Insitu
 Decision Making Superiority | |
| Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems | |
| Industry | UAV Systems |
| Founded | Bingen, Washington (1994) |
| Headquarters | Bingen, Washington |
Key people | Ryan M Hartman: President/CEO |
| Products | UAV aircraft and Control Systems |
Number of employees | >811 (as of 08/2014) |
| Parent | Boeing Defense Systems |
| Website | Insitu.com |
Insitu, Inc. is an American company headquartered in Bingen, Washington[1] that builds unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). On July 22, 2008, it was announced that Insitu would be acquired by long-time partner Boeing.
History
Insitu was founded in the early 1990s to develop the Aerosonde concept for long-range weather reconnaissance. The company name derives from the objective of measuring the atmosphere in situ, as opposed to remotely by satellite. At the end of the 1990s the company moved on to the Seascan concept for imaging reconnaissance from tuna seiners. With the onset of the Iraq war in 2003, Seascan turned into Scaneagle, and Insitu became focused on military applications. On August 12, 2013, Insitu announced a new partnership with Airware, to enable interoperability between Airware’s autopilots and Insitu’s ground control software, ICOMC2.[2]
Technical information
Unlike most other UAVs, those produced by Insitu do not require a runway because Insitus are launched by a pneumatic catapult launcher, and are recovered by flying the UAVs into a vertically suspended cable which captures the aircraft by hooks located at the end of the wings. This allows the aircraft to be launched and recovered from a truck, small ship, or other area where a traditional runway is unavailable or impractical.
The aircraft can be configured to operate autonomously, or operated using telepresence. However, landings are always performed autonomously, as the aircraft require specific angles and speeds to make a successful landing.
Products
Current products
- Boeing ScanEagle[3] - In Partnership with Boeing
- Insitu NightEagle[4]
- Insitu Integrator[5] On July 30, 2010 it was reported that Insitu won the STUAS Tier II contract with its Integrator product.[6] The contract was estimated to offer the potential for over $500 million in orders beginning in 2013.[7] It was designated RQ-21A,[8] and can carry a camera, an infrared camera and a radar at the same time. Marines have eight aircraft as of 2012, and plans to acquire 100 by 2017.[9] In September 2013 the RQ-21 'Integrator' was renamed RQ-21 'Blackjack'.
Former products
- Aerosonde - A weather tracking system, spun off as Aerosonde Ltd
- SeaScan - A system to track fish (typically tuna) to reduce the time required at sea, and to prevent the catching of Dolphins. SeaScan is the basis for ScanEagle, Insight, and GeoRanger.
- Insight - Insitu owned version of ScanEagle
References
- ↑ "Insitu, Inc. Contact Information". Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ↑ h http://venturebeat.com/2013/08/12/yc-andreessen-backed-airware-takes-big-step-into-commercial-drone-market/ ♙
- ↑ "ScanEagle Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) from Boeing and Insitu". Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ↑ "NightEagle".
- ↑ "Insitu Integrator unmanned aircraft system (UAS)". Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ↑ Cohen, Aubrey (2010-07-29). "Boeing subsidiary Insitu wins Navy unmanned aircraft deal". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
- ↑ "InSitu Selected for STUAS UAV Program, Potential Future Orders: Over $0.5 Billion". Defense Update.
- ↑ Warwick, Graham. "U.S. Navy, Marines Buy Insitu Integrators". Retrieved 31 October 2011.
- ↑ Rizzo, Jennifer. "Marines Betting Big On Small New Drone" KMGH-TV/CNN, 3 July 2012. Retrieved: 9 July 2012.