RQ-7 Shadow
A historically important tactical reconnaissance family; the US Army ended its RQ-7B programme in 2024, while other operators need separate status checks.
- Country / region
- United States
- Programme status
- See profile
- Sources reviewed
- 21 Sept 2026
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- AAI / Textron Systems
- Origin / production countries
- United States
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- RQ-7A; RQ-7B; RQ-7B V2; RQ-7B V2 Block III
- Operators / programme customers
- US Army (historical; programme ended March 2024)
Evidence & current status
Historical profile. US Army retirement does not establish the status of every overseas fleet; older service forecasts are not current evidence.
Role & capabilities
- Tactical reconnaissance
- Communications-relay configurations
- Crewed–uncrewed collaboration heritage
Specifications in context
- Airframe
- Not established in the reviewed public sources.
Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted.
Source - Launch / recovery
- Not established in the reviewed public sources.
Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted.
Source - Propulsion
- Not established in the reviewed public sources.
Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted.
Source - Dimensions
- 6.2 m maximum wingspan
RQ-7B V2 Block III baseline only.
Source - Mass
- 243 kg gross take-off weight
RQ-7B V2 Block III.
Source - Endurance
- 8 hours
RQ-7B V2 Block III.
Source - Range
- Not established in the reviewed public sources.
Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted.
Source - Speed
- Not established in the reviewed public sources.
Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted.
Source - Altitude
- 18,000 ft ceiling
RQ-7B V2 Block III.
Source - Payload
- 43 kg
RQ-7B V2 Block III.
Source - Sensors
- Not established in the reviewed public sources.
Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted.
Source - Communications / navigation
- 125 km line-of-sight range
Communications range for Block III; not flight distance.
Source