AeroVironment and a team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been contracted to provide the US Coast Guard ice breaker Polar Star with a RQ-20A Puma AE unmanned aircraft system.
The system will be supplied with a flight crew to take part in Operation Deep Freeze, the military component of the larger, civilian-managed US Antarctic programme to re-supply the National Science Foundation's McMurdo Station.
The Operation Deep Freeze joint team departed Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, on 30 December and reached McMurdo Station on 18 January.
During Operation Deep Freeze, AeroVironment personnel are employing Puma’s new Autonomous Recovery System to capture the UAS in a portable net on its return to the ship. Puma also can be recovered from the sea as a result of its waterproof design.
Kirk Flittie, vice president and general manager of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, AeroVironment, said: ‘Operation Deep Freeze is one of the US military's most complex peacetime missions due to the harsh Antarctic environment.
‘AeroVironment's Puma AE is delivering vital advanced scouting intelligence to help the coast guard's Polar Star conduct ice-breaking operations in the treacherous waters of the Ross Sea more safely and efficiently without putting pilots and costly helicopters at risk.’
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