On August 18, 2022, the US Army announced the choice of a complex with the JUMP 20 unmanned aerial vehicle of the American company AeroVironment following the results of a tender within the first stage (Increment 1) of the Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (FTUAS) program for the purchase of a promising tactical reconnaissance UAV to replace the AAI RQ-7 Shadow unmanned complexes at the brigade level.
AeroVironment JUMP 20 unmanned aerial vehicle during tests under the first stage (Increment 1) of the US Army Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (FTUAS) program at Fort Riley (Kansas), 08.04.2020 (c) Sarah Martinez / US Army, respectively, AeroVironment received an 8 million contract from the US Army on August 18. for the supply of one JUMP 20 unmanned complex (brigade set) for military tests (including six UAVs, a ground control station, ground data acquisition terminals and ground equipment), with an option for another seven complexes.
The decision to choose AeroVironment's JUMP 20 UAV was chosen based on the results of comparative tests of five unmanned complexes of various manufacturers, selected for the final level of the first stage of the FTUAS program, conducted over a year.
In fact, this JUMP 20 UAV was developed by Arcturus UAV, acquired by AeroVironment in February 2021. Flight tests of the JUMP 20 were launched in January 2015. The JUMP 20 device has been used in small quantities by the US Special Operations Command for several years and was used by it in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, a batch of these UAVs was purchased by the Mexican Navy.
The first stage (Increment 1) of the FTUAS program provides for the accelerated purchase of a certain number of unmanned complexes to meet the "urgent need" to replace part of the obsolete main US Army tactical reconnaissance UAVs of the brigade level RQ-7 Shadow (Shadow 200) of AAI, which entered service since 2003 and represent the development of the RQ-2 Pioneer UAV, created by based on the famous old Israeli UAV IAI Scout.
The complete replacement of the RQ-7 Shadow UAV is planned from 2025 as part of the second phase (Increment 2) of the FTUAS program, which was launched by the release of the request for proposals on October 1, 2021. The results of the tender for the second stage of the FTUAS should, among other things, be summed up based on the results of operation in the troops of the UAV selected for the first stage.
The JUMP 20 UAV is a vertical take-off and landing device according to the now popular scheme with four additional electric motors with horizontally positioned lifting propellers on two additional beams. The device itself is made according to an airplane scheme, with a 190 cc nose piston engine with a pulling screw. The JUMP 20 UAV has a maximum take-off weight of 97.5 kg, a payload weight of 13.6 kg, a length of 2.9 m and a wingspan of 5.7 m. The duration of the flight is stated to be more than 14 hours, the range according to the control conditions from the ground station is up to 185 km, the ceiling is more than 5100 m. The unmanned complex is deployed and ready for use, including the assembly of UAVs transported folded, within 45 minutes. The device is equipped with a payload compartment and a standard-installed ARCAM-45B electro-optical station, as well as additionally installed WESCAM MX-8, Trillium HD80 or TASE 40 LRS optoelectronic stations, there is a protected data transmission equipment with high resolution.
The developer also offers a variant of the JUMP 20 UAV in a purely aircraft version of the T-20, created back in 2009, with an ejection launch, with higher flight characteristics (flight duration up to 24 hours, ceiling over 6000 m, payload weight up to 22.7 kg). The T-20 devices were purchased by the US Navy and Mexico, as well as by the US and Turkish special services.
Unmanned aerial vehicle AeroVironment JUMP 20 (c) AeroVironment Video:
