Tuesday, February 2, 2016

AeroVironment Drone Used In Antarctic Mission

Simi Valley-based AeroVironment reports this morning that its Puma unmanned aircraft have been used in a mission to Antarctica, by the United States Coast Guard. Aerovironment said its hand-launched, Puma AE UAS was used for the Operation Deep Freeze resupply mission, the military component of a resupply mission to the National Science Foundation's McMurdo Station. The mission ran from December 30th to January 18th. AeroVironment said its unmanned aircraft were used aboard the U.S. Coast Guard's Polar Star ice breaker, and were used to conduct operations more safely and efficiently without putting pilots and helicopters at risk. AeroVironment explained that its unmanned aircraft was retrieved via a portable net and also is waterproof and can be pulled from the ocean, if needed. Photo of the Polar Star, taken via Aerovironment's Puma AE.