Leveraging Unmanned Systems for Coast Guard Missions (2020) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
4 Unmanned System Experience in the U.S. Coast Guard and Other Federal Agencies
4 Unmanned System Experience in the U.S. Coast Guard and Other Federal Agencies
Pages 43-82
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 43... ...
, acquisitions, and some limited deploy ents of these m systems, as well as actively partnering on UxS projects sponsored by other military services and federal agencies. The chapter begins by identifying and reviewing the status of 12 UxS projects and programs, active or planned at the time of this study, that the Coast Guard either sponsors or supports in partnership with other entities.1 These descriptions are followed by an overview of the Coast Guard's programmed budgetary expenditures for UxSs, as well as relevant R&D expenditures by the U.S.
|
From page 44... ...
Indeed, the number and variety of initiatives that were identified suggest a keen operational-level interest in UxSs for an array of Coast Guard functions and missions. The following sections contain brief descriptions of 12 Coast Guard UxS projects that the committee identified in programs of record, R&D, and partnerships with other organizations from the military, DHS, and elsewhere in the federal government.
|
From page 45... ...
The UAS was deployed to provide augmented air surveillance for drug and migrant interdiction, other law enforcement activity, and Search and Rescue (SAR)
|
From page 46... ...
With a focus on law enforcement and anti-terrorism, the joint program generates surveillance data that serves not only CBP's Air and Marine Operations and the Coast Guard, but also the U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S.
|
From page 47... ...
This limitation, in addition to the scarce number of maritime domain flights under this program, reduces the potential gains for Coast Guard missions. Briefings by the UAS Joint Program Office suggest that awareness of the Predator program is currently low among Coast Guard pilots, and it has proven difficult to attract pilots to the program.
|
From page 48... ...
Research and Development Robotic Aircraft for Maritime Public Safety Initiated in FY 2013 and completed in FY 2019, this R&D project evaluated small quad copter (see the Yuneec Typhoon H being tested in Figure 4-3) and small fixed-wing UAS platforms (see the Puma AE in Figure 4-4)
|
From page 49... ...
UNMANNED SYSTEM EXPERIENCE IN THE U.S. COAST GUARD 49 FIGURE 4-3 Yuneec Typhoon H small quad copter.
|
From page 50... ...
If implemented in the future, the use of short-range UASs could benefit several Coast Guard missions including SAR; Port, Waterways and Coastal Security (PWCS) ; Law Enforcement; Drug Interdiction; Marine Environmental Protection; Aids to Navigation; Ice Operations; and Migrant Interdiction.
|
From page 51... ...
Because this program is focused on future deployment to Coast Guard field units, additional benefits for routine Coast Guard operations may be discovered once the technology is in the hands of the workforce. For external partners, information gathered with short-range UASs could support law enforcement agencies and maritime entities located near Coast Guard units, and ultimately provide faster and better maritime domain awareness (MDA)
|
From page 52... ...
Southern Command. Successful development and deployment of VTOL technology could benefit the SAR, Law Enforcement, Drug Interdiction, Marine Environmental Response, and Migrant Interdiction missions.
|
From page 53... ...
"Spatial Integrated Systems (SIS) Wins US Coast Guard Maritime Domain Awareness Pilot Study Contract." https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/spatial-integrated systems-sis-wins-us-coast-guard-maritime-domain-awareness-pilot-study-contract-301010569.
|
From page 54... ...
Its meteorological and oceanographic sensor are capable to measure in real time solar irradiance, long wave radiation, atmospheric pressure, air temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction, ocean skin temperature, bulk water temperature, chlorophyll and colored dissolved organic matter, among others.14 The Spatial Integrated Systems' Multi Agent Robotic Teams Autonomy System is a vehicle control system that can turn any platform into an unmanned system. The vehicle platform used for the project is the MetalCraft 7 meter Interceptor Boat by MetalCraft Marine, who teamed up with Spatial Integrated Systems for this Coast Guard award.
|
From page 55... ...
Oil Spill Detection and Mapping This R&D project is focused on the development of an autonomous under ater vehicle for mapping oil spills on the surface, subsurface, and w under the ice. The Tethys Long Range Autonomous Underwater Vehicle is designed for under ice operations in the Arctic environment.16 Designed for low-drag and low-power operation, this system has a 15-day endurance (with 6kWH rechargeable batteries)
|
From page 56... ...
Oil Spills in Ice Environments This ongoing project is conducting lab and field tests of long-range a utonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) , AUVs, and UASs in ice conditions to verify the accuracy of sensors and unmanned systems and is testing the timeliness of data transfer to responders.
|
From page 57... ...
