the kind of capability commanders have been waiting for. Integrator offers a cost-effective, resilient long-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) option when deploying large Group 5 UAS is too risky or too expensive.”

Military drone with VTOL kit and free payload bays

The new P-LEO SATCOM control can be combined with the Flying Launch and Recovery System (FLARES) kit for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). With FLARES VTOL, Integrator takes off and lands on small ship decks even in gusty winds and heavy seas, as well as at expeditionary sites on land. Unlike tail-sitter aircraft, the FLARES VTOL system does not require an operator to hold the UAS at launch or catch it on landing.

P-LEO does not occupy any of the six payload bays currently available. Integrator's more than 1,000 multi-intelligence configurations are therefore retained. Payloads currently on offer include communications relays, electronic warfare (EW), multispectral optics, AI-assisted wide-area search and kinetic capabilities. Spread across six payload bays, Integrator carries 40 pounds of payloads that can be swapped in the field – which, for Insitu, makes it “the most flexible and capable UAS in its class”.

Integrator has already proven itself in combat: it has logged thousands of operational hours in the most challenging conditions, including in GPS-jammed airspace and in extreme climates.