Shadow UAS retires after decades of service

By Jensen JenningsApril 9, 2024

Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
1 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – After more than 20 years of service, the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment bid farewell to its longest tenured uncrewed aircraft system. The RQ-7B Shadow was officially retired at a ceremony held March 19 at the Black Tower training complex, Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
2 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – After more than 20 years of service, the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment bid farewell to its longest tenured uncrewed aircraft system. The RQ-7B Shadow was officially retired at a ceremony held March 19 at the Black Tower training complex, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
3 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The RQ-7B Shadow awaits its final launch and flight. After more than 20 years of service, the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment bid farewell to its longest tenured uncrewed aircraft system. The Shadow was officially retired at a ceremony held March 19 at the Black Tower training complex, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
4 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The RQ-7B Shadow takes to the skies for its final flight. After more than 20 years of service, the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment bid farewell to its longest tenured uncrewed aircraft system. The Shadow was officially retired at a ceremony held March 19 at the Black Tower training complex, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
5 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – “It’s a bittersweet day as we close a chapter for Army aviation and the heritage of this last RQ-7B Shadow flight,” said Lt. Col. Kent Monas, commander, 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment. After more than 20 years of service, the unit bid farewell to its longest tenured uncrewed aircraft system. The RQ-7B Shadow was officially retired at a ceremony held March 19 at the Black Tower training complex, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
6 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – After more than 20 years of service, the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment bid farewell to its longest tenured uncrewed aircraft system. The RQ-7B Shadow was officially retired at a ceremony held March 19 at the Black Tower training complex, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
7 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – “Now, we stand on the cusp of a new era for our Army and Army Aviation,” said Lt. Col. Kent Monas, commander, 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment. “We see around the world the proliferation of drones and how they can turn the tide of battle. To our Soldiers in formation, take pride in being on the cutting edge of this new era, resolve to uphold the sacred trust of our ground forces as all these great Shadow operators and maintainers did before you.” After more than 20 years of service, the Army bid farewell to its longest tenured uncrewed aircraft system. The RQ-7B Shadow was officially retired at a ceremony held March 19 at the Black Tower training complex, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
8 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – After more than 20 years of service, the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment bid farewell to its longest tenured uncrewed aircraft system. The RQ-7B Shadow was officially retired at a ceremony held March 19 at the Black Tower training complex. Over the course of the Shadow program, Fort Huachuca, Arizona, trained more than 11,500 UAS operators and maintainers for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The Shadow completed more than 40,000 flight hours to include 21,000 sorties. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
9 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
10 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – After more than 20 years of service, the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment bid farewell to its longest tenured uncrewed aircraft system. The RQ-7B Shadow was officially retired at a ceremony held March 19 at the Black Tower training complex, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
11 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – After more than 20 years of service, the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment bid farewell to its longest tenured uncrewed aircraft system. The RQ-7B Shadow was officially retired at a ceremony held March 19 at the Black Tower training complex, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
12 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
13 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – After more than 20 years of service, the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment bid farewell to its longest tenured uncrewed aircraft system. The RQ-7B Shadow was officially retired at a ceremony held March 19 at the Black Tower training complex, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shadow UAS retires after decades of service
14 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The RQ-7B Shadow prepares to land after its final flight. After more than 20 years of service, the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment bid farewell to its longest tenured uncrewed aircraft system. The Shadow was officially retired at a ceremony held March 19 at the Black Tower training complex, Fort Huachuca, Arizona. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photos by Angelita Williams and Jensen Jennings) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. – After more than 20 years of service, the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment bid farewell to its longest tenured uncrewed aircraft system (UAS), the RQ-7B Shadow.

The RQ-7B Shadow was officially retired at a ceremony held March 19 at the Black Tower training complex.

“It’s a bittersweet day as we close a chapter for Army aviation and the heritage of this last RQ-7B Shadow flight,” said Lt. Col. Kent Monas, commander, 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment. “The [execution order] has still not dropped for divestment, but we have some good intel that says it could come any day now.”

Monas said there will still be a few more flights before the Shadow is ultimately retired, but they wanted to provide the UAS with a proper send off before all operations ceased.

Originally designed and envisioned as a reconnaissance aircraft, the Shadow was used throughout the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to assist Soldiers on the ground by providing a bird’s eye view sending live video to the tactical operations center for rapid analysis and commander’s intelligence preparation of the battlefield.

“The Shadow provided situational awareness for the ground forces commander and supporting units,” said Raymond Rivera, aircrew training program manager, 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment. “If [the Soldier] can’t see over that hill, or around that corner, you put these systems up in the air, and they provide that for them. When you increase battlefield situational awareness, you increase the effectiveness of maneuver forces.”

Rivera was a member of the first Shadow platoon at Fort Cavasos, Texas, formerly Fort Hood, and was a part of the initial testing and evaluation process. He was also on the first Shadow deployment and witnessed firsthand how important the system was to Soldiers on the ground.

“After one deployment, we did a Fourth of July demonstration and had World War II, Korean and Vietnam war veterans come by on a tour,” Rivera said. “When we briefed some of those guys on the capabilities, a lot of them got emotional realizing what these systems could do, and those guys said, ‘this thing is going to save lives on the battlefield.’”

Throughout the more than 20 years of the Shadow, Fort Huachuca trained more than 11,500 UAS operators and maintainers for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The Shadow completed more than 40,000 flight hours to include 21,000 sorties here.

Although the Shadow’s time is coming to an end, the next generation of UAS operators and maintainers will continue to train and learn on new systems to provide the same confidence to commanders on the battlefield.

“Now, we stand on the cusp of a new era for our Army and Army Aviation,” Monas said. “We see around the world the proliferation of drones and how they can turn the tide of battle. To our Soldiers in formation, take pride in being on the cutting edge of this new era, resolve to uphold the sacred trust of our ground forces as all these great Shadow operators and maintainers did before you.”

Before ending the ceremony, Monas challenged the next generation to continue perfecting their craft and to be adaptable in the ever-changing landscape of warfighting.

“Strive hard in your courses, learn your craft, and embrace change, because you will be the difference on the future battlefield,” he said. “Our nation needs you to be ready to defend our freedoms and way of life. Thank you to our Shadow warriors for all your service, and thank you to our next generation of tactical UAS warriors who volunteer to carry out Army Aviation Sacred Trust into the future.”

(Editor’s note: The complete photo album is available online at 2024-03-19 Shadow UAS Final Flight | Flickr.)

# # #

Fort Huachuca is home to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Army Signal Command and more than 48 supported tenants representing a diverse, multiservice population. Our unique environment encompasses 946 square miles of restricted airspace and 2,500 square miles of protected electronic ranges, key components to the national defense mission.

Located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about 15 miles north of the border with Mexico, Fort Huachuca is an Army installation with a rich frontier history. Established in 1877, the Fort was declared a national landmark in 1976.

We are the Army’s Home. Learn more at https://home.army.mil/huachuca/.

RELATED STORIES