The UASD Position

The S-373 UAS Incident Operations Course instructs UAS Pilots, Managers and Data Specialists in the policies and procedures for integrating UAS into wildland fires and other incidents.

The UAS Data Specialist portion of the course includes basics of launch and recovery site selection, mission planning, data collection and management, intelligence product creation and integration with an Incident Management Team.

Data specialists are not required to complete S-373 to become fully qualified, but the course is highly recommended.

During the spring of 2018 and 2019, contracted UAS crews participated in the Outset Fire, a training event in the Utah desert, as depicted by the webmap to the left.

Using the controlled airspace within the Air Force's Utah Test and Training Range, participants learned how to safely employ aircraft over a simulated fire, as well as how collect imagery to inform fire management decisions.

2018 was the first year for widespread Call When Needed UAS mobilization. Several fires in Southwest Oregon and Northern California used UAS for real-time situational awareness. Other incidents across the west used contract UAS for reconnaissance, monitoring, and basic imagery for mapping.

Despite a relatively light fire season in the Western United States, contracted UAS deployed on fires in New Mexico, Nevada, and Oregon. One of the successes of the 2019 season was use of a nadir mounted camera for large scale perimeter mapping, particularly in areas where no other airborne assets were available.

Each assignment has different priorities and requirements, but there are a few constants in the duties of a UASD.

When a UAS module arrives at an incident, the team has to determine the most effective location for launch, recovery, and control of the aircraft. The UASD evaluates potential sites for factors like line-of-sight to the fire area, vehicle access, vegetation obstructions, proximity to populated areas, and more. Spatial data from the Situation Unit or local GIS specialist is critical for the site selection process.

To ensure safe employment, UAS crews need the same up-to-date incident data as any operational asset. Depending on the situation and the technical capabilities of the UAS control system, the UASD often has to create and update GCS maps like the one to the left, on a daily basis.

A strength of UAS is the ability to provide real-time video to incident managers with minimal risk to personnel and at relatively low cost.

With spatially aware data, such as the Infrared video of the Taylor Creek Fire in Oregon at left, managers can see what a fire is doing and where. Reconnaissance over an incident with UAS can be very simple and easy to repeat for assessing changing conditions.

In some cases, near-real time intelligence distilled into a simple product can be helpful for tactical decision making in a dynamic environment. A data specialist working within a UAS module can create simple maps to show how change over time may affect operational priorities.

In some situations, the ability to provide still, top down imagery over portions of an incident can be useful, especially if other air assets are not available.

In most cases, UAS platforms have the ability to systematically collect visible and thermal imagery over a fire, and then stitch these images together into a composite, or orthoimage.

Some larger, contracted UAS have dual camera systems for video and orthoimagery, which allows operators to move and zoom the video camera around the incident at the same time that systematic imagery collection is occurring.

Orthoimagery can be used for a multitude of purposes, especially for areas that are inaccessible or dangerous for personnel. Imagery from the 2019 Roberts Fire, at left, shows tree scorch and burned areas in the rugged terrain of the Apache Kid Wilderness in the Cibola National Forest, New Mexico. Fire managers and resource specialists were able to use this imagery to refine fire perimeters, assess burn severity, and evaluate condition of critical wildlife habitat.