The ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle is recovered from flight aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79). Oscar Austin is en route to the Central Command area of responsibility to support maritime security operations in the region as part of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kenneth R. Hendrix)Guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79), completed a robust testing phase of the ScanEagle, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), Nov. 17, en route to the Central Command area of operations as part of the ongoing rotation to support Maritime Security Operations.
This is an unprecedented employment of a UAV aboard a multi-mission (anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and anti-surface warfare) surface combatant.
Oscar Austin is an element of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG).
"The particular UAV we are flying here is known as the ScanEagle," said John Nicholson, ScanEagle team leader, and The Boeing Company field representative. "In the past and still today, we have operated ScanEagle on various ship platforms like the LHAs and LHDs (amphibious assault ships), LPDs (amphibious transport dock ships), LSDs (amphibious dock landing ships), and high speed vessel ships."
The primary mission of the ScanEagle UAV is to provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support to the Oscar Austin and HSTCSG.
"ScanEagle is an incredible asset not only for this ship, but the Navy too," said Oscar Austin's Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Eric Weilenman. "It gives me great [subject awareness] on what's around the ship and allows me to keep my visit, board, search, and seizure teams aware of their environment because the UAV provides positive identification on vessels of interest, which allows me to pass accurate security information to my Sailors as they prepare to board."
While in flight, ScanEagle provides live, high-quality video that helps develop and maintain a Recognized Maritime Picture and further enhances Maritime Domain Awareness.
Contractors operate the UAV while Navy intelligence specialists and flight deck crew work side-by-side with the civilians.
"Based on data collections, I task the UAV operators with what to target and where to look," said Chief Intelligence Specialist (AW) Roger Whittington, the intelligence officer aboard Oscar Austin. "Our role is intelligence, while their role is to fly the plane."
ScanEagle is four-feet long with a wingspan of 10-feet, and offers a variety of features that differentiate it from other UAVs.
The UAV has the ability to go as high as 10,000-feet, the capability of flying for more than 20 hours both day and night, and it's quiet, "making it difficult to detect from the surface of the ocean," said Nicholson.
Whether it is operating by day or night, ScanEagle can carry either an electro-optical or infrared camera, allowing the operator to easily track both stationary and moving targets.
Navy reservist and Ensign Scott Hamann, a ScanEagle pilot operator assigned to Boeing explained the launch and recovery process of the UAV.
"ScanEagle is launched by a pneumatic wedge catapult launcher and flies off pre-programmed computerized files or operators (like myself) to initiate the mission," said Hamann.
"When retrieved, we use what is called a 'Skyhook' system, where the UAV catches a rope that is hanging from a 50-foot high pole," Hamann added.
Whittington said the prospect of helping to develop a machine that can potentially save lives is an honor.
"I'm really excited about being [a part of] this ground breaking moment in naval history," Whittington said.
Weilenman has high hopes in store for the UAV and wants to raise the bar during this deployment. The last ship that deployed with ScanEagle, USS Carter Hall (LSD 50), completed 19 missions and 933 flight hours.
"We are going to try to beat those numbers," said Weilenman. "It's all mission dependent, depending on where our missions are going to be and what we are going to be doing, but it is very possible we will exceed those results."