The Coast Guard has established a new program executive office to accelerate the adoption of uncrewed systems (UxS) in the field as part of its Force Design 2028 modernization efforts.
The Robotics and Autonomous Systems Program Executive Office (RAS PEO) will prioritize integrating this rapidly advancing technology, which includes unmanned aircraft (commonly referred to as drones), as well as surface, subsurface, and space systems, across all 11 of its statutory missions.
on top.
The DHS and the Coast Guard, through Force Design 2028,
are prioritizing drone innovation, and they're consolidating all of the drone
programs in the Coast Guard under one umbrella, which is the Raz Po.
It's part of rapid modernization and tomorrow's mission. Integrating uncrewed systems of all
types and multi-domains is a critical step. These tools are important for our
operators to have the data that they need to do their job and keep up with our adversaries.
One of the great benefits of the drones is the extended flight time,
and the live video coverage allows the Coast Guard operators to go through a lot of paperwork,
drills, and processes that used to take a long time, but now we can
get that done before the helicopter even takes off to execute a mission.
The VBAT is a 160lb fixed-wing drone. It's a push motor aircraft with a
vertical takeoff and landing capability.
Some of the big improvements VBAT has provided is being a bigger UAS platform payloads that they can
carry for just camera detection allows us to zoom in see exactly what's on board how many
people what to expect presence capability of UAS systems on board assets like cutter stone enhances
our risk analysis really from the start to the finish which helps us decide what actions we
to take while we're on target. The biggest upgrade of the VBAT is the storage footprint.
Because the VBAT can take off and land on its own, it does not require a separate catapult
or landing mechanism. Uh, which really frees up a lot of valuable space on our cutters.
Robotics and autonomous systems are the rapid modernization
that the Coast Guard's been after for a long time. And this modern tool set,
uh, is what our operators need to face the challenges of tomorrow's mission.
