Much of the Integrator TUAS, including the nose-mounted gimbal camera, is made in Australia. Photos: ADF.
The Australian Army has been training new operators and expanding the role of its newest tactical uncrewed aerial system (TUAS) in exercises at the Shoalwater Bay military area near Rockhampton in central Queensland.
The Insitu Integrator was selected by the army in March 2021 under Project DEF 129 to replace the RQ-7B Shadow 200 system in army service. The capability has been working up an initial cadre of operators and maintainers near Brisbane. The army currently requires 24 systems.
Exercise Chimera Walk was preceded by live flight trials at the Army Aviation Training Centre in Oakey, near Toowoomba, and hours of simulator flight training.
Operated by the army’s 20th Regiment, based at Gallipoli Barracks at Enoggera in Brisbane, the exercises were the first time the system has been flown continuously ‘’round-the-clock’’ in operations that are more representative of how they would be used in the real world.
The focus of the exercise was to allow operators to gain experience with the Integrator’s systems, flight characteristics and support equipment.
The Shadow was bought under a rapid acquisition for operations in Afghanistan. But that system had a much larger logistical and transport footprint than the Integrator, and is also approaching obsolescence.
Army Warrant Officer Class Two (WO2) Marc Plant, from Aviation Command, said the two-week Exercise Chimera Walk provided important hands-on training.
“It’s an opportunity to build familiarity with the equipment as well as applying a tactical scenario to support how the Integrator is used with the protected mobility vehicles,” he said.
“20th Regiment has two UAS capability bricks, each comprising three aircraft, a trailer-mounted launcher and ‘skyhook’ recovery system, with Bushmaster PMVs used as ground control platforms.”
The Integrator is launched from a trailer-mounted catapult …
20th Regiment UAS operator Gunner Jake McKean said lessons from modern conflicts demonstrated why drone technology and capability was becoming one of the fastest-growing areas within Defence.
“It’s an evolving capability, so it’s at the forefront of technology in the Australian Army,” he said. “We’re a really valuable asset to the entire Defence Force. We are the first eyes on target.”
… and is recovered using a vertical cable suspended from a ”skyhook”.
Nineteen-year-old Gunner Matthew Sharp joined the army in early 2024 and is already training on the system.
“It’s definitely very rewarding when you get that bird off the rails and everything goes right, all the boxes are checked and you see it shoot off into the sky,” he said.
“We’re the eyes of the army. It’s one of the reasons I chose this job in the first place; there’s such a big future for drones.”
The Integrator is based on the US Marine Corps’ RQ-21 Blackjack TUAS, but is built in Australia and features several Australian-designed components, including an advanced camera gimbal.
The air vehicle weighs about 61 kg fully loaded, has a wingspan of 4.9 metres, and is 2.5 metres long. It can carry optical, communications and electronic warfare sensor payloads, and has an endurance of up to 16 hours at a range of nearly 100 km from base.
The air vehicle is launched via trailer-mounted catapult and is recovered using a vertical arrest cable. The system is deployable by road, air and sea, which was a prime requirement for supporting the army’s littoral manoeuvre-focused mission.
The RQ-21/Integrator is also used by the US, Canada, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Thailand.
