USS Monsoon tests RQ-20A Puma AE
USS Monsoon, a Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship of the US Navy, has tested the capabilities of the AeroVironment RQ-20A Puma All Environment (AE) small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS), the navy announced on 3 August.
The RQ-20A Puma AE was tested during a Griffin missile system test in the Arabian Gulf. The goal of the testing was to assess how SUAS can give 'eye in the sky' situational awareness capabilities to vessels that don't have an embarked helicopter or organic airborne capability of some kind.
The Puma AE weighs around 14lbs and can fly for over three hours at an altitude of 500ft with a range of 15km. It can be assembled, hand-launched and operated by a two-man team using GPS or manual control. With its infrared and electro-optical camera, the UAS can be used for missions such as personnel recovery, search and rescue, man overboard and visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) exercises.
Lt Cmdr Bryan Hart, commanding officer of the USS Hurricane, said: 'Puma is most commonly employed as a precursor search and overwatch platform to support her VBSS team, and it is also commonly used for area surveillance and range clearance during gunnery exercises. During a recent gunnery exercise, Puma operators were the first to identify inbound navigational concerns, allowing for increased reaction time from the navigation team due to the significant increase in the distance in sight Puma provides beyond that of the ship.'
The Puma has previously been used on USS Gonzalez, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, but was not fully integrated as part of the ship's weapons cache to use for intelligence-gathering during deployment.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)
Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.
-
SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale
PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.
-
SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions
Teledyne FLIR is highlighting the emerging requirements for 'recoverable and re-usable' loitering munitions across the contemporary operating environment during this week’s SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
-
SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America
High-performance maritime industry player Kraken Technology Group, based in the UK, has used the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida this week to debut its K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the North American market.
-
Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military
Red Cat and Palladyne AI recently conducted a cross-platform collaborative flight involving three diverse heterogeneous drones.
-
Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.