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VMU-3
Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3 is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) squadron in the United States Marine Corps that operates the RQ-21 Blackjack that consists of approximately 200 Marines. They are based out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii and its primary mission is to provide aerial surveillance for the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The unit also (in conjunction with VMU-1, based at Twentynine Palms) provides Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) to units participating in Mojave Viper, an exercise held several times a year in 29 Palms, CA. The squadron, nicknamed the ''Phantoms'', was activated on September 12, 2008 and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 24 and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing . VMU-3 is the third UAV unit in the Marine Corps established to provide reconnaissance and assist with deployments and training of ground units. A third of the UAV Operators from VMU-1 and VMU-2 were reassigned to VMU-3 to provi ...
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AAI RQ-7 Shadow
The AAI RQ-7 Shadow is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the United States Army, Australian Army, Swedish Army, Turkish Air Force and Italian Army for Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (United States), reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and battle damage assessment. Launched from a trailer-mounted pneumatic catapult, it is recovered with the aid of arresting gear similar to jets on an aircraft carrier. Its gimbal-mounted, digitally stabilized, liquid nitrogen-cooled Electro-optics, electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) camera relays video in real time via a C band (IEEE), C-band Line-of-sight propagation, line-of-sight data link to the UAV ground control station, ground control station (GCS). The US Army's 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation (United States), 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, trains soldiers, Marines, and civilians in the operation and maintenance of the Shadow UAS. The Shadow is operated in the U ...
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Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay
Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay or MCAS Kaneohe Bay is a United States Marine Corps (USMC) airfield located within the Marine Corps Base Hawaii complex, formerly known as Marine Corps Air Facility (MCAF) Kaneohe Bay or Naval Air Station (NAS) Kaneohe Bay. Most of the original contract work at Kaneohe had been completed when the Navy transferred what was undone to the Seabees of the 56th Naval Construction Battalion on 1 April 1943. The 112th CB was tasked with adding a second runway 400' x 5,000' to the airfield. That was completed by the men of the 74th CB. December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the air station minutes prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Of the 36 Catalinas stationed here, 27 were destroyed and six others were damaged, along with 18 sailors who perished in the attack. The first Japanese aircraft destroyed in action were shot down at Kaneohe, along with Aviation Ordnanceman Chief Petty Officer John William Finn becoming one of the first Med ...
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Marine Aircraft Group 24
Marine Aircraft Group 24 (MAG-24) is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay. MAG-24 is subordinate to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and the III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF). Mission Provide combat-ready, expeditionary aviation forces capable of short-notice, worldwide employment to a Marine Air Ground Task Force. Current Subordinate units The following units are subordinate to MAG-24: * Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 24 (MALS-24) – Warriors * Marine Wing Support Squadron 174 (MWSS-174) – Gryphons * Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 153 (VMGR-153) - Hercules * Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 268 (VMM-268) – Red Dragons * Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363 (VMM-363) – Lucky Red Lions * Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3 (VMU-3) – Phantoms History World War II Activation (1 March 1942) MAG-24 was activated along with Marine Aircraft Group 23 (MAG-23) at Marine Corps Air Statio ...
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Marine Corps Air Station Yuma
Marine Corps Air Station Yuma or MCAS Yuma is a United States Marine Corps air station. It is the home of multiple squadrons of F-35B Lightning IIs of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 (MAWTS-1), Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1) and Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 (VMFT-401), an air combat adversary squadron of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing of the Marine Corps Reserve. It is a designated Superfund site due to a number of soil and groundwater contaminants, including asbestos. The station is from the city of Yuma, Arizona. A joint use civilian-military airport, MCAS Yuma shares airfield facilities with Yuma International Airport and occupies approximately , most of which is flat desert. History Air Force use In 1928, the federal government purchased near Yuma at the recommendation of Colonel Benjamin F. Fly. Temporary dirt runways were installed for usage by military and civilian planes. It was called ' ...
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United States Marine Corps Aviation
United States Marine Corps Aviation (USMCA) is the aircraft arm of the United States Marine Corps. Aviation units within the Marine Corps are assigned to support the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, as the aviation combat element, by providing six functions: Assault Support, assault support, anti-aircraft warfare, antiair warfare, close air support, electronic warfare, Command and control, control of aircraft and missiles, and Reconnaissance#Reconnaissance from air and space vehicles, aerial reconnaissance. The Corps operates Rotorcraft, rotary-wing, tiltrotor, and fixed-wing aircraft mainly to provide transport and close air support to its ground forces. Other aircraft types are also used in a variety of support and special-purpose roles. All Marine Corps aviation falls under the influence of the Deputy Commandant for Aviation, whose job is to advise the Commandant of the Marine Corps in all matters relating to aviation, especially acquisition of new assets, conversions of current ...
