The US Marine Corps will deploy AAI RQ-7 Shadows to Afghanistan armed with classified new gravity bombs in a demonstration that could pave the way for a dramatic expansion in the numbers of weaponised unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).Although by far the most numerous UAV fleet, the RQ-7 has remained unarmed in the absence of precision, air-dropped weapons small enough for the aircraft to carry.
The lack of armed RQ-7s has frustrated the USMC. On a recent deployment by a single unit, the marines counted 94 "high-value targets" that escaped even though they were spotted by RQ-7s circling overhead, said Steven Reid, vice president of AAI's unmanned systems division.
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