Counter-Unmanned Air Systems (cUASs) This project, initiated in October 2016 and slated for completion in November 2020, is examining air domain vehicles and decision support systems to detect, track, identify, and defeat illicit use of UASs in the maritime environment.
|
From page 58... ...
The primary Coast Guard missions that would benefit from these systems are PWCS, Defense Readiness, and Law Enforcement. The primary challenges for full development and deployment are proof of technology and funding.
|
From page 59... ...
The platform also provides with stability ballast tanks, and solar rechargeable lithium batteries. It can collects a wide variety of ocean and environmental data using its set of sensors, such as weather sensors, acoustic Doppler current profiler, magnetometers, seismic survey sensors, and hydrocarbon detectors.18 If successful, deployment would certainly benefit the Law Enforcement, Drug Interdiction, Migrant Interdiction, and Marine Environmental Protection missions; research results could reveal benefits for other statutory Coast Guard missions, the Navy, and other maritime law enforcement agencies.
|
From page 60... ...
. The following tables summarize the details for the Coast Guard UxS projects that were identified by the committee: • Table 4-1 lists the Coast Guard missions that could benefit from the capabilities of the specific UxSs activities and projects completed or under way.
|
From page 61... ...
TABLE 4-1 U.S. Coast Guard UxS Projects by Mission Area Mission Search and Rescue Ports, Waterways and Coastal Security Law Enforcement Defense Readiness Drug Interdiction Living Marine Resources Marine Environmental Protection Aids to Navigation Marine Safety Ice Operations Migrant Interdiction Long-Range UAS L Pt H Pt H Pt H Medium-Range UAS L Pt H Pt H Pt H Short-Range UAS Pt Pt Pt H H M M sUAS -- NSC Augment L Pt H Pt H Pt H VTOL UAS Operations Pt Pt Pt Pt Pt Pt Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety Pt Pt Pt Pt Pt Pt Pt Low-Cost MDA Pt Pt Pt Pt Pt Pt Pt Oil Spill Detection and Mapping H Oil Spills in Ice Environments H Counter-Unmanned Air Systems H Pt Counter-Unmanned Underwater H Pt Including Swimmers Maritime UxS Technology Pt Pt Pt Pt Pt NOTE: Mission Impact: H = high; L = low; M = medium; Pt = potential.
|
From page 62... ...
TABLE 4-2 U.S. Coast Guard UxS Activity by Modality or Operational Domain Modality or Operational Domain Decision Air Surface Subsurface Support Long-Range UAS P Medium-Range UAS P Short-Range UAS P sUAS -- NSC Augment P VTOL UAS Operations P Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety P Low-Cost MDA P P Oil Spill Detection and Mapping P Oil Spills in Ice Environments S P Counter-Unmanned Air Systems P Counter-Unmanned Underwater P Including Swimmers Maritime UxS Technology P P NOTE: P = primary; S = secondary.
|
From page 63... ...
Coast Guard UxS Projects Cost Burden USCG USCG USCG USCG Field Headquarters Area District Units DHS Long-Range UAS S P Medium-Range UAS P Short-Range UAS P sUAS -- NSC Augment P VTOL UAS Operations P Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety P Low-Cost MDA P Oil Spill Detection and Mapping P Oil Spills in Ice Environments P Counter-Unmanned Air Systems S P Counter-Unmanned Underwater P Including Swimmers Maritime UxS Technology P NOTE: P = primary; S = secondary.
|
From page 64... ...
Coast Guard Program Sponsors for Each Listed UxS Project Oil Spill Detection P Unmanned System Projects and Mapping Oil Spills S P in Ice Environments Counter-Unmanned S S S S S P P Air Systems Counter-Unmanned S S P Underwater and Anti-Swimmers Maritime UxS S S S P Technology 64
|
From page 65... ...
DCMS-34 S CG-1 CG-4 CG-45 S CG-6 S CG-9 S S S Atlantic Area S S S S District 1 S District 5 District 7 District 8 District 9 S Pacific Area S S S S District 11 District 13 District 14 S District 17 S S NOTE: P = primary; S = secondary.
|
From page 66... ...
TABLE 4-5 Partnering Entities for the U.S. Coast Guard's UxS Projects 66 UxS Projects/Programs Long-Range UAS Medium-Range UAS Short-Range UAS sUAS -- NSC Augment VTOL UAS Operations Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety Low-Cost MDA Oil Spill Detection and Mapping Oil Spills in Ice Environments Counter-Unmanned Air Systems Counter-Unmanned Underwater and Anti-Swimmers Maritime UxS Technology DHS X Air and Marine X CPB Border Patrol S&T X X X X DOD OSD Naval Surface X Warfare Center Naval Undersea X Warfare Center Naval Air Systems USN X Command Office of Naval X X Research Naval Information X Warfare Center USAF Air Force Research Lab X
|
From page 67... ...
