Sky Devils provide critical link to Soldiers

Photo By Sgt. Michael Schwenk | U.S. Army Sgt. Benjamin Yuen, left, and Pfc. Antonio Arriola, Soldiers with the New Jersey National Guard’s Det. 1, D Co., 104th Brigade Engineer Battalion “Skydevils” sit inside a ground control station for a RQ-7B Shadow unmanned aerial system on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Feb. 10, 2020. The “Skydevils” provide persistent surveillance and communication relays for ground forces during combat operations. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Michael Schwenk)  

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NJ, UNITED STATES

03.04.2020

Story by Spc. Michael Schwenk 

New Jersey National Guard   

New Jersey Army National Guard Soldiers with the Detachment 1, Delta Company, 104th Brigade Engineer Battalion “Sky Devils” train daily to hone their skills operating the RQ-7B Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle. The Shadow is used for surveillance and targeting as well as communications relay.

“We provide a critical link to troops on the ground,” said Sgt. Benjamin Yuen, an unmanned aircraft systems operator. “The communications capabilities can keeps squads in touch when there’s difficult terrain.”

Yuen joined the New Jersey Army National Guard after serving as an infantryman in the U. S. Marine Corps, and with his prior experiences with infantry patrols he feels that it gives him a much better perspective in his current job as a drone operator, understanding what Soldiers on the ground are doing.

The Shadow is assisted by a hydraulic powered launcher when taking off, which can accelerate the aircraft to 70 knots in 40 feet right into the air. While airborne, the Shadow can fly for about 9 hours at a time and up to 16,000 feet.

The Shadow is operated by Soldiers using a Ground Control Station mounted on a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.

“It’s very similar to playing a video game,” said Yuen. “I feel like the skills are very interchangeable.”

Landings are guided by a ground-based micro-millimeter wavelength radar and a transponder carried on the aircraft, and once the aircraft touches ground a tail hook mounted on the Shadow grabs a wire connected to two disk brake drums which can stop the aircraft in less than 170 feet, similar to an aircraft carriers landing systems.

Even when the Shadows are on the ground, the 104th Soldiers maintain daily upkeep of all the equipment that goes along with the aircraft.

“PMI or Preventive Maintenance Inspection and operations checks on the equipment, engine runs or applying updates, maintaining the software,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Hedges, a maintenance chief with the 104th, are some of the things Soldiers do on a day-to-day basis.

“It feels great to be a part of this team,” said Hedges. “We train all the time for a mission that saves lives downrange.”

The U.S. Army passed one million flight hours with the Shadow, with about 85 percent of them being during combat operations. The New Jersey National Guard and its soldiers continue to get their flight hours in stateside conducting training missions, to be fully prepared when called on for a future deployment.

• Date Taken: 03.04.2020
• Date Posted: 03.04.2020 11:52
• Story ID: 364473
• Location: JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NJ, US