By Ann Roosevelt
The Army plans to equip the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the Pennsylvania National Guard with the Future Combat System (FCS) Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) before it deploys to Iraq in January.
The Army’s FCS capabilities under development as the service’s largest and major modernization program will be part and parcel of the total force. As equipment is technologically ready and after evaluation by the Army Evaluation Task Force at Ft. Bliss, Texas, it will be sent off to units, particularly if requested by theater commanders.
The gMAV, produced by Honeywell [HON], is an early iteration of the FCS program Class 1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle that will be fielded to Infantry Brigade Combat Teams starting in 2011.
Earlier this month, Honeywell received a $65 million order from the Navy for 90 MAV systems that the company now calls T-Hawk (Defense Daily, Nov. 7). A civilian version of this technology is being evaluated by the Miami Dade Police Department for law enforcement applications.
The gMAV can be carried by one soldier and provides troops with a hover and stare capability not currently available in Army or Air Force UAV inventories. The sensor platform can take still and video imagery, which provides key intelligence for precision targeting and surveillance operations.
The 56th Stryker Brigade will replace elements of the 2/25th Stryker Brigade, which have used the gMAV for reconnaissance and convoy protection operations while deployed to Iraq and participated in extensive gMAV testing and evaluation experiments before that.
“This fielding is unique as the 56th Stryker Brigade represents the first National Guard Unit to use FCS developed Unmanned Air Vehicles,” Army Maj. Gregg Dellert, FCS assistant product manager for Micro Air Vehicle and Class I Block Zero Unmanned Air Vehicles, said in a statement. “The 2/25th Stryker Brigade has been using the gMAV for some time now, but we expect to gain new insight from the fresh user perspective the guard unit will bring.”
The gMAV program began as a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency initiative but battlefield needs, as stressed by a Joint Operational Needs Statement endorsed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2006, helped put the gMAV in the hands of soldiers deployed to Iraq. The Navy as part of a joint task force ordnance explosive disposal unit has also successfully used gMAV in theater.
In early December, Dellert will train 10 Guardsmen from 56th Stryker Brigade during a course on gMAV fundamentals and field use. Once deployed, these soldiers will then be responsible for training gMAV operators. The 56th Stryker Brigade will use 15 gMAVs for reconnaissance and other protection operations. Due to their mission, it is expected that the National Guard soldiers will find different ways to use the gMAV in theater. “In terms of both the future development of the gMAV and the FCS Class I UAV, having a fresh set of eyes will prove very useful. These National Guard soldiers will help our FCS developers make sure that future versions of these UAVs will have all capabilities required for robust mission sets.”