UAS are here to help

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Jason Boyd | Soldiers with Detachment 1, Company Bravo, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 37th Brigade Combat, do through saftey checks and flight preporations prior to launching the Shadow RQ-7B Unmanned Aerial System at the Grayling Army Airfield, Grayling, Mich. (U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Jason A. Boyd)  

GRAYLING, MI, UNITED STATES

08.15.2014

Story by Staff Sgt. Jason Boyd 

Michigan National Guard

GRAYLING, Mich. – Today, the Michigan National Guard operates Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in the State of Michigan for training purposes only, but the technology is there to expand their use to assist with disaster response.

There are delays in using UAS in disaster response because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is very restrictive about who can fly them and how they can be flown.

Congress has given the FAA until 2015 to come up with rules for flying UAS in U.S. airspace, to include safety regulations, how pilots are trained, how an aircraft is certified, and the process for notifying local air-traffic controllers.

Until those regulations are in place, any civilian or military organization that wants to fly UAS above 400 feet needs to get a certificate of authorization to fly in restricted airspace from the FAA.

Once all of the regulations are in place and the National Guard is given the go ahead to use them, UAS can be a life saver.

Utilizing UAS in search and rescue or fire operations across the state saves not only money because it is more cost effective than flying helicopters all day, but it also takes the pilots of those aircraft out of harm’s way.

In 2013 the Canadian Royal Mounted Police used a UAV to locate a man by deploying an unmanned aircraft with an infrared camera, which picked up on the man's heat signature.

His vehicle had gone off the road and he was knocked unconscious. It was dark, with near-freezing temperatures, and emergency workers were unable to locate the car and injured driver, even with night-vision goggles and a helicopter.

The UAS can also be used in assisting with controlling forest fires, by giving fire fighters a better idea of the area the fire covers.

“We can utilize UAS to detect showing the path the fire has taken and current location, so someone else can make the determination and predictions of where it is heading. We do offer the view of the fire and the surrounding terrain and previous path so they can make those determinations,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 James Huck, Unmanned Aircraft Systems operations technician with the Detachment 1, Company Bravo, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 37th Brigade Combat Team.

“We can get closer to a fire and get a better view as to what is happening without risking the pilot's life or adding to a dangerous situation. We are able to observe a fire in ways that may not be safe for a manned aircraft to do so,” said Huck.

“Although the Shadow cannot verify a person’s identity, it can use its mounted infrared camera to pick up on heat signatures of bodies, pinpointing the locations of survivors and assist first responders in locating them. We can give them a location and help with the best route in and out of the area” said Huck.

Nearly everyone has seen or heard of Guard units responding to battle fires or helping communities deal with floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms or other emergency situations. In times of civil unrest, the citizens of a state can rest assured that the Guard and their Unmanned Aerial Systems will be ready to respond.

(For more information, contact Staff Sgt. Jason Boyd at 810-429-5616)

• Date Taken: 08.15.2014
• Date Posted: 08.15.2014 14:24
• Story ID: 139479
• Location: GRAYLING, MI, US