Insitu will supply its ScanEagle small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to Afghanistan, providing a low-altitude surveillance capability to that country as it ramps up its battle against Taliban insurgents. The catapult-launched UAS joins Afghanistan’s diverse, foreign-supplied fleet of aircraft.

In an announcement on November 25, the U.S. Department of Defense said Insitu was awarded a $71 million contract under a previously issued “basic ordering agreement” to supply eight ScanEagle systems to Afghanistan under the foreign military sales program. The eight systems consist of 65 ScanEagle air vehicles, spares, support equipment and field service support. Insitu, a Boeing company based in Bingen, Wash., will also establish an in-country ScanEagle training facility.

The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, N. J., is the contract authority. The division awarded Insitu contracts under the same agreement in October to supply ScanEagles to Cameroon and in September 2014 to Yemen. A justification and approval letter for the sale of one ScanEagle system consisting of six aircraft to Cameroon states that the country’s air force “lacks the capabilities to effectively identify and locate terrorist elements operating within their borders, which could allow al-Qaida to destabilize the region.”

The ScanEagle will provide Cameroon a low-altitude, expeditionary intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability. “ScanEagle has high stealthy levels at very low altitudes enabled by a low acoustic, visual, and infrared range signature, an advanced muffler, and a mature modular design that enables carriage of electro-optic or infrared imaging payloads,” the letter states. “It also has a small operational footprint and includes a pneumatic catapult and Insitu's proprietary SkyHook retrieval system that offers true runway independence.”

The latest ScanEagle contract was announced as Afghanistan’s small air force faces increasing demand from ground commanders in the wake of the U.S. force reduction in that country. The number of missions the Afghan service has flown this year has increased dramatically over 2014, The Washington Post reported this month. As of September, it had flown 441 sorties using four U.S.-supplied C-130s, 47 percent more than the 299 sorties flown last year, the newspaper said, citing statistics released by U.S. advisors.

Afghan pilots flew 893 sorties with Russian-made Mi-35 helicopter gunships through September, a huge jump over the 135 missions flown last year. Only one Mi-35 remained in service, the Post said. Pilots flew 13,342 sorties with the Mi-17 transport helicopter, up from 4,544 the previous year.

The number of sorties flown with the American-made MD 530F Cayuse Warrior armed scout helicopter increased from 765 missions in 2014 to 904 through September, including the first combat missions in August. The U.S. planned to deliver 12 new Cayuse Warriors to the Afghan air force this year, increasing its fleet to 17. Also expected in-country within weeks is the first of 20 Embraer-Sierra Nevada Corp. A-29 Super Tucano light attack turboprops, the newspaper said. Afghan pilots have trained on the A-29 at Moody Air Force Base, Ga.