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Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack
The Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack, company name Integrator, is an American unmanned air vehicle designed and built by Boeing Insitu to meet a United States Navy requirement for a small tactical unmanned air system (STUAS). It is a twin-boom, single-engine monoplane, designed as a supplement to the Boeing Scan Eagle. The Integrator weighs and uses the same launcher and recovery system as the Scan Eagle. Development The RQ-21 was selected in June 2010 over the Raytheon Killer Bee, AAI Aerosonde, and General Dynamics/Elbit Systems Storm. The RQ-21A Integrator first flew on 28 July 2012. On 10 September 2012, the Integrator entered developmental testing with a 66-minute flight. The Navy launched one using a pneumatic launcher and a recovery system known as Skyhook. This eliminates the need for runways and enables a safe recovery and expeditionary capability for tactical missions on land or sea. At the current testing rate, Initial Operational Capability (IOC) was expected in 201 ...
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Kaman K-MAX
The Kaman K-MAX (company designation K-1200) is an American helicopter with intermeshing rotors (synchropter) by Kaman Aircraft. It is optimized for external cargo load operations, and is able to lift a payload of over , which is more than the helicopter's empty weight. An unmanned aerial vehicle version with optional remote control has been developed and evaluated in extended practical service in the war in Afghanistan. After being out of production for more than a decade, in June 2015 Kaman announced it was restarting production of the K-MAX due to it receiving ten commercial orders.Kaman restarts K-Max production on new commercial orders
Flightglobal
The first flight of a K-MAX from the restarted production took place in May ...
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Helmand Province
Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (, '' wilåyat''). The provinces of Afghanistan are the primary administrative divisions. Each province encompasses a number of districts or usually over 1,000 villages. Provincial governors played a cr ..., in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 Districts of Afghanistan, districts, encompassing over 1,000 villages, and roughly 1,446,230 settled people. Lashkargah serves as the provincial capital. Helmand was part of the ''Loy Kandahar, Greater Kandahar'' region until made into a separate province by the Politics of Afghanistan, Afghan government in the 20th century. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region of the province, providing water used for irrigation. The Kajaki Dam, which is one of List of dams and reservoi ...
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Operation Moshtarak
Operation Moshtarak (Dari for ''Together'' or ''Joint''), also known as the Battle of Marjah, was an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) pacification offensive in the town of Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It involved a combined total of 15,000 Afghan, American, British, Canadian, Danish, and Estonian troops, constituting the largest joint operation of the War in Afghanistan up to that point. The purpose of the operation was to remove the Taliban from Marja, thus eliminating the last Taliban stronghold in central Helmand Province. The main target of the offensive was the town of Marjah, which had been controlled for years by the Taliban as well as drug traffickers. Although Moshtarak was described as the largest operation in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, it was originally supposed to be the prelude to a much larger offensive in Kandahar that would follow Moshtarak by several months. ISAF chose to heavily publicize the operation before it was launc ...
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Boeing Insitu ScanEagle
The Boeing Insitu ScanEagle is a small, long-endurance, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, and is used for reconnaissance. The ScanEagle was designed by Insitu based on the Insitu SeaScan, a commercial UAV that was intended for fish-spotting. The ScanEagle continues to receive improvements through upgrades and changes. Design and development ScanEagle is a descendant of another Insitu UAV, the Insitu SeaScan, which was conceived of as a remote sensor for collecting weather data as well as helping commercial fishermen locate and track schools of tuna. ScanEagle emerged as the result of a strategic alliance between Boeing and Insitu. The resulting technology has been successful as a portable Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) for autonomous surveillance in the battlefield, and has been deployed since August 2004 in the Iraq War. ScanEagle carries a stabilized electro-optical and/or infrared camera on a lightweight inertial stabilized t ...
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2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade
The 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade is a brigade of the United States Marine Corps. It is part of II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). It advertises itself as a "middleweight" crises response force of choice in the European and Southern Command Areas of Operation. It is able to "operate independently, as a service component, or to lead a Joint Task Force". Self-sufficient and interoperable, the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade possesses a mix of command and control, combat power and specialized logistics. Operating as part of the greater Marine Corps team and with support from the United States Navy and other services, it can provide operational reach. Current subordinate units * Headquarters element: 5th Battalion 10th Marines * Ground combat element: Regimental Combat Team 8 * Aviation combat element: Marine Aircraft Group 40 * Logistics combat element: Combat Logistics Regiment 2 * 2nd Civil Affairs Group History In 1991 the 2nd MEB made the first test of the Norway Ai ...
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Marine Aircraft Group 40
Marine Aircraft Group 40 is a composite United States Marine Corps aviation unit that is based in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. They served as the aviation combat element for 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade which was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom from spring 2009 through April 4, 2010 when they were relieved by the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Fwd). The group is currently composed of two CH-53 squadrons, one light attack helicopter squadron, one AV-8B Harrier II squadron, one MV-22 Osprey squadron, one KC-130 tactical aerial refueling squadron, one unmanned aerial vehicle squadron and an aviation logistics squadron. Mission Provide air support to Marine Air Ground Task Force commanders. Subordinate units MALS-40 Smoking Aces (Bastion Bastards) HMLA-169 Vipers History Gulf War MAG-40 was originally stood up to support Exercise Teamwork and Exercise Bold Guard in Norway and West Germany in September/October 1990. W ...
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