After having been impressed by stories of Israeli successes with UAVs in the early 1980s, the Navy initiated an expedited procurement of UAV systems. Pioneer was procured starting in 1985 as an interim UAV capability to provide imagery intelligence (IMINT) for spotters for naval gunfire support from its battleships (originally launched from Navy Iowa-class battleships, today from LPD-class ships), as well as provide a UAV capability for the Marine Corps.
In 1991, AAI Corporation and Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd., the original developers of the Pioneer system, formed a jointly owned corporation called Pioneer UAV, Inc. Pioneer UAV, Inc., was created in order to manage the program and function as the prime contractor to the US Government for all Pioneer-related activities. Located in Hunt Valley, Maryland, Pioneer UAV, Inc., maintains resident expertise in quality assurance, program management, configuration management, finance, business development, procurement, logistics support, subcontract, and contract management.
With ten years of experience, a subcontractor team representing the acknowledged world-wide leaders in UAV technologies, and a combined product history of well over 40,000 flight hours, Pioneer UAV, Inc., is ready to solve your UAV problem today. Explore our site to learn more about the PIONEER or any of our logistics support capabilities. |
