Military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are primarily used
in the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) role, carrying
payloads that provide full-motion video (FMV) and electronic sensing capabilities.
The MQ-1B Predator is an example of a platform that is “employed primarily as
an intelligence-collection asset and secondarily against dynamic execution
targets” (ACCPA, 2015). Flying ISR missions requires long endurance, day and
night capable camera systems, and robust command and control datalinks for
operational security. A comparable civilian mission would be wide-area
surveillance of a wildland area during a wildfire event. NASA operates a
modified long-endurance medium-altitude MQ-9 Predator B aircraft that carries a
payload called the Autonomous Modular Sensor that consists of a composite
radar/infrared payload that provides users with images through smoke and haze
produced by a wildfire (Conner, 2015).
One significant strength that current military platforms can
bring to civilian missions is proven performance in austere combat environments.
Reliability is a key requirement for UAS, and many military UAS have been in
operation overseas for several years. Operation in environments such as wildland
fire events often requires similar system deployment. In one example from the
2015 Tepee Springs fire near McCall, Idaho, a Textron Systems Aerosonde was
used to assist incident commanders and firefighters with mapping and real-time
imagery products. The system including ground control station (GCS) and
launch/recovery equipment was sent to a remote mountaintop located 7,700’ MSL,
in an area with no electricity or cell phone service. The crewmembers slept in
tents and communicated to support elements via radio. The company’s “military
experience paid off” in the form of “needed assistance and actionable
intelligence” to the U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service
(Miller, 2015).
One significant weakness with current military platforms is
the immense financial cost of procuring and operating the systems. Military UAS
are procured through extensive Department of Defense proposal processes with
specific design or performance requirements with costs that are carefully negotiated
and often amount to millions of dollars. Many civilian organizations are
associated with smaller federal agencies, state or local governments, or
private business entities, and do not have the immense budget available to the
DoD. One potential method for mitigating the cost of procuring equipment for
these smaller groups would be to use a fee-for-service model, as shown in the
Aerosonde wildfire support mission. Companies that supply military UAS to the DoD
would offer services and deliverable products to civilian users with a
cost-per-hour model (or similar) that would keep the agency from needing to
establish a support and logistics structure. This model also has the advantage
of avoiding the need to re-design systems to comply with International Traffic
in Arms Regulations (ITAR) restrictions that would limit the use of military
equipment in civilian arenas.
References:
Air Combat Command Public Affairs. (2015, September). MQ-1B Predator. [Online fact sheet]. Retrieved
from http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104469/mq-1b-predator.aspx
Conner, M. (2015, November). NASA Armstrong fact sheet: Ikhana Predator B unmanned science and
research aircraft system. Retrieved from http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/news/FactSheets/FS-097-DFRC.html
Miller, P.C. (2015, October). Textron Systems uses UAS for
high-tech firefighting. UAS Magazine.
[Online article]. Retrieved from http://www.uasmagazine.com/articles/1267/textron-systems-uses-uas-for-high-tech-firefighting
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