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Iowa-class battleship
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=== Aircraft (1982β1992) === [[File:Iowa drone.jpg|thumb|left|alt=The rear deck of ship, with a large partially erect net visible near the center of the image. Many men in orange suits are working to free a white drone entangled in the net.|Crewmen recover an RQ-2 Pioneer [[unmanned aerial vehicle]] aboard {{USS|Iowa|BB-61|2}}]] During the 1980s these battleships made use of the [[AAI RQ-2 Pioneer|RQ-2 Pioneer]], an unmanned aerial vehicle employed in spotting for the guns. Launched from the fantail using a rocket-assist booster that was discarded shortly after takeoff, the Pioneer carried a video camera in a pod under the belly of the aircraft which transmitted live video to the ship so operators could observe enemy actions or fall of shot during naval gunnery. To land the UAV a large net was deployed at the back of the ship; the aircraft was flown into it. ''Missouri'' and ''Wisconsin'' both used the Pioneer UAVs successfully during Operation Desert Storm, and in one particularly memorable incident,{{sfn|Camp|2009|p=144}} a Pioneer UAV operated by ''Wisconsin'' received the surrender of Iraqi troops during combat operations.{{sfn|Camp|2009|p=144}} This particular Pioneer was later donated to the [[Smithsonian Institution]] and is now on public display.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum: Pioneer RQ-2A UAV |url= https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/pioneer-rq-2a-uav |magazine= The Smithsonian |date= 5 March 2000 |access-date =13 March 2017 }}</ref> During Operation Desert Storm these Pioneers were operated by detachments of [[List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons#Composite squadrons|VC-6]].{{sfn|Polmar|2005|p=477}} In addition to the Pioneer UAVs, the recommissioned ''Iowa''s could support operations by various types of helicopters, including the [[Bell UH-1 Iroquois|UH-1 Iroquois]], [[Kaman SH-2 Seasprite|SH-2 Seasprites]], [[Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight|CH-46 Sea Knight]], [[Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion|CH-53 Sea Stallion]], and LAMPS III [[Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk|SH-60B Seahawk]].
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