The Naval Safety Center (NAVSAFECEN) hosted a Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) Safety Summit July 9-10 at its headquarters building. The purpose of the summit was to ensure alignment of safety reporting requirements by non-aviation UAS communities with NAVSAFECEN and Fleet UAS safety reporting.

Led by Cmdr. Rudy Hawkins, Aviation Safety Directorate, Assessment Team Leader, and Navy Rotary Wing/UAS Analyst at NAVSAFECEN, dozens of participants from across the Naval enterprise reviewed Department of Defense (DoD), Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV), Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command (SOCOM) SUAS policies, as well as historical data on SUAS reports from various safety reporting systems.

“The SUAS Summit was brought about due to the lack of Small UAS mishap reports archived by the Naval Safety Center,” said Hawkins. “It is difficult to determine mishap rates and failure trends when not all our events are reported appropriately.”

NAVSAFECEN is actively working to incorporate the Chief of Naval Operations principles of High Velocity Learning (HVL) into the SUAS community and capture Lessons Learned from SUAS mishaps. The summit provided an opportunity for collaboration among key stakeholders to unify UAS investigation strategies and to discuss future safety and policy concerns, including the addition of UAS-specific guidance in the Naval