An elevated first for HMCS Whitehorse

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) controller assembles the UAV onboard HMCS Whitehorse during Operation Caribbe. Photos by Operation Caribbe Imagery Technician

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) controller assembles the UAV onboard HMCS Whitehorse during Operation Caribbe. Photo by Operation Caribbe Imagery Technician

Captain Annie Morin, Op Caribbe Public Affairs Officer ~

The new PUMA Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) – commonly known as a drone – was employed throughout the recent Operation Caribbe mission, greatly enhancing the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability of HMCS Whitehorse, a Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel.

The employment of PUMA onboard Whitehorse was a Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) first; the culmination of many months of effort by military and DND civilian teams.

The system provided enhanced visibility during boarding operations conducted by the embarked United States Coast Guard Law Enforcement detachment, allowing personnel aboard Whitehorse to monitor boarding operations from above. In one situation, the drone was used to locate a suspect vessel prior to a boarding, and feed real-time video back to the ship while teams conducted a search.

Operation Caribbe is Canada’s contribution to United States-led efforts to combat illicit drug trafficking at sea.

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