Cpl Fergus Williams-Tanton (RL) – an instructor at the Combat Manoeuvre Centre’s UAS Centre – talks us through a six-point checklist that small UAS (sUAS) teams should follow on ops and exercises.
1. Being aware of your position and any potential vulnerabilities is everything when selecting a site to fly drones from. Make sure you have really good cover from the air. It sounds obvious, but I cannot emphasise how important this is because enemy airborne assets will be everywhere. Invest time in camouflaging your hide and yourself really well.
2. Thermal cover is vital these days, with enemy drones carrying all sorts of sensors. Thermal blankets can be bought through the SQMS system, as can sheeting and shrouds or even thermal covers designed for vehicles which can be cut to fit over your hide. Barracuda cam nets which have integrated thermal screening are great if you can get them.
3. Offset your launch point. Position the drone on the ground well away from your hide so when it takes off it does not give your position away and attract enemy fire.
4. If you are not operating a one-way attack drone, use a different route on the return journey to fool any enemy who might be tracking your sUAS. And when you want to recover the platform, do a ‘stop short’ – land the drone well away from where you are located. Once it’s on the deck, wait for a period of time to see if you can get eyes on any enemy movement in case the drone was tracked. If you’re about to exit the area, you could fly the platform to a spot where you know it will be safe to pick up en route.
5. If you’re flying an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform you’ll want to stop to observe potential targets on occasions. Do everything you can to avoid hovering against a plain, solid backdrop such as an overcast sky. Look to disguise your drone in front of a woodblock, for example, because then it will be almost impossible to discern from a distance. We tell our students to do a 180-degree turn with their camera as soon as they hover to be sure they are positioned correctly in front of a backdrop that obscures the drone’s presence.
6. Always carry a comprehensive tool kit for repairing your drone and lots of spares – primarily batteries, propellors and antennas. You’ll rinse through this type of gear on an operation or sustained exercise and if this kit is on hand you won’t need to move to obtain spares or be resupplied by another team, reducing the chances of being spotted.
