Aurora Flight Sciences recently signed an agreement with the Boston area Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council (MetroLEC) to establish a programme to evaluate Aurora’s Skate Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) by their Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) operations.
This programme will allow MetroLEC to evaluate the utility of SUAS in a law enforcement environment. In addition to Aurora’s Skate SUAS system, Aurora will also provide MetroLEC with operator training and planning and support for SWAT operations.
“MetroLEC SWAT is an extremely forward thinking and innovative agency that has great ideas on UAS applications in law enforcement. We are excited for this opportunity to work with them to evaluate the capabilities of Skate to support law enforcement,” said Carl Schaefer, Aurora’s Director of Small UAS Programmes.
MetroLEC is a consortium of 43+ local area police departments and law enforcement agencies. These agencies work together to provide unique and highly specialized law enforcement resources to its member communities. MetroLEC is currently in the process of obtaining a Certificate of Authorization (COA) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and following a thorough operator training programme, will begin the operational evaluation of Skate SUAS during training and live SWAT exercises.
“Our team is excited to explore the fantastic potential that this technology will provide to us. Working with Aurora to offer real world, hands on feedback to the engineers and designers makes this a great opportunity for all of us,” said Peter McGowan, MetroLEC SWAT Control Chief.
Aurora’s Skate is an internally developed SUAS ISR platform ideal for budget conscious military, law enforcement, and commercial operators. Skate SUAS will be highlighted, along with other Aurora UAS technologies, at the upcoming International Chiefs of Police (IACP) Exhibition in San Diego, CA.
Source: Press Release