News / Military
By Howard Altman / Tampa Bay Times / May 27, 2016
PHOTO: At his booth at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, Arne Skjaerpe of Prox Dynamics displays the Black Hornet drone, designed for small troop units in the field.
At his booth at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, Arne Skjaerpe of Prox Dynamics displays the Black Hornet drone, designed for small troop units in the field.
Back in 2007, Arne Skjaerpe came to Tampa as Norway’s senior national representative to the international coalition at U.S. Central Command.
It was only supposed to be a two-year stint, but Skjaerpe, a brigadier general in the Norwegian army, his wife, Unni, and their three children liked Tampa so much that after he retired from the military, they stayed.
And now, instead of interacting with U.S. military leaders as head of the international coalition, he is trying to persuade them to buy a tiny drone that will help commandos in the field detect unseen enemies during missions like house searches and urban combat in tight quarters.
Skjaerpe now works as general manager for Prox Dynamics USA, part of a Norwegian firm that makes the Black Hornet drone. Weighing about 18 grams, or slightly more than half an ounce, it is the world’s smallest operational drone for military and law enforcement, Skjaerpe said.
“This was designed to give a dismounted squad its own intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities without having to call for help,” he said Wednesday morning at the annual Special Operations Forces Industry Conference at the Tampa Convention Center.
Conference participants hope to draw the attention of U.S. Special Operations Command, which has an annual budget in the billions of dollars to purchase goods and services for commandos. The command has its headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base.
Holding a drone, which looks like a miniature helicopter, Skjaerpe attracted a small crowd to his booth at the convention center exhibition hall. The entire Black Hornet system, which includes a base station, video monitor and two drones, weighs less than 3 pounds, said Skjaerpe.
The drones can be flown day and night. One model has daytime cameras and another has an infrared camera system that can take images at night. Both supply full motion video, or still images, that can provide commandos with greater awareness of where the bad guys are.
Though the drones can fly as high as 10,000 feet, they’re more useful at about 100 feet or lower, Skjaerpe said. The drones, he said, can stay in the air for about 25 minutes.
Though small and lightweight, they can fly in a sustained wind of 15 knots, with gusts up to 20.
Heavy rain and storms keep them grounded.
The company made its first big sale to the British army in 2012. The system is now used in more than 15 countries, including — in small numbers — the U.S., where the military is evaluating them.
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The Department of the Navy’s sixth annual Veteran and Wounded Warrior Hiring and Support Summit is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday in Tampa.
This free event is being held at DoubleTree by Hilton, Tampa Airport-Westshore.
The summit brings veterans, wounded warriors and 56 federal, state and private-sector employers together to match employment needs. Registration is available online at www.HireAVet.navy.mil.
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For those who serve, the world remains a dangerous place. There are still about 10,000 troops in Afghanistan, about 5,000 supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, mostly in Iraq but also some in Syria, and more than 200,000 in 140 nations around the globe.
There have been 2,347 U.S. troop deaths in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, 21 U.S. troop deaths and one civilian Department of Defense employee death in support of the followup Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in Afghanistan, and 15 troop deaths and one civilian death in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the fight against the so-called Islamic State.
The Pentagon announced no new deaths last week in its ongoing operations.
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