AUVSI Pathfinder

AUVSI Pathfinder is hosting AUVSI Pathfinder March Meetup. Make sure to attend it tomorrow.

Come join AUVSI Pathfinder for the February Meetup!

Come join AUVSI Pathfinder for the February Meetup!

What we have here is a tiny but mighty system that’s been paired with a Short Range Reconnaissance Tranches 2, Red Cat Teal Black Widow. Many may not know what it is. Let me explain how this Army, first of its kind, lethal Modular Mission Payload (MMP) helped change the sUAS culture for the better. In the summer of 2022, after watching events in Ukraine and Russia begin to unfold, we came up with a white board concept for a “dropper” that could safely carry and air drop anything that was organically carried in a Rifle platoon. Fragmentation grenades, training grenades, smoke grenades, flash bangs, and incendiary grenades. We took that concept to DEVCOM Armaments Center and some good friends, Russ Labar, Matt Brauer, and Kendall Mills, and they took our concept and created the first AUDIBLE which stands for Armamnet Delivered Immediate Battlefield Lethal Effects. Needless to say we did our first inert M69 drop at Fort Moore, GA on 5 Dec 2022. A pretty quick flash-to-bang. Many laughed at us, many cracked jokes, and it didn’t phase us one bit. I put a proposal in for AUDIBLE with PEO Soldier for $2M and it got funding approval. The biggest Soldier Enhancement Program proposal award to date. Then we found a champion in the 18th Airborne Corps’ Commanding General and COL Matthew Elliot who dared to be different and challenge the status quo. Their Soldiers and sUAS operators mitigated risks, took the initiative, and in the winter of 2022 the U.S. Army was dropping their first M67 fragmentation grenades from SRR Tranche 1 program of record systems. We blew a couple up in the process. You have to crack eggs to make omelettes…. ?? that’s what it takes. We continued to experiment with AUDIBLE. DEVCOM AC continued to innovate with the design. They got it passed through the safety and fuze boards at Picatinny Arsenal and in 2024 we fielded systems to the four divisions of the 18th Airborne Corps and the 75th Ranger Regiment. Monumental accomplishment in the face of adversity and many haters. They can all eat crow ??? now. We took it a few steps further. We codified AUDIBLE in our emerging requirements, it’s real now. Fast forward through 2024 and into 2025 and we now have PEO Aviation’s PM UAS teamed with JPEO Armaments and Ammunition’s PM Close Combat Systems with technology transition agreements with DEVCOM AC for AUDIBLE and the Common Lethality Integration Kit (CLIK). That’s how you move the needle ?? You have to be a combo of the salesman, the maven and the connector to form a coalition of the willing. More so to the point of what everyone always hears me say, “you have to pick up the axe and chop wood.” ?????? So in short, this AUDIBLE system was the tiny Trojan horse that effectively helped us change the culture of the Army for lethal sUAS with the help of our proponent, the Aviation Center of Excellence and ACM-UAS. We will never write a requirement that doesn’t have baked in lethality for the recipe. Industry, doors are open. ????????

Not sure if message sent equals message received so here goes it…. ?? The Joint Small UAS Capabilities Development Document is intended to be the base CDD to support a joint family of J-sUAS capabilities which include mission area, current and future payloads, degree of autonomy, and AI/ML applications and programs. The base CDD will be followed by system-specific and/or Service-specific annexes to provide maximum flexibility in the pursuit of both Joint and individual Service requirements. This J-sUAS CDD is intended to be the first of several CDDs that will together define a robotic ecosystem across all physical war fighting domains. Translation: The J-sUAS CDD is approved and the Army (??) has new annexes to share with the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and even the Coast Guard. The only thing other service branch’s have to do is pick up their signed copy of the J-sUAS CDD and our annexes and adopt them as their own. The Army chopped the wood but y’all have to build your own fire. ?? + ?? = ?? ???????? Good news is that today this post prompted the USMC, Coast Guard and NSW, and AFSOC requirements community to reach out. I’ve shared the Joint sUAS CDD and documents for LRR and Purpose Built Attritable System (PBAS) “aka FPV” with them. Waiting on the SPACE FORCE. ?? These are the Annexes we’re working: *Long Range Reconnaissance **Medium Range Reconnaissance ***Tethered UAS ****Next Gen Short Range Reconnaissance *****Purpose Built Attritable System (FPV) ******Swarm *******Next Gen Soldier Borne Sensor

AUVSI Pathfinder is hosting the Pathfinder January Meetup. Make sure to attend it tomorrow.

Congratulations to Jennifer Rusak! For exceptional performance and selfless dedication serving as the Reliability, Availability, Maintainability (RAM) Lead for the Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Project Office for over 29 years.??Ms. Rusak served in various capacities within different product offices, consisting of legacy systems Hunter, Shadow, Gray Eagle, Raven, Puma, Universal Ground Control Station and other ground support equipment, and modernization efforts including Short Range Reconnaissance and Future Tactical UAS. Ms. Rusak supported numerous test events to collect and analyze data, which resulted in soldiers and units receiving reliable systems in adherence to requirements.?Her leadership, technical expertise, and exemplary character have directly contributed to the success of the UAS Project Office, PEO Aviation, and the United States Army.

?? **Join us tomorrow December 4th** ?? We are thrilled to invite you to our monthly Pathfinder Membership Meetup Luncheon! This month, we have the extraordinary honor of hosting Matt Sloane. Matt?Sloane?is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at?Skyfire | AI. With over a decade of experience in public safety and drone technology, Matt has helped countless agencies integrate drones into their critical incident response. Prior to Skyfire, he worked as a medical news producer at CNN and served as an EMT. Matt is actively involved in shaping drone regulations and?policy, and?is a licensed pilot. Join us to stay updated on the latest AUVSI Pathfinder activities, network with fellow industry and government partners, and savor a delicious catered lunch. Plus, gain fascinating insights from Matt Sloane as he shares his recent experiences in critical incident response and drone technology. ?? **Save the date:** December 4th at 11:30 am ?? **Location:** Von Braun Civic Center, Mars Hall Kindly RSVP and let us know if you'll be joining us! We look forward to seeing you there ??. #AUVSIPathfinder #AUVSI #PathfinderMeetup