US Navy, The Naval Unmanned Systems Integration Activity (NUSIA) teamed with NAWCWD’s Unmanned Systems Technical Project Office and conducted a successful initial flight of the first unmanned Scan Eagle test vehicle owned by the Navy on Feb. 29 at China Lake.
“This is a big change of mindset for us,” said Brian Whiteside, of NUSIA. “Up until this point, all of our unmanned operations had been done with contractor-owned test vehicles. Now, we have our own Navy-owned and operated test asset that we can use for our unmanned operations.”
The Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flew locally for about 30 minutes. The Scan Eagle team was led by Whiteside as the mission commander. T.J. Zackman was the pilot in command for the launch and recovery, and Tony Fabiszak was the ground crew. They ran the mission from a command and control van parked about 50 yards from the UAV on China Lake’s North Range.
“The system performed as expected,” Whiteside said. “It was a great success.”
The INSITU Scan Eagle will be used at China Lake as well as other designated facilities as a test bed for concept of operations development and UAS integration efforts.
“The demand for UAV operations, support and testing has grown exponentially,” said Whiteside, a former Navy F/A-18 Hornet pilot. “It’s really the next step in naval aviation.”
Since 2004, Scan Eagle has logged more than 50,000 hours in theater providing real-time imagery to tactical commanders and acting as forward observers to monitor enemy vehicle and personnel movement, and buildings and terrain in Iraq.
Weighing about 40 pounds, Scan Eagle is four feet long and has a wingspan just over 10 feet. It can safely fly up to 16,000 feet at a cruising speed of 60 mph. It is launched via a pneumatic wedge catapult launcher, flies pre-programmed missions via a GPS-based navigation system, and is retrieved using a ‘skyhook’ system by catching a rope hanging from a 50-foot pole. “We’ll use this system to further the capabilities of UAVs in general,” Whiteside said.
This Scan Eagle is part of an inventory of Dakota and 14 Pioneer UASs at China Lake. The team expects to get four more Scan Eagles as well as SHADOW and Raven systems.
Currently, Whiteside and his team are working at China Lake on a video targeting demonstration with Scan Eagle. They are also performing payload modifications, and rapid deployment testing in support of the global war on terrorism.
With increasing UAS operations at China Lake, the team has put a lot of effort into figuring out how best to integrate unmanned systems into the local operating airspace.
“We have worked very closely with the folks at Range Safety to come up with procedures for airspace integration,” Whiteside said.
Future efforts include integration work with the Naval Strike Air Warfare Center, Special Operations Command, Naval Post Graduate School, and the Joint UAS Center of Excellence. Whiteside said he is looking forward to great advancements in unmanned systems.
“UAVs are the next logical step in aviation,” Whiteside said. “There will always be a need for pilots but I believe we will see a big shift during the next 30 years toward unmanned systems.”
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