Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/235053
u unmanned sYsTeMs the neXt Breakthrough sensing Pizza delivery by UAV? Your Amazon book order by remote control? The opportunities for unmanned systems have never been greater. As delegates to the annual Unmanned system canada (Usc) conference in November heard, resource sectors, the film industry and security and emergency response organizations are all exploring new applications for platforms of all shapes and sizes, in the air, on the ground and underwater. Unmanned systems have proven indispensible for the canadian Armed Forces (cAF), which is still analyzing options for the acquisition of a long range aerial system to serve its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance needs for domestic and expeditionary operations, a program known as the Joint Unmanned surveillance Target Acquisition system (JUsTAs). John porter, a former U.s. Navy pilot, serves as deputy director of international business development for General Atomics Aeronautical systems, one of the companies eagerly watching the progress of the Royal canadian Air Force as it assess requirements. while he admits some frustration with the pace of the project, he has been an active participant in the government's recent requests for information. Based on the cAF need for both speed and endurance, he believes a combination of the company's Predator B (or MQ-9 Reaper), which has demonstrated 42 hours endurance, and newer Predator c Avenger, which has topped 400 knots, could provide the ideal solution. Prior to presenting at Usc in Vancouver, he spoke with Vanguard about the technology and the trends. 38 DeceMBeR 2013/JANUARY 2014 www.vanguardcanada.com