Thirteen-Years a UAS

The U.S. Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstrator (BAMS-D) is a high-altitude, remotely-piloted surveillance aircraft built by Northrop Grumman. The vehicle is the Naval iteration of the U.S. Air Force’s celebrated Global Hawk. Originally acquired by the Navy for purpose of developing doctrine and concepts of operations for large, persistent unmanned air vehicles, the BAMS-D has aided the service in refining tactics, techniques and procedures specific to the maritime environment. In 2009, the Navy deployed BAMS-D for a six-month concept demonstration in the Fifth Fleet—a command comprising the U.S. Navy’s principal presence in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. The mission was extended drama