National Government Oceanographic NOAA X X and Atmospheric Administration Bureau of Safety BSEE and Environmental X Enforcement Federal Aviation FAA Administration U.S. Environmental EPA X X Protection Agency Private Monterey Bay Aquarium X Entity Academia University of Alaska X X Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute X X University of Southern Mississippi 67
|
From page 68... ...
Indeed, the S&T Directorate does fund UxS project that apply to the Coast Guard. Four of the 12 projects described above are funded by the irectorate -- projects on robotic aircraft for public safety, oil spill D etection and mapping, counter-unmanned air systems, and maritime d c ounter UxS technology.
|
From page 69... ...
Budget Coast Guard Discretionary Budget 9,973 0.1% UxS Budget 9.4 (sUAS-NSC Augment) Navy/Marine Discretionary Budget 209,000 2.2% Corps UxS Budget 4,700 Army Discretionary Budget 178,468 0.8% UxS Budget 1,500 Air Force Discretionary Budget 205,406 1.1% UxS Budget 2,200 NOTES: The UxS budgets for the U.S.
|
From page 70... ...
FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 $5,303 $5,503 $3,420 $11,807 $8,000 SOURCE: Funding data estimated from the latest draft of DHS's National Defense Authorization Act report. EXAMPLES OF UxS ELSEWHERE IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT During the course of this study, the committee was briefed by officials from several federal agencies of varying size and having a range of civilian, law enforcement, national security, and defense missions to learn more about their development and use of UxSs.
|
From page 71... ...
Priced at more $100 million per aircraft (and requiring substantial ground support) , the required investment to deploy the Triton, or a similarly large and capable UAS -- for Coast Guard missions -- would seem to be prohibitively high.
|
From page 72... ...
25 Brian Alkire, et al. "Applications for Navy Unmanned Aircraft Systems." RAND Report.
|
From page 73... ...
. Examples of the Navy's interest in unmanned surface vessels (USVs)
|
From page 74... ...
74 LEVERAGING UNMANNED SYSTEMS FOR COAST GUARD MISSIONS FIGURE 4-10 U.S. Navy's unmanned surface water and underwater systems.
|
From page 75... ...
As a further indication of DOD's early embrace of UxS, in 2007 it issued the UxS Roadmap 2007–2032 to guide the future development of military UxS and related technologies in ways that leverage and prioritize the funding and development of UxS technology across the military.31 The roadmap, which has been updated multiple times,32 was issued to ensure that UxS capabilities were being pursued in a cooperative and collaborative manner across the services and supported by joint standards and efforts to ensure interoperability of air, ground, and sea systems, both manned and unmanned. The roadmap not only identifies challenges to achieving a range of desired outcomes such as interoperability, integration, cybersecurity, affordability, technological progress, and conformance laws and policies, but also identifies a range of approaches for meeting these challenges.
|
From page 76... ...
UxS activities were then distributed into two separate program executive offices -- one for maritime systems and the other for aviation systems -- where domain-specific UxS activities would be further developed.37 34 Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Unmanned Systems (DASN (UxS)
|
From page 77... ...
Department of the Interior Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) 2018 Use Report." 40 U.S.
|
From page 78... ...
In addition to being subject to all relevant FAA regulations governing UAVs and the safe use of airspace, the FBI must comply with DOJ-wide policies and guidelines intended to ensure that agencies carrying out their law enforcement and national security missions use these systems in a manner that respects individual privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration For several years, NOAA has used UxSs for an assortment of missions, including seafloor and habitat mapping, ocean exploration, marine mammal and fishery stock assessments, emergency response, and at-sea observations of algal bloom and hypoxia events.
|
From page 79... ...
Congress further appropriated $12.7 million in FY 2020 for the creation of a centralized UxS Operations Program.45 Consequently, NOAA (in February 2020) issued a UxS Strategic Implementation Plan that established five goals for expanded UxS operations across the agency.46 The goals call for (a)
|
From page 80... ...
creation of a central office responsible for advocating for UxSs, monitoring and coordinating UxS research, acquisitions, and deployments across the agency, and facilitating changes in policies and practices needed to further their use and integration; (c) recognition of the importance of programs dedicated to training personnel in UxS operations and support functions; (d)
|
From page 81... ...
The Cyber Strategy emphasizes how cybertechnology is inextricably linked with all aspects of Coast Guard mission performance and articulates strategic priorities for operating effectively within the cyber d omain and countering and protecting against maritime cybersecurity threats. The Human Capital strategy lays out a 10-year plan to build and maintain a proficient, diverse, and adaptable workforce to respond to changing technology and an increasingly complex operating environment.
|
From page 82... ...
2016. United States Coast Guard Human Capital Strategy.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.