The verified answer
As of Oct 2026, DEPLOY verifies Insitu: 2 models, 3 deployments across 3 regions, 1 active incident. 1 source back the record.
CategoryDrones
Appears inMilitary & defense drones
Overview
Insitu Inc. is a Bingen, Washington-based unmanned aerial systems company and wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing (2008–2026), recently acquired by Archer Aviation in August 2026. The company designs, develops, and manufactures the ScanEagle and RQ-21 Blackjack UAV platforms — runway-independent drones launched by pneumatic catapult and recovered via the patented SkyHook system.
With over 1.6 million operational flight hours and 3,500+ UAS fielded across 35 nations, Insitu is one of the most combat-proven small UAS manufacturers in the world, serving the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and allied militaries including Canada, Australia, Colombia, and NATO partners.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 3 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- 1 incident on file
Key facts
Parent
Products
Category
Deployments
Settlement
Financial stage
Data & sources
Web sources
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (2)
View all models →Current platform
RQ-21 Blackjack
Small tactical unmanned aircraft system developed by Insitu (Boeing subsidiary) for US Navy and Marine Corps.
Current platform
ScanEagle
Insitu (a Boeing subsidiary) makes the ScanEagle, a small long-endurance fixed-wing UAV for reconnaissance and persistent surveillance. The aircraft has a 10.2 ft (3.1 m) wingspan, 28 kg max takeoff weight, 8 kg payload capacity, and 18 hours of flight endurance with electro-optical, infrared, radar, and electronic warfare sensor options. Approximately 1,000 units have been produced since service entry in 2005, accumulating over 1.6 million combat flight hours.
Partnerships
Every company Insitu has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most-frequent partners
- 1Archer Aviation1× joint3 total
- 2Boeing1× joint
- 3SkyGrid1× joint
- 4Wisk Aero1× joint2 total
Most recent
- with Archer Aviationoperating
Insitu on the deployment map
View the global map3 verified deployments across 3 regions, newest verified Oct 2025. Explore where Insitu's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full Insitu deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (2)
- John Kelly Vice President of Global Growthsecondary-verified
- Diane Rose President and CEOsecondary-verified
Founders (2)
- Tad McGeercofounderno longer at company
- Andy von Flotowcofounderno longer at company
Former / Previously (2)
- Tad McGeer Co-founder of The Insitu Groupsecondary-verified
- Andy von Flotow Co-founder of The Insitu Groupsecondary-verified
Safety record
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Incidents affecting Insitu (1)
Includes incidents linked directly to this company, to its models, or to deployments of its models or under its operation. Retracted incidents are excluded from this view but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Operator customers (1)
- Insitu3 deployments
Recent coverage
Insitu in third-party press
Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Skydio6 models
- SIYI Technology5 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- mature
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships
1 total · 1 operating
Every company Insitu has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most recent
- with Archer Aviationoperating
Most-frequent partners
- 1Archer Aviation1× joint3 total
- 2Boeing1× joint
- 3SkyGrid1× joint
- 4Wisk Aero1× joint2 total
All 1 partnerships
open in the atlas →- joint venture2026-08-10announcedoperating
Timeline
Every recorded move in Insitu’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
PartnershipArcher Aviation acquires Wisk Aero, Insitu, and SkyGrid from Boeing
2026-08-10Boeing agreed to sell Wisk Aero (autonomous eVTOL), Insitu (drone maker), and SkyGrid (airspace management software) to Archer Aviation in exchange for newly issued Archer shares equal to 19.75% of shares outstanding pre-close, resulting in a ~16.5% post-close stake. The deal resolves the 2021-2023 trade secret dispute lineage and consolidates Archer's autonomous eVTOL and defense capabilities.
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJun 27, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Incident recordedMar 10, 2026
Boeing Insitu ScanEagle UAS experienced engine failure and crashed in a field near...
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedOct 1, 2025
ScanEagle at Colombia
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedFeb 21, 2025
RQ-21 Blackjack at United States
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedAug 1, 2022
ScanEagle at Ukraine
Sources (1)
Common questions
What is Insitu?
What does Insitu make?
Is Insitu publicly traded?
Who competes with Insitu?
Who is the CEO of Insitu?
How can I invest in Insitu?
Where is Insitu headquartered?
Who owns Insitu?
Where does Insitu operate robots?
How many robots has Insitu deployed?
Is Insitu a top robotics company?
When was Insitu founded?
Are there any incidents involving Insitu?
Is Insitu safe?
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-21
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Insitu.Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Skydio6 models
- SIYI Technology5 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Insitu from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Archer’s Boeing Subsidiary Deal Moves Closer to Closing, Expanding Physical AI Push in Aerospace
Insider Brief Archer Aviation’s planned acquisition of Boeing’s Wisk Aero, SkyGrid and Insitu subsidiaries has cleared a key U.S. antitrust step, moving forward a deal that will…
Gogo and Insitu collaborate on Group 3 UAS connectivity
Broomfield, CO./ 22 September 2026 – Gogo Special Missions, the military/government division of Gogo (NASDAQ: GOGO), and Insitu, a Boeing … mehr... The post Gogo and Insitu…
TechCrunch Mobility: The shifting flight path of electric air taxis
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation.
Cleared for Takeoff: Archer Aviation Changes the Math on eVTOL
Archer Aviation shares jumped after it agreed to acquire Boeing's Wisk Aero, Insitu, and SkyGrid in an all-stock deal, gaining defense revenue, autonomy tech, and a Boeing equity…
Archer to acquire Boeing’s Wisk, Insitu and SkyGrid
Deal transfers Boeing’s autonomous flight, airspace management and uncrewed aircraft businesses to Archer for a minority stake Continue reading Archer to acquire Boeing’s Wisk,…
Archer to Acquire Boeing’s Wisk, Insitu and SkyGrid in Major Aerospace Deal
The Boeing Company and Archer Aviation Inc. have announced the signing of definitive agreements in which Archer will acquire Boeing’s The post Archer to Acquire Boeing’s Wisk,…
Boeing Autonomous Air Taxi Unit Wisk Aero Acquired by Archer
Aerospace giant signs ‘definitive agreements’ for the sale of Wisk Aero, SkyGrid, and Insitu to Archer.
Archer to Shape Physical AI Future of Aerospace and Defense with Acquisition of Boeing's Wisk Aero, Insitu and SkyGrid Subsidiaries
Archer Aviation announces definitive agreements to acquire Boeing's Wisk Aero, SkyGrid, and Insitu subsidiaries in an all-stock deal, adding a profitable defense business…
Arkeus Raises US$18 Million for Optical Sensors - Optics & Photonics News
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US Commercial Drones Market Size, Share Report and Trends 2035 - Market Research Future
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Insitu Awarded .6 Million Services Contract by Canada Armed Forces to Support Long-Endurance CU-172 (Integrator) UAS Fleet
Insitu awarded an .6 million firm fixed-price services contract by Canada's Department of National Defense to support the Canadian Armed Forces' fleet of CU-172 (Integrator/RQ-21…
5 Aviation Companies You Didn't Realize Are Owned By Boeing - SlashGear
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Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/insitu.md
- RSS feed: /companies/insitu/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/3c946ae7-b851-47e1-af10-4213c9c3d9e4
- Revision history: /companies/insitu/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Skydio6 models
- SIYI Technology5 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
Video
Heat Index
Serious52/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
Insitu draws attention at the 73rd percentile but verifies reality at the 69th percentile among aerial robots. Hype Gap +3.9, 60th widest among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Safety profile within acceptable range for category. Limited public funding data for capital position assessment.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Oct 3, 2026