Silently circling high above the bottom, the unmanned aerial vehicle RQ-11 Raven’s camera focused in on its target. The operator, Sgt. Jason Lundquist, controlled the Raven’s actions from a ground station. He zoomed in on his target, taking multiple pictures as his aircraft made another pass. He was on a reconnaissance mission and these photos may save someone’s life one day.
“Go ahead and convey it in for landing,” said Staff Sgt. Luther Oldfield, a master Raven trainer with Headquarter and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion 82nd Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team.
Lundquist, a team leader for 64th Military Police Company, 720th MP Battalion, entered the landing commands into his controller; the Raven reoriented itself and started its descent. It slowly glided in and hit the floor, breaking up into nine pieces on impact, a singular characteristic of its landing procedure. This was day among the hands-on part of the Raven certification course.
The course is a complete of 2 weeks, said Pfc. Cole Clark, an MP with 64th MP Company. The scholars started at a beginner’s level. The primary week covered basic avionics of the Raven system, and emergency procedures.
“What i’m teaching is ground avionics, that is flying an aircraft from a ground station,” said Oldfield. “The antennas of the system have a number as much as 10 kilometers.”
Flying the Raven isn’t difficult, however, there’s still basic aviation information an operator must know to fly, together with bearing, heading, and wind speed.
For landing, the Raven has to stand into the wind and it’s programmed to lead itself in a coast the entire way toward the floor. Landing is exclusive because there are built-in break points which are designed to wreck apart on impact, which to the unfamiliar eye looks loads like a catastrophic crash. However, the Raven is especially tough and undamaged.
The Ravens could be mount-operated. Units may have the control station mounted in a vehicle, launch the Raven and feature it flying excessive of the unit while they do their patrol.
“Its primary function is reconnaissance, but you should utilize it for target acquisition or battle site damage assessment,” said Oldfield, a local of Albuquerque, N.M. “The MPs can fly the Raven over the roads of a city to determine if there are any ambushes and check rooftops for snipers. With the Raven, operators can sight their targets, demand fire and verify the objective was destroyed.”
“Anytime you could send a bit of apparatus into a local so a Soldier doesn’t must put his life at the line [that] is often a plus,” said Oldfield. “The Ravens are quiet, so the enemy won’t know it’s there, especially at night.”
It is an engaging piece of apparatus and there are going to be some good job opportunities at some point here inside the U.S. and the world over, said Clark, a Whitewright, Texas, native. This training is a superb opportunity for everybody.
“In the year 2015, [the Federal Aviation Administration] goes to open up the national air space for unmanned aerial vehicles,” said Oldfield. “So not just am I training these guys to fly for the military, but they may actually take the certification to the civilian sector in addition. Here’s going to be an outstanding field, in 2015.”
Police departments and border patrol are going to need to apply UAVs, said Lundquist, a Lakeville, Minn., native. It’s going to be an entire new industry and many the experienced pilots are going to initially come from the army.
“I volunteered to do that,” said Lundquist. “I thought it’d be a good new experience. I always like trying new things that the military has to give. It’s only great to be a part of a team that helps those downrange stay safe.”
As another team launched a Raven into the air, something was certain: The MPs will continue to secure the security in their fellow Soldiers who’re deployed.
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