The Philippine Navy conducted a “send-off ceremony” of the ScanEagle2 UAS acquired in 2020 from the US to mark the first deployment of its Maritime Unmanned Aerial Reconnaissance Squadron 71 (MUARS71), which will be operating the system. (Philippine Navy)

The Philippine Navy (PN) marked the first deployment of its Maritime Unmanned Aerial Reconnaissance Squadron 71 (MUARS71) by organising a “send-off ceremony” of the ScanEagle2 unmanned aerial system (UAS) acquired from the United States for the squadron in 2020.

The ceremony, highlighting MUARS71's first deployment after the completion of the squadron's “one year in-country training”, was conducted by the PN's Naval Air Wing (NAW) at its headquarters in Naval Base Heracleo Alano, located in Cavite City, PN tweeted on 19 September.

“The ‘Alpha Flight' of MUARS-71 is composed of five officers and nine maintenance crew,” NAW said.

The MUARS71 will be utilising the ScanEagle2 UAS “to conduct different missions like patrols and surveillance” for the PN, NAW said.

The ScanEagle2 UAS developed by Boeing's Insitu Inc – worth USD14.79 million – was given to the PN by the US on 25 November 2020 to increase the maritime domain awareness and border security capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), according to a statement by the US embassy in Manila on the day of the handover.

The UAS comprises eight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), two launchers, the SkyHook recovery system, and a ground control station.

Already a Janes subscriber? Read the full article via the Client Login Interested in subscribing, see What we do

The Philippine Navy (PN) marked the first deployment of its Maritime Unmanned Aerial Reconnaissance ...

Request a free consultation to discover how Janes can provide you with assured, interconnected open-source intelligence.