Scott Nicholas
Boeing‘s Insitu subsidiary is offering an unmanned aircraft system to the U.S. Coast Guard as the agency works to select a UAS for integration with its ships, Seapower Magazine reported Monday.
John Marcario writes the Coast Guard has tested Insitu ScanEagle UAS platforms during land- and NSC-based demonstrations over the last three years as the agency worked to develop plans and analyze drones for potential use.
The Coast Guard’s research and development center started a series of tests with five vendors in June 2015 and plans to award a contract for a UAS to use on ships sometime within the next two months, according to the report.
Marcario reports the Coast Guard wants to deploy an unmanned system from its nine-ship NSC fleet and 25-ship Offshore Patrol Cutter fleet, plus future icebreaker ships.
