PKSOI/GLOBAL TRENDS CASE STUDIES A Drone's Strike Away | Page 6

Case Study #1118-08
PKSOI TRENDS GLOBAL CASE STUDY SERIES
Drone Application
Disaster Drones
After the widespread devastation hurricanes Harvey and Irma caused in Florida and Texas in September 2017, the FAA
quickly issued more than 130 airspace authorizations to drone operators performing search and rescue missions and
assessing damage to roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure. For example, the FAA reports, “the Air National
Guard used drones normally tasked for combat operations to perform aerial surveys. The drones allow the Guard to
assess disaster-stricken areas quickly and decide which are the most in need of assistance. Similarly, US Customs and
Border Protection sent drones from Corpus Christi to Florida to help map areas in Key West, Miami and Jacksonville,
using radar to survey geographic points on infrastructure such as power plants for The Federal Emergency Management
Agency.” 31 In addition, the authorizations also enabled commercial drone services to help insurance companies act more
quickly on claims from homeowners. 32 FAA Administrator Michael Huerta explains the importance of drone opera-
tions in disaster response:
Essentially, every drone that flew meant that a traditional aircraft was not putting an additional strain on an
already fragile system. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the hurricane response will be looked back
upon as a landmark in the evolution of drone usage in this country. 33
Yet, when hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico at the end of September 2017, drones were surprisingly absent from early relief
efforts. “We are dying here,” exclaimed San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Crus, shocked by the extent of the devastation to
the island and the tardiness of the federal government’s response. “And I cannot fathom the thought that the greatest
nation in the world cannot figure out the logistics for a small island of 100 miles by 35 miles.” 34 The hurricane savaged
local ports, airports, railroads, and roads. Getting food, water, and medicine to and throughout Puerto Rico was a “logis-
tical nightmare,” former FEMA boss Michael Brown told CNBC. 35
“Where are the drones that could pick up the slack?” asked Wired reporter Eric Adams. In the spring of 2017, the US
Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory showed off a disposable one-way drone. The glider – estimated to cost as little as
$1,500 to $3,000 per copy – “launches out of a cargo
plane, carries up to 700 pounds of cargo, has a range of
80 miles, and can land within 150 feet of its target.” 36
Explains technology reporter Evan Ackerman:
The wings fold up, and you can fit a bunch of these
gliders inside of a wide variety of military aircraft. The
Marines are even toying with the idea of one big drone
that acts as a mothership, carrying several of these cargo
gliders on its back. Once you get somewhere near the
area where your supplies need to go, just drop the glider
out of the aircraft and it’ll unfold its wings and pilot
itself into a gentle gliding crash within a few tens of
meters of its GPS target. 37
Lt. Morgan Grossman from the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory adds:
While the intended use will have military applications, low cost gliders like this could be used anywhere that
quick delivery of supplies is needed and more traditional means of delivery are not available. Applications such
as disaster relief, remote mountain search and rescue, forest fire fighting, and remote site support could all
utilize resupply by means such as this. 38
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