US Army deploys first SBS UAS
The US Army recently fielded the Soldier Borne Sensors (SBS) UAS to soldiers of 3rd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
During the week-long fielding, the soldiers were trained via classroom instruction about the system's capabilities, its controls, and how to operate it. The fielding was carried out in preparation for the BCT to take the system with it on an upcoming deployment.
The SBS consists of multiple components; the ground control system, which is composed of a base station with hand controller and display unit, and two air vehicles - one day and one night.It is based on FLIR Systems' Black Hornet personal reconnaissance system.
The display acts as the main hub for soldiers to interact with the system, while the air vehicles are small, highly manoeuverable airborne sensors with low visual and audio signatures that support pre-planned and on-the-fly reconnaissance missions.
The SBS will help mitigate the risk to soldiers by giving them the ability to asses a situation from a cover and concealed position.
The initial fielding of the SBS paves the way for a system that will eventually equip every squad with an organic UAS in the future.
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