The use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) continues to grow beyond military applications with the emergence of the commercial civilian markets. These systems are being used as platforms to support aerial photography, mapping and surveying, precision agriculture, border protection, disaster recovery, and more. In this module, create a blog post examining a military UAS mission and comparing it to a similar civil mission or task. Identify the strengths and weaknesses that current platform (or platforms) brings (bring) to the military mission, identify how these would relate to the civil mission, and discuss how they can be overcome or mitigated. Conclude your post with your thoughts on future applications for such future cross over/correlated missions/tasks.
The RQ-7 Shadow is a tactical
military unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in service in Afghanistan and Iraq that
has many different potential applications in both the military and the civilian
sector. The RQ-7 Shadow has flown over 750,000 hours in more than 173,000
missions throughout its time in the Middle East (Shadow 200 RQ-7, n.d.). The
Shadow is utilized by the Army and the Marines and is used for target
acquisition, battle damage assessments, and battle management (Shadow 200 RQ-7,
n.d.). The Shadow can be operated up to 125 kilometers via line of sight (LOS)
operations from a tactical operations center in order to locate and identify
targets at altitudes of 8,000 feet. The Shadow has an endurance of 9 hours, can
carry payloads of 95 pounds, fly at altitudes of 18,000 feet, and conduct short
field landings with an arresting gear (Shadow v2, n.d.).
Due
to the long range flights, 9 hour endurance, payload carrying capacity, and LOS
operational capabilities, the RQ-7 Shadow would be an excellent platform used
to conduct search and rescue missions in the United States after a natural
disaster such as a hurricane. It could also be used to conduct damage
assessments over long distances for areas that are heavily affected by things
such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or other heavy storms that cause massive
amounts of damage. The strengths of this UAV for target acquisition are that it
can fly at various altitudes up to 18,000 feet and cover ample distances that
would be necessary to find a target or a lost person during a search and rescue
mission. The payload carrying capacity of the Shadow would also allow for
supplies to be taken to areas where landings are suitable and due to the short
takeoff and landing distances of the Shadow, carrying necessary supplies to
those in need would allow the Shadow to be an excellent UAV for use in the aftermath
of natural disasters. At the end of December 2010, the Shadow fleet had the
lowest accident rate in its operational history, approaching 29 incidents per
100,000 flight hours (Hawkins, 2011). Engine improvements increased the
reliability of the Shadow; before the oil pump was modified, the Shadow was
restricted due to temperature limitations. This could have been an issue in the
United States, but improvements have expanded the mission capabilities of the
RQ-7 Shadow (Hawkins, 2011).
There
are many uses available for the Shadow, and for use during and after natural
disasters, there seem to be few weaknesses. One weakness that would be relevant
to the safety of other aircraft within the NAS would be the lack of detect,
sense, and avoid technology in UAV systems. The skies in the United States are
crowded; without aircraft avoidance systems, the Shadow would need to be
monitored by ATC while the operator maintains radar contact. This issue is also
relevant to missions overseas and can be highlighted in operations in the
United States. According to defenseindustrydaily.com, there has been at least
one incident involving the RQ-7 Shadow and a Blackhawk helicopter. The Shadow
does not have collision avoidance technology, so the operator was not aware of
the helicopter. The helicopter nearly crashed and while the Shadow is not very
large, it is bigger than a human being and this is a real danger to other
aircraft (Field report on, 2005). To overcome these issues, development and
implementation of detect, sense, and avoid technology should continue in order
to ensure safe integration of UAS into the NAS, especially for operations over
400 feet AGL.
I
believe the operation of the Shadow in the United States during times of
disaster would be an excellent way to conduct surveys of land while also
searching for missing people. Manned aircraft operations are expensive and
loiter times for UAVs are greater than those of manned aircraft. UAV operators
could switch off after several hours of flight while remaining in the air to
allow for greater search times for people in need. For military operations, the
Shadow is perfect for short range flights in order to identify targets for
troops on the ground. UAVs are increasing in number every day, especially in
the United States. Eventually there will be UAVs being utilized due to the many
advantages of UAV flight compared to manned aircraft flight.
References
Field Report on Raven, Shadow UAVs
From the 101st. (2005, November 15). Retrieved from http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/field-report-on-raven-shadow-uavs-from-the-101st-01487/
Hawkins, K. (2011, March 4). Shadow
defies gravity with success. Retrieved from https://www.army.mil/article/52860
Shadow v2. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.textronsystems.com/what-we-do/unmanned- systems/shadow-family
Shadow 200 RQ-7 Tactical Unmanned
Aircraft System. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.army-technology.com/projects/shadow200uav/
Daniel,
ReplyDeleteThe shadow seems to have some age on it and nearly more than enough fight hours to be consider a work horse among the ranks of UAVs. As a helicopter crewman, I have had my fair share of close calls with UAV's throughout my tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa. You mention that midair between a shadow and blackhawk, its reminded of a time in the Helmand Province, Afghanistan, we were a crew of six, two pilots, two crewman, and two PJs and were flying 150 feet AGL at around 120-130 KIAS on NVGs. My crew position behind the copilot, left door gunner. I recall it was quick flight from Bastion to some Marine FOB, can't remember the name, but I remember it was a pretty simple mission, pick up some wounded Marines and get them back to the hospital for more urgent care.. While we were in route, I saw a position of an aircraft on my NVGs and I quickly looked under my NVG's to confirm it was something and not a shooting star or some aircraft that was no factor. (which is usually the case under NVG's). Turns out it was a UAV heading right for us and if I was to guess, I would say if had given a single degree of right of left cyclic or pedal or even a precent of collective input, I wouldn't be here posting this comment on your blog. This was summer of 2009. I think the industry should of required collision avoidance technology just as important as the flight controls on that flying death machine. Thanks for helping bring back some of the scariest years of my life, hopefully my PTSD stays contained for the rest of this comment. Good discussion, looking forward to your next post.