New York National Guard Soldiers Test Army’s Soldier-Borne Sensor Drones
Soldiers from the New York National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team recently traveled to Fort Drum, New York, to get hands-on with new technologies designed to mitigate the risk to Soldiers on the battlefield.
The Soldier borne sensor unmanned aerial vehicle and lightweight laser designator rangefinder systems were recently fielded to various units across the brigade, with Soldiers receiving both classroom and practical instructions on the operation of the two new tools in their arsenal.
The Soldier borne sensor, or SBS, “is portable and lightweight, increasing the effectiveness of our operations,” said Staff Sgt. Andy Huang, a combat engineer with the 152nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, and native of Brooklyn, New York.
“It’s designed to, instead of using us to do surveillance, it can do surveillance and reconnaissance and search for enemy fighting positions or friendly forces.”
The SBS is designed to mitigate the risk to Soldiers by having the miniature drone complete dangerous work Soldiers would typically perform on their own. Its small size, only measuring a few inches, and low-noise capabilities make it nearly undetectable by enemy forces.
“It’s small and lightweight, and with how high it can go, you can’t really hear it,” Huang said. “So, you can recon a lot of stuff, and the bad guys can’t see it."
Systems specialists and field service representatives from Program Executive Office Soldier led the training on both systems, providing guidance and practical expertise on the new systems. Though only a handful of Soldiers from the 27th IBCT received the training, they will bring their newfound expertise back to their units.
“This is like a train-the-trainers course,” Huang said. “We’re going to train almost everyone [in my unit] on how to use this system. So, it’s not just me who knows how to use it, everyone to the lowest ‘Joes’ would know.”
Top Photo: U.S. Army Spc. Johnny Pagan, an infantryman with the New York National Guard's 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, and a native of Manhattan, N.Y., controls a soldier-borne sensor (SBS) unmanned aerial vehicle during a... (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Warren W. Wright Jr.)
Source: U.S. Army
