OSHKOSH, Wisc – The Predator is an intimidating aircraft. But then, it wasn't designed with weekend pilots in mind.
The Predator B Unmanned Aircraft System has since 2005 been operated by the US Customs and Border Protection Department to track drug trafficking and illegal immigration along the country's southern border. By some estimates, it has led to the arrest of some 5,000 people. But here at AirVenture, where the Predator is kept behind a rope line at the Federal Pavilion, the feds are talking up the Predator's potential in areas like flood monitoring and disaster relief.
"There are lots and lots of different applications where the Predator could add value," John W. Priddy, Deputy Director of Northern Border Patrol, US Customs and Border Protection (say that three times fast) told Wired.com. "And that's something we want people to know."
The Predator is a mean looking craft. It is 36 feet long, has a wingspan almost twice that and weighs a little more than five tons. Gadgetry includes infrared and electro-optical radar technology. Power comes from a Honeywell TPE 331-10T turboprop. With its steel gray paint scheme, bulbous nose and rear-mounted propeller, the Predator looks more like a bug than a plane. But it is a plane, and one that sees plenty of action.
“The predator is really just like an airplane, except that we control it differently, says Priddy. “Calling it an unmanned aircraft is probably not the best nomenclature. Remotely piloted would be better.”
Remote piloting is done from a ground station hundreds, and often thousands, of miles from the action – Priddy's office is in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The guys flying these things aren't gamers trained on Xbox or PlayStation. They're real pilots.
“Everyone working with the Predator is a trained, experienced pilot,” Priddy says. “They look at it as one in a series of different aircraft that they know how to fly.”
Getting the Predator into the sky and on its way is a two step process.
“Taxi and takeoff takes place over a C-band radio frequency,” Priddy says. “Once it's in the air we transfer over to satellite control.”
Satellite control means Predators flying anywhere in the world can be piloted from a ground station half a world away, providing "enormous flexibility" in missions, according to Priddy.
The pilot flying the drone has his eyes fixed on two different screens. The first shows the Predator’s location, not unlike what you’d see on a commercial website like FlightTracker. The second is what’s known as a heads up display and it provides a look at what's happening below. Navigational maps can be superimposed over the display, which includes a menu of controls that allow the pilot to operate things like the Predator’s lighting. The display also conveys information like altitude, ground speed and other vital data.
While the pilot is guiding the plane, a second sensor pilot keeps watch on yet another diplay, operating the Predator’s cameras and watching for sensor hits that tell the pilot where to fly.
“We have magnetic and seismic sensors on the ground along the southern border,” Priddy says. “When one of those gets a hit we know exactly where we need to direct the vehicle.”
Priddy notes that although the Predator has been extremely successful in its border protection role, it can be used for humanitarian missions. By collecting ground data with a sophisticated system called SAR (synthetic aperture radar), the Predator can create high-resolution images – a series of these images over time makes it possible to see patterns of activity that have a variety of practical uses. Priddy points to recent flooding in the Dakotas as an example.
“Using real time data collected over a period of eight hours, we could determine how ice floes are moving and at what rate, and that can help predict if bridges or buildings are in danger.”
He says a Predator leveraging SAR technology could help agencies like FEMA better target their relief efforts after a disaster.
Photos and video: Jason Paur / Wired.com. Video shows a Predator team in action in Arizona in 2007.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TBNSIkXSyQ
