AAI RQ-2 Pioneer

The AAI RQ-2 Pioneer is an unmanned aerial vehicle developed jointly by AAI Corporation and Israel Aircraft Industries and used by the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Army, at sea and on land, from 1986 until 2007. It was first tested aboard the battleship USS Iowa and then placed aboard Iowa-class battleships to spot naval gunfire before its role grew into reconnaissance and surveillance for amphibious forces. It is essentially an upgraded IAI Scout, re-engined with a two-cylinder two-stroke engine to carry a larger payload at the Navy's request, and it flew for up to five hours with a payload of 34 kilograms. It is remembered for the 1991 Gulf War, when Iraqi troops on Failaka Island surrendered to one. The Navy retired it in 2007 in favour of the Shadow.