Guest Post by CAPT Jim Sommer, Deputy Director of the CBP/USCG UAS JPO:
Last week marked an important milestone in our Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Joint Program Office (JPO) with Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The remotely piloted UAS, named the Guardian, commenced its first Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) flights from CBP's UAS Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station FL. Demonstrating its persistence, the 19 March flight, lasted over 16.5 hours.
Guardian, a maritime version of the Air Force's MQ-9/Predator-B UAS, will initially patrol off of Florida, with future deployments to the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific off of Central America.
OT&E will focus on the Guardian's suitability and sensor performance to conduct maritime patrols and wide area surveillance. Radar and optical sensors will be evaluated against various size vessels including a Self Propelled Semi-Submersible (SPSS). OT&E will evaluate Guardian during illegal drug and human smuggling, counter terrorism, and search and rescue based scenarios. During these scenarios, Guardian will provide video imagery directly to USCG cutters and small boats on scene, as well as command centers.
Coast Guard pilots and evaluators, experts from our Research and Development Center, and Coast Guard members from the Navy's Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR) will take part in the OT&E to assess the Guardian's performance. Sector Jacksonville will provide waterside support for radar targets and scenarios.
We have qualified three Coast Guard UAS pilots and plans are underway to expand our cadre of UAS pilots as well as optical and radar sensor operators. The UAS crew of five operates Guardian from a Ground Control Station via satellite link to provide up to 16 hours of endurance over a wide area.
The CBP/Coast Guard UAS JPO is a OneDHS initiative which provides the Coast Guard with valuable experience in UAS operations with CBP, which has pioneered UAS for land border enforcement. This experience and knowledge is essential for us to make informed UAS acquisition decisions. The Jointly operated Guardian will protect the homeland by detecting suspect vessels and activities along America's maritime borders and the illegal drug transit zones, and will be a model for DHS integrated results-based operations.
