Libyan rebels have been using the Aeryon Scout Micro UAS to acquire intelligence on enemy positions and to coordinate their resistance efforts.
Representatives from the Transitional National Council (TNC) were looking for an imagery solution to provide to the troops on the ground. They evaluated a series of micro UAS and chose the Aeryon Scout – and they needed it delivered immediately to those fighting at the front. Large UAS are often flown far away from the frontline – often overseas – making it difficult to get the imagery to troops in combat. With the Aeryon Scout, the operator has direct control over the UAS and is able to see imagery in real-time.
In cooperation with the Zariba Security Corporation and the Libyan Transitional National Council, Libyan troops were trained in-country on the use of the Aeryon Scout UAV. Docking in the besieged city of Misrata, after an 18-hour boat ride from Malta, a representative from Zariba Security delivered and conducted Scout UAS training. With enemy artillery landing nearby and rockets still falling on the city, training began at the Misrata Airport. “After only one demonstration flight, the TNC soldiers operated the following flight,” said Charles Barlow of Zariba. “I was amazed how easy it was to train people with no previous UAS or aircraft experience, especially given the language barrier. Soldiers need tough, intuitive equipment – and the Scout delivered brilliantly.”
Misrata Training Flight
With only a day and a half of training flights and a few familiarization flights, the rebels put the Scout into service on the frontline. “The system has been operating perfectly, with no incidents – quite impressive for those familiar with the statistics of other small UAS in operational theatres,” said Charles Barlow. With its Vertical Take off and Landing (VTOL) ability, the Scout can be deployed in tight quarters, and hover and stare at its target.
The Libyans use both day and night-time cameras. The day camera allows them to gather detailed images and video, while the night-time camera is a thermal imager, gathering heat images of equipment and people on the ground. The image below is of a Libyan artillery position taken at night with the thermal camera. Each image is embedded with date and time stamps and highly accurate latitude and longitude information for every target.
Libyan Artillery
The Aeryon Scout is a small, easy-to-fly man-packable flying robotic reconnaissance system design for operation in real-world, harsh conditions. It weighs just 3 pounds, packs into a suitcase or a backpack and can be quickly and easily deployed and operated by soldiers in the field. Instead of using joysticks, the Scout uses a map-based, touch-screen interface that allows new users to pilot the system in just minutes. The Scout essentially flies itself allowing the operator to focus on acquiring imagery.
Zariba is a private security firm providing its clients with the goods & services they require to operate effectively in hostile environments. The company was founded in 2003 by a core group of British and Canadian security & intelligence professionals, and has its offices in Ottawa, Canada.
Source: Press Release