Page 58 - Signal Winter 2019

| EYE IN THE SKY |
Eye In The Sky
A brief overview of UAV usage within the Defence Forces. By Captain Justin A.Barry, Instructor at the Artillery School in the Military College.
The Defence Forces currently have UAVs for both operations and training across a number of Corps. The Artillery Corps have operated UAVs for 10 years and currently use the Orbiter 2B mini UAV. The Engineer Corps operate the DJI Matrice UAV in their specialist search role. The ARW operate a number of small and micro UAV systems.
The Naval Service operate quadcopter UAVs at sea, and deployed them in the Mediterranean in the past. The primary function of all UAVs in the Defence Forces is surveillance. This surveillance ranges from close over the wall applications out to 50km+.
They have been used at home and overseas as ISTAR assets increasing a commander’s situational awareness and giving him increased force protection. No systems are currently deployed overseas, but are available for deployment if required by the mission.
My role is to manage and oversee the training and maintenance of the Artillery Corps fleet of UAV. I liaise with the manufacturer on all aspects of the system, in this case Aeronautics. As an Operator I deploy with the system in training and operational taskings. This includes preparation, launch, operation and landing and recovery.
Defence Forces UAV are utilised throughout all training courses 58 | | WINTER ‘19 |
such as Cadet Exercises, Infantry YO courses, Artillery live firing, Ordnance Corps Exercises, Engineer Corps Exercises, Infantry Potential NCO Cse, Infantry Standard NCO Cse, SERE Cses, ARW training and Cavalry Cse’s.
Defence Forces UAVs have also been used at the request of An Garda Siochana in ATCP operations across the country. Proof of concept training has taken place with various Mountain rescue organisations to assess the viability of utilising UAVs in the search for missing persons and the Defence Forces offers assistance and guidance as requested from other state agencies. Going forward, through the Defence Forces UAV Standing Committee, the Defence Forces continue to develop a UAV capability throughout all Corps. This is coordinated by the Director of Combat Support and ISTAR with assistance from the Air Corps.
Orbiter 2B Mini UAV
The Orbiter family of unmanned aerial vehicle systems includes the Orbiter I, Orbiter II and Orbiter III unmanned aerial vehicles.
Orbiter II is the medium size version of the Orbiter UAS family. It has a wing span of 3m. The maximum take-off weight of Orbiter II is 9.5kg. The Orbiter
mini UAV has a robust airframe, constructed using light composite materials. The lightweight and agile design allows the rapid deployment of the system in forward areas. The electric engine ensures it can run quietly to perform covert missions. Orbiter functions as an autonomous Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) platform for naval ships when performing maritime missions. It is launched and recovered from the deck.
The sophisticated image processing capabilities
of the Orbiter UAV include automatic video tracker, video motion detection (VMD), mosaic (video composition), D-Roll and image stabilisation, digital zoom and super resolution. The Orbiter mini UAV is powered by a brushless electric engine. The engine delivers sufficient power output for the UAV to stay in air for up to 90 minutes. The engine provides a maximum speed of 70kt and range of more than 50km.
The Orbiter mini unmanned aerial vehicle is launched using a catapult system. The system requires ten- minute assembly to launch the UAV. The catapult
is equipped with redundant safety features. The
UAV can be recovered by employing an automatic parachute and air bag recovery system.
Some images of the Orbiter UAV during launch and landing. (Courtesy of Capt Justin Barry.)