Photo By Sgt. Richard Trinh | Neil Cooper (center), an engineer with U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center...... read more read more
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IQUIQUE, Chile.—A team from the U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center completed a demonstration of a tethered unmanned aerial system with its partners from U.S. Army South during the Southern Fenix exercise in late August.
The 10-day multinational exercise at Camp Pozo Almonte near Iquique included the system to demonstrate their utility and robustness in the high desert environment in an expeditionary setting.
From a nearby observation post, forward observers from the U.S. and Chile, including Soldiers from the U.S. 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade, viewed a live feed returned by the tethered unmanned aerial system deployed to a remote location in the Atacama Desert. The teams’ use of the aerial system’s telemetry demonstrated their effectiveness at observing the impact of rockets from the Army’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, and the Chilean Light Artillery Rockets.
The tethered unmanned aerial system demonstration was a proof-of-concept test to show the systems’ capabilities to disseminate live forward observation video. This data includes live impact footage and video from which Soldiers can conduct a battle damage assessment, a type of analysis on impact effects typically used to determine the outcome of artillery fire. The feed was also relayed farther afield, both to the Exercise Control Group acting as a notional division headquarters and to team members in the continental United States.
Getting technology like this into Soldiers’ hands is more than the proof-of-concept, according to Neil Cooper, the lead engineer bringing these systems to Southern Fenix from the Ground Vehicle Systems Center. “This is much more than just bringing some cool technology to the field. We worked with the Soldiers to find the right technologies out of which they could get the most value, brought those technologies out here, and worked with them to find out how they could, and ultimately would, use it in the field.”
That feedback, said Cooper, is invaluable to understanding where technologies like the tethered UAS need to be further developed and how they can be integrated into existing systems.
“When Soldiers use this technology in unexpected ways to create capabilities we hadn’t considered before, that’s the real value of doing Science and Technology in the dirt,” said Cooper. “We take these observations back to our colleagues at the Capability Development and Integration Centers and the Program Executive Offices who can use it to shape the requirements for future technology acquisition and fielding.”
Whether dirt or dust, the environmental conditions in the Chilean desert presented unique challenges to the demonstration team. High desert conditions with hilly, hot, and dry landscapes reach the extremes of the conditions in which military equipment is expected to operate. According to Cooper, these conditions contribute to the learning process.
“Looking at the market, like what’s being used by law enforcement in the U.S., or what you can find on the floor of many trade shows, you’ll see all sorts of products advertising great leading-edge capabilities,” said Cooper. “What you see out there might look great and sound like a wonderful idea, but a lot of it isn’t ruggedized enough for what we need in the Army.”
Cooper added that although the tethered systems the team has worked with at Southern Fenix still need some additional maturation, they performed well for short duration use, even through the heavy dust, temperature changes, and dry conditions.
The Ground Vehicle Systems Center’s work with the Southern Fenix exercise is one of a large handful of science and technology demonstrations across multiple geographical combatant commands designed to pursue Army Futures Command’s support of continuous transformation of the Army.
About U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center
The U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) is the research, development, and engineering organization dedicated to advancing ground vehicle systems and technologies for the U.S. Army and its partners. GVSC's mission is to deliver cutting-edge solutions that enhance warfighter capabilities, improve vehicle performance, and ensure mission success. With a focus on innovation, collaboration, and agility, GVSC works closely with industry, academia, and government partners to develop and field state-of-the-art ground vehicle systems that meet the evolving needs of the Army and the nation.
| Date Taken: | 09.30.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2024 09:16 |
| Story ID: | 482070 |
| Location: | IQUIQUE, CL |
| Web Views: | 136 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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