Coast Guard national-security cutter completes deployment with UAS ISR
NewsMay 09, 2017
BINGEN, Wash. Unmanned systems and software company Insitu and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton have collaborated on a six-week deployment, the first time that a Coast Guard cutter used a small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) for an entire patrol.
During its mission, the Stratton carried the ScanEagle, a small, long-endurance UAS that carries multiple sensors including electro-optic, thermal, and telescope cameras on a lightweight inertial stabilized turret system along with an integrated communications system having a range of over 62 miles (100 km).
By the end of the cutter's six-week deployment through the eastern Pacific Ocean, ScanEagle flew 39 sorties for a total of 279 hours, including one operation where the aircraft provided persistent surveillance for 22.7 flight hours in a 24-hour period. At the mission's conclusion, the sUAS had directly assisted the crew of the Stratton with conducting four interdictions, seizing more than 1,676 kilograms of illicit contraband valued at $55 million and apprehending ten suspected drug traffickers. ScanEagle delivered a range of aerial imagery to the cutter's crew and decisionmakers, enabling them to better execute real-time actionable intelligence. The information ScanEagle provided will assist the government in its prosecution efforts.
ScanEagle is launched using Insitu's pneumatic launcher, known as the "SuperWedge" launcher; after a sortie it is recovered using the "Skyhook" retrieval system, which uses a hook on the end of the wingtip to catch a rope hanging from a 30-to-50-foot (9.1 to 15.2 m) pole.
The Stratton deployment of the ScanEagle is the first under Insitu’s June 2016 contract award to provide UAS intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) services aboard one Coast Guard national security cutter; in addition, the Coast Guard recently released a draft request for proposal to procure sUAS capabilities for its entire fleet of national-security cutters.
