The US Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock has signed a three-year cooperative research development agreement (CRADA) with Pierce Aerospace. The initiative represents the first maritime experiment for Pierce Aerospace’s Flight Portal ID, Remote ID technology suite.
According to Danko, “the focus of this demonstration was Joint Contested Logistics.” Danko continued, “We selected 10 technologies, integrated them into the boat and conducted underway experiments over a couple weeks. One of the highlights was the ability and willingness of technology providers like Pierce Aerospace to collaborate and combine new technologies in innovative ways to address a common tactical goal.”
“This was the first time stress testing Flight Portal ID in a maritime environment, exposing the system to vibration, shock, sea state, and marine airspace while aboard a US Navy vessel,” said Aaron Pierce, CEO of Pierce Aerospace. “The experiment was very valuable to our ongoing prototype development and we immediately began iterating with lessons learned from the maritime environment.”
The US Navy’s M80 Stiletto hosted the event, with multiple Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBS), a jet ski, and an unmanned surface vessel (USV) all contributing to the multi-asset experiment. The M80 Stiletto was originally developed for US Navy Special Warfare and has an extensive history supporting next generation technology and prototype experimentation. The USV was a Seasat X3, provided by Seasats. The activities included maritime UAS Remote ID experimentation aboard the M80 Stiletto during the US Navy’s Thunderstorm 2021 experiment.
During the experiment Pierce Aerospace integrated Flight Portal ID into Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) COPERS Common Operating Picture. COPERS provides a distributed web-based common operational picture that enables anyone with approved credentials to login and participate or observe events monitored and administered by COPERS. The system is designed for diverse integration and delivers superior situational awareness across a wide range of users.
“The Pierce Aerospace team integrated into COPERS and was ready to go before arriving dock-side. Their technology, coupled with the situational awareness power of COPERS provided a picture of the operational space that had not been previously available,” said Preston Hoeve, COPERS Principle Investigator, Centauri/KBR.
Dennis Danko, the JPEM program manager said: “The focus of this demonstration was Joint Contested Logistics. We selected 10 technologies, integrated them into the boat and conducted underway experiments over a couple weeks. One of the highlights was the ability and willingness of technology providers like Pierce Aerospace to collaborate and combine new technologies in innovative ways to address a common tactical goal.”
(Image: Screen capture of video shot from a UAS equipped with FPID while flying from the M80 Stiletto during Thunderstorm 2021)
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