It doesn’t stop members, and units, equally, from recognizing that they’re getting in at the ground floor of a skyrocketing technology. And they’re eager to learn more. “When I say that interest abounds, I mean that pretty much every unit in the Coast Guard wants to do this,” said Hill. “We have about 250-plus certified operators right now, but I anticipate that by 2025, we’ll have more than a thousand—and that might be conservative.” The applications for a service that does search and rescue, port security, environmental protection and many other missions are seemingly limitless. “This technology applies to everything," said Hill. “Essentially, this is a flying camera that you can record pictures and video with. There are electrical and thermal optical imaging right now, and even more capabilities coming in the future.” Most of the application so far has been in post-spill response, especially by the Strike Teams and the marine environmental response folks. “It’s fantastic,” said Hill. “They arrive on scene at a spill, and instead of requesting a helo, they throw this EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES NOW AIRBORNE AT THE PSU STORY AND PHOTOS BY LT. ERIC HUDSON, PORT SECURITY UNIT 311 The most profound innovation in military warfare in the last several decades, if not the last century, is the introduction of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). UAS have proven to be great surveillance and reconnaissance tools in both land and maritime environments. Early this year, the Coast Guard’s Office of Aviation Forces approved short range-unmanned aircraft systems (SR-UAS) to be used by the Coast Guard’s port security units, and PSU 311 hosted a joint SR-UAS training course March 23-26. Trainees from PSU 311, Maritime Security Response Team West, and Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach attended the four- day training course instructed by Chief Warrant Officer Joshua Tidey, Chief Warrant Officer Scott Casselman, and Petty Officer 1st Class Cory Humak. During the first day, trainees listened to an academic lecture and learned basic aircraft nomenclature. The subsequent days, students performed various training flights, some which required the student pilots to use multiple different aircraft systems during a flight, including setting waypoints, tracking human targets, and using the different camera options. One highlight of the training event was a competition between groups to see which team could pilot their drone through the obstacle course the fastest. At the conclusion of the training event, all participants were designated as SR-UAS remote pilots. "UAS capabilities are expanding rapidly and will undoubtedly enhance Coast Guard mission efficiency and at a lower operating cost,” said Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Hardgrove, Coast Guard Pacific Area’s UAS manager. “After transitioning to authorized systems, our short- range UAS program is gaining momentum through successful training events such as this one." Use of the unmanned aircraft will expand the PSU’s sensory abilities to detect potential threats and aid both waterside and shoreside operators in making quicker decisions. The remote pilots will continue to find ways to test the drones’ limitations to determine how it can best support the unit’s unique mission set. Issue 2 • 2023 . RESERVIST 23 CELEBRATING CELEBRATING 70 70 YEARS OF THE RESERVIST YEARS OF THE RESERVIST
