Kris Osborn, ASA (ALT) WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 18, 2012) — Sgt. Christopher Harris was conducting a routine reconnaissance mission in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, in 2009, when the Puma unmanned aircraft system, or UAS, he was operating showed nearby, real-time footage of insurgents planting an improvised explosive device, or IED, along a U.S. Army convoy route. “These guys had set an IED two kilometers away from us,” Harris said, recalling the incident. “They were waiting for us to drive by for what looked like a planned IED-initiated ambush.” The Puma UAS is a 13-pound, portable, hand-launched unmanned aircraft system, known as a UAS, with a wingspan of 9.2-feet and electro-optical/infrared, or EO/IR, sensors able to beam back real-time imagery from combat-relevant locations. The EO/IR sensors on Harris’ PUMA UAS showed live, real-time images of the insurgent activity on his one system remote video terminal, or OSRVT. The OSRVT is a laptop-like display screen and antenna able to give Soldiers like Harris advance warning of nearby threats. Using the UAS technology, Harris was able to pinpoint the exact location of the insurgents and the house they were operating out of within five meters. Then, after carefully checking the area to […]
Unmanned Aircraft System operators save lives in combat
Unmanned Aircraft System operators save lives in combat
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