UAV flyr i kommersielt luftrom i USA

MQ-1 Predator Flew Search and Rescue Exercise in National Airspace

Posted on July 17, 2012 by The Editor

The US Air National Guard just announced that on May 7, 2012 the 163d Reconnaissance Wing took part in the Ardent Sentry Exercise which focused on Defense support of civil entities during a crisis situation.

The object of the exercise was to launch an MQ-1 Predator from Fort Polk by the 147th Reconnaissance Wing, have it handed over to the 163D RW pilots located in California, and patrol an area in Louisiana where a simulated hurricane has hit. Ardent Sentry marked the first time a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) was flown in the national airspace (NAS) for a search and rescue mission exercise such as this.

Major Dawn Junk, CONR 1AF, Chief Domestic Operations & Special Missions said, “This is a new air operation era in which RPAs are becoming more common. One of the purposes of this exercise was to figure out the processes and procedures to incorporate RPAs into the national airspace safely and effectively.”