CG adding sUAS to fleet

Unmanned aircraft already play a role in one of the Coast Guard’s initial missions of guarding against illicit trade. In a letter to the Revenue Cutter Service in 1791, Alexander Hamilton warned of the resourcefulness of traffickers. Today’s Coast Guard faces resourceful criminals with lots of money to run drugs and deal in human trafficking. The CG is working to add unmanned aircraft systems to augment its cutters and aircraft, including the acquisition of small UAS (sUAS) capabilities for its National Security Cutter fleet. The first installed sUAS, on NSC Stratton, assisted with the interdiction of four vessels carrying 5,000 pounds of contraband. A Request For Proposal for sUAS capability to outfit the entire NSC fleet is planned for release by Sept. 30. The Research and Development Center (RDC) plans to release a Request For Information to conduct market research on long-range, land-based UAS. The research will probe the feasibility, costs and benefits of using these systems to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance across the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and eastern Pacific Ocean. The Office of Aviation Forces is currently contracting for an sUAS proof of concept deployment from Puerto Rico this year in support of local law enforcement. UAS capability has the potential to enhance other CG missions, including search and rescue, marine environmental protection, and aids to navigation. In a completed Arctic Technology Evaluation aboard CG Cutter Healy, the RDC tested the capabilities of a short-range UAS for polar missions. (Source: Coast Guard 08/14/17) Gulf Coast Note: NSC Stratton was built at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard. CGC Healy was built at the Avondale, La., shipyard.