Photo By Spc. Paul Harris | Spc. Arriz Lucas, native of Phoenix, training room NCO, Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 29th...... read more read more
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by Pfc. Paul J. Harris
3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
BALAD, Iraq (July 8, 2006) - There is a series of lines from Martin Scorsese's Casino where Robert De Niro narrates about the inner workings of the Sands casino: "The dealers are watching the players, the boxmen are watching the dealers, the floormen are watching the boxmen, the pit bosses are watching the floormen, the shift bosses are watching the pit bosses, the casino manager is watching the shift bosses, I'm watching the casino manager and the eye in the sky is watching us all."
What is true in the movies is true in the case of aerial surveillance with a new piece of equipment the Army has been using called the Raven.
It is a lightweight Styrofoam plane coated with Kevlar to give it durability that has two cameras one for day and one for night. Disassembled, it can easily fit into a duffle bag and can be assembled in a matter of minutes.
A Raven crew consists of two Soldiers. One to fly the plane and another to monitor its progress on a map using digital waypoints to guide the plane using the Global Positioning System, said Sgt. Nathan Wyatt, personnel administrative assistant and lead Raven operator, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers. He volunteered to go to school to be a trained operator to fly the plane in addition to performing his daily duties in the S-1 shop.
Before the Raven can take off at Logistical Support Area Anaconda, it first must report its intended airspace and be cleared by Balad Air Tower. Even though the plane is reinforced Styrofoam there is considerable dangers if the airspace is not cleared. The Raven flies at the same altitude as most helicopters and could do considerable damage to a helicopter if the two were to collide or make contact with one of the rotors.
The Raven has been utilized as an extra patrol in Task Force Pacesetter, said Maj. Richard Robinson, battalion operations officer, 3rd Bn., 29th FA. It is able move from route to route very quickly and beam its live camera feed directly back to the tactical operations center where the battle captain can use its imagery to make mission assessments.
The main mission of the Raven is terrain denial, Wyatt said. Most of the time the bad guys can hear the plane so they know we are watching them, it keeps them out of the area we are patrolling and prevents them from placing an improvised explosive device or mortar tube by the side of the road.
The plane has spotted individuals placing improvised explosives device near a route, Robinson said. The Raven is definitely not stealth and the suspected insurgents heard it coming and sped off in their truck. The Raven was able to give us a description of that vehicle. We sent a patrol in search of the vehicle and were able to find that vehicle and detained those individuals.
The Army is moving toward more unmanned aerial vehicles because it can save human lives. A unit can cover more ground with having multiple sensors out.
The amount of sensors we have today as to what I grew up with as a captain is amazing, Robinson said. To think a patrol would have access to UAV is mind boggling considering I grew up in a fairly analog Army.
Flying the plane is like flying a remote control car. The controls are the same joystick based ones you might find at your local Radio Shack. The plane has been uniquely designed that it is almost impossible to tip over. It has a built-in GPS sensor that can fly itself if need be. If the operator wishes the plane to come back to him all he has to do is select "home" on the control panel and the plane will fly back to him automatically from its current destination. Though the plane is simple to use, assemble and operate it does have it issues.
"The Raven is light and (high) wind(s) can disrupt it," said Spc. Arriz Lucas, training room NCO, Battery B, 3rd Bn., 29th FA. Lucas routinely pilots the plane with Wyatt. One feature he hopes to see on future versions of the plane is greater zoom capabilities on the cameras.
The plane might have a few flaws but Lucas is proud of the job he does flying the plane and contributing to the overall Task Force Pacesetter mission
In a way it's helping everyone else in Iraq, Lucas said .If an improvised explosive device detonates on my fellow Soldier I feel terrible, but if I can see the placement of the IED with the Raven and stop it from happening, I get a good sense of accomplishment from that.
| Date Taken: | 07.10.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 07.10.2006 16:43 |
| Story ID: | 7112 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 197 |
| Downloads: | 26 |
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