ALL IMAGES COURTESY US ARMY
INTHESPOTLIGHT By James A. Viola
Sgt. Javaughn Harrison, UAS Operator,
US Army Soldier is “eye in the sky” for ground troops, pilots.
WATCH Warrior
Weeks: The Upper Hand
M
ILITARY ROTORCRAFT HAVE LONG BEEN a source of both personnel and new ideas for the civil industry. For many HAI mem- bers, their first helicopter ride took place while serving their countries. Military innovations later widely adopted by the civil industry include radar, night-vision goggles, and the helicopter air ambulance mission. World War I saw the first military experiments with
powered pilotless aircraft, and the US Army used recon- naissance drones in Vietnam in the 1960s. But it wasn’t until 2005 that the FAA released guidance on the civil use of unmanned aircraft sys- tems (UASs, or drones) in the United States. Today, the agency has regis- tered nearly 869,000 drones, com- pared with a 2019 estimate of nearly 211,000 general aviation aircraft. With the twin advantages of lower operating costs and less risk to human flight crews, drones are expected to be increasingly utilized by the civil rotorcraft industry. Sgt. Javaughn Harrison of the US
Army 1st Infantry Division is the lat- est example of the military’s invest- ment in drone applications. As an operator of unmanned aircraft sys-
tems (UAS), Harrison acts as “The Upper Hand,” identify- ing threats on the ground and in the air and then relaying that information to his fellow soldiers. He is also one of 12 soldiers starring in the US Army’s latest marketing campaign, “What’s Your Warrior?” which focuses on 12 in-demand military careers. In late January, HAI President and CEO James A. Viola, himself a former US Army helicopter pilot, spoke with Harrison via Zoom from the soldier’s duty station in South Korea about the aerial advantage provided by UAS and how his unit works with manned aviation assets. [Note: this interview has been edited for length and clarity.]
20 ROTOR MARCH 2021
Viola: Some civil rotorcraft operators don’t realize the benefits of conducting both manned and unmanned missions. What was your first manned and unmanned combined mission like? Harrison: It went pretty smoothly. The payload operator, aircrew commander, and I went out to get the briefing from the Apache and Black Hawk pilots on what the mis- sion would be and how we were going to execute it. They showed us maps of all the flight routes they were going to use, and our job was to build around that and help them navigate through it.
How do you prepare for a manned–unmanned mission? We do different phases of training to attain top profi- ciency. Essentially, we practice so that when we get to the actual live flights and the MUM-T [manned and unmanned teaming] training, we’re not making fools of ourselves.
What’s a normal launch-and-recovery cycle for your UAS? If we’re far away from the supported unit, we try to launch at least an hour before they do, so that we can get established in our respective locations. But if we’re close by, we try to launch first so that we can get at least 1,000 ft. above them. That way, when the supported unit gets to their spot, we can adjust to a certain height and distance in front of them, so as not to be in their line of sight when they’re performing engagements. That pro- tects everyone’s aircraft, helicopter and UAS.
Do you maintain a certain deconfliction altitude? The general rule is, for every 1,000 ft. they go up, we go another 1,000 ft. up and 200 ft. in front.
Do you do a post-flight on your vehicles? Yes, once we land, we have our post-flight details to go through, including cleaning off the aircraft and filling out our flight logs. Once that’s done, we go over to the other pilots and have a post-flight conversation of how the
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