CBP UAV Operators Host Navy’s New Triton Squadron for ‘Idea Exchange’

CBP OperatorsThe U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) National Air Security Operations Center in Jacksonville recently hosted 12 “Big Red” Sailors from Unmanned Patrol Squadron (VUP) -19, the Navy’s first MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) squadron, for a half-day visit.

The tour was the second event in VUP-19’s “UAS Best Practices” series, monthly briefings or site visits. The best practice series is designed to ease the manned-to-unmanned aviation transition, broadly educate VUP-19 personnel about modern UAS operations, and promote innovative thinking.

Federal agent and aviator Shy Thorsen spearheaded the introductory briefing and tour across the CBP’s facility. Thorsen is a former Navy P-3 pilot who now operates both Customs P-3 aircraft and the Customs MQ-9 Guardian aircraft, a system based on the Air Force’s Predator UAS.

“For more than a decade, CBP has deployed remotely-piloted UAS like the Guardian in disaster relief, emergency response, and law enforcement operations all across the US, North America and the western hemisphere,” explained Agent Thorsen.

“Although the Navy’s Triton is planned to be a larger and more capable platform, our pilots and operators have years of valuable experience that we are able to share in a lot of common areas.”

For example, CBP partnered with the US Coast Guard to develop the maritime variant of the Predator UAS, which was originally an Air Force platform primarily designed for and utilized in over-land environments.  Similarly, VUP-19 will be the first operational squadron to bring the MQ-4C Triton to the Fleet, a maritime version of the Air Force’s land-focused RQ-4 Global Hawk.

“At first it may seem like apples and oranges when comparing the CBP’s Guardian to the Navy’s Triton,” said Lt. Paddy Nichols, VUP-19 Aviation Safety Officer and future Triton pilot.  “But during this visit it became clear that although they are very different aircraft, our squadron can learn a lot from the lessons CBP discovered as they employed the Guardian. There are important commonalities in both platforms and missions, including UAS training differences compared to manned aircraft, weather avoidance, satellite based communications, and crew resource management just to name a few.”

The “Big Red” Sailors had an opportunity to learn about the CBP mission, talk with experienced operators, and even to visit the Predator Operations Center and flight control station.  For some of the pilots, Naval Flight Officers, enlisted operators and maintenance personnel, it was their first opportunity to see a UAS control station and simulator in person.

“Some of the most valuable moments of the visit were not the formal briefing presentations, but the one-on-one conversations between operators,” admitted Nichols. Some of the questions that Nichols asked the CBP operators were: “What is it like to operate an aircraft halfway around the world from here in Jacksonville?  What are your big challenges integrating the UAS into manned aircraft operations?  What would you have done differently in rolling out this new technology in hindsight?  These are all great talking points that really only come up organically during a visit like this.  We can’t thank Agent Thorsen and his team enough for this chance to come over here.”

Operating a squadron and diverse aircrew from different locations will be an important lesson to learn for VUP-19. The squadron will be permanently divided between two main operating locations, with about half of the Sailors at NAS Jacksonville, and the other at Naval Base Ventura County/Point Mugu, Calif.  The Triton is designed to eventually provide long-range, long-endurance maritime patrol coverage in strategic areas all over the world.

Future “UAS Best Practices” briefings are planned with an Air Force Global Hawk squadron, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and private sector UAS-operating entities like Google and Amazon.

Photo: A US Coast Guard pilot permanently assigned to the CBP Air and Marine Operations Center answers questions for VUP-19 personnel during a tour of the Guardian UAS Flight Control Station. – Courtesy photo by VUP-19

Source: JaxAir News

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