'Ugly, But Functional' Aircraft Has DHS Potential

The Kansas National Guard is currently testing an unmanned aerial aircraft the military uses for cargo and propaganda distribution to determine ways it can be integrated into a variety of other uses.

Developed by Mist Mobility Integrated Systems Technology, the CQ-10A SnowGoose is the world's first unmanned cargo aircraft. It is capable of carrying up to 575 pounds of payload and can be launched from a C-130, C-141, or C-17 as well as off the ground from a Humvee, flatbed or logistics trailer. It has up to 15 hours' endurance, an 18,000 foot operating altitude and a 500 mile range with a 110 HP Rotax 914 UL engine, according to the company.

The UAV is deployed with an attached parachute. It can be operated via control box and joystick or autonomously using a digital mapping system.

"It's ugly, but it's very functional," said Chuck Jarnot, a former Army helicopter pilot and MMIST consultant. The Canadian company has already sold 40 of the CQ-10As to the U.S. military which is currently utilizing them in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The KNG is performing the investigative testing at the Smoky Hill Weapons Range near Salina where the Guard's Great Plains Joint Training Center is also located.

Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, Kansas adjutant general and Guard commander, invited MMIST to bring the SnowGoose to Kansas and use the Smoky Hill air space for further development and testing, according to the Lawrence (Kansas) Journal-World and News.

"We see a lot of potential for it in Homeland Security," said Great Plains training officer, Lt. Col. J.J. Jordan.

One of the potential uses for the SnowGoose include carrying communications equipment over disaster areas, as speakers can be attached and used to broadcast messages to areas without communications, Jordan said. It can be used to re-establish cell phone networks in a devastated area as well.

Other potential uses include: cargo, disaster relief, search and rescue, civil protection and response, mapping and aerial survey, public safety police/drug interdiction, heat/sod/vegetation monitoring, fire surveillance and communication bases on a wireless LAN.

The aircraft's cargo boxes are like a "chest of drawers," Jarnot said. Cargo can be deployed from the air with a parachute or delivered when the aircraft lands. It's used to deliver supplies to Special Forces teams in remote areas, eliminating the risk to soldiers that can accompany the use of a helicopter.

"It's hazardous to the helicopter crew," said Jarnot, a former Black Hawk pilot. "A more discrete milk truck or FedEx truck, if you will, in the neighborhood is far more effective at delivering these types of payloads. It's quiet and it can fly at night."

 "The 'black box' with the computer software measures wind speed and direction and tells the plane when to make drops," Jarnot said. "It is the real jewel on this aircraft; all other components are off-the-shelf components."

Each pair of the UAVs goes for about $800,000, according to Jarnot, including support equipment.

The Kansas Guard hasn't purchased a SnowGoose yet, but it is interested in that possibility, said spokeswoman Sharon Watson.

FMI: www.kansasarmynationalguard.com, www.mmist.ca