Researchers from the Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Aug. 28 it conducted a series of flight tests of a small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Healy, the first time a UAS has done take-off and landings aboard one of the service’s icebreakers.
After several unsuccessful attempts, the AeroVironment [AVAV] Puma AE UAS system successfully landed on the Healy’s flight deck three times, the Coast Guard said. The UAS also was recovered using a net capture system on some of the aircraft’s 13 flights, which were conducted between Aug. 14- 23.
The hand-launched, man-portable Puma AE is capable of landing in the water for recovery, but the Coast Guard would like to avoid doing that.
“The Arctic is a cold, dangerous place, and there’s always some risk any time a small boat crew gets underway,” Bill Jankowski, a program lead for the Coast Guard’s Research and Development Center (RDC), said in a story published by the Coast Guard about the UAS testing. “Having the ability to land a UAS aboard a vessel rather than in the water is important because it means crew members don’t have to be put at unnecessary danger by going out to retrieve it.”
In addition to testing take-offs and landings aboard the 420-foot Polar icebreaker, the UAS operators also used the system to monitor a simulated oil spill as part of the RDC’s Oil in Ice project.
The Puma was equipped with electro-optic and infrared camera and an illuminator on a gimbaled payload so that operators can maintain visual contact with a target. The camera was used to relay video data of the simulated spill to a database managed by NOAA for response agencies.
“The Coast Guard and its partners realize the value of exploring technologies like UAS to improve our ability to respond in the Arctic,” Rich Hansen, RDC chief scientist traveling aboard the Healy, said in a statement. “Unmanned systems have great potential for tracking spills, so responders can avoid unnecessary risk while safeguarding our seas.”
The recent flight tests of the UAS are the second time in a year the Coast Guard and NOAA have flown a Puma AE from Healy. Last year the agencies only conducted a take-off of the aircraft from the cutter to test flight endurance in cold weather.
The Coast Guard in 2012, 2013 and earlier this year conducted several demonstrations of a small UAS from shore and aboard two National Security Cutters as part of plans to acquire unmanned systems to close gaps in its maritime air surveillance missions while helping to give the high-endurance cutters a persistent air surveillance capability. Those tests involved Boeing’s [BA] ScanEagle UAS.
A Coast Guard spokesman told sister publication Defense Daily that the flight tests aboard the Healy helped the researchers “better understand the unique challenges of the operating environment for future UAS operations in the Arctic.” He added that the team is putting together an after action report with more detailed lessons learned.