Dragonfly Pictures, Inc., a leader in tethered unmanned aerial systems (drones), has successfully demonstrated its tethered UAS, the Unmanned Multirotor Aerial Relay (UMAR) , from a US Navy ship in early April 2020.
DPI will be presenting a paper on this topic titled “Tethered UAS Launch and Recovery from Ships and Small Craft: Challenges and Opportunities” during the American Society of Naval Engineers Virtual Launch and Recovery Symposia on July 16, 2020.
Many ship communication systems are limited by the curvature of the earth and can only communicate to the visual horizon, which is typically less than ten miles. This reduces the effective range of unmanned boats, buoys, and other offboard sensors.
Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) with tethers are proving viable in providing continuous, sustained Beyond Line of Site (BLOS) communications. The tether provides continuous power and command/control to the UAS, thereby vastly increasing mission duration. Tethered UAS reduce operator workload and mission planning thereby enabling the host ship and the offboard asset to communicate further. Tethered UAS also increase host ship maneuverability by not being limited by wind or forward travel.
Tethered UAS can automatically fly above and follow ships to provide BLOS communications. However, there are significant obstacles and challenges. The presentation will focus on the use of the systems and sensors to safely operate from ships to keep sailors safe. Ship obstructions, such as masts, antennas, helicopter operations (takeoff & landing), and other obstacles provide hazards during flight. Multiple real-world technologies have been implemented, tested, and evaluated that allow for safe ship operation and deconfliction.
Furthermore, these new technologies can help land on heaving, rolling ship and boat platforms of various sizes. Actual test results and video will be presented of autonomously launching/recovering tethered UAS onto various size ship and boat decks.
UMAR can host a variety of sensors including cameras, radar, and weather data can be collected at altitude for an extended duration. DPI has tested its tethered UAS systems on various vessels from 45 ft US Coast Guard vessels, US Navy ships, and US Army ground platforms.
The UMAR system provides simple control with just up and down buttons. Unlike an aerostat/blimp there is no helium required, thereby reducing operational costs.
