An unmanned aircraft launched Tuesday from Fort Huachuca, Arizona, lost connectivity and hasn't been found, Army officials said Friday.
Soldiers from the 14th Brigade Engineer Battalion -- which is part of 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division -- visiting from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, launched the RQ-7Bv2 Shadow on Tuesday evening, the release said. The aircraft took off from the Hubbard Landing Zone on Fort Huachuca's East Range before losing communication.
"Despite considerable efforts to locate the missing Shadow, it has not been found and is thought to have disintegrated upon impact somewhere in the local area," the Army said in a statement.
The Shadow is a rapidly deployable, short-range airborne reconnaissance system, according to the Army. It can fly for eight to nine hours and cover a distance of 125 kilometers.
It weighs 450 pounds, has a wingspan of 20 feet and a fuel capacity of 58 liters. Each Shadow costs about $1.5 million.
Anyone with information on the missing Shadow is asked to call the Fort Huachuca installation operations center at (520) 533-2291 or the military police desk (520) 533-3000.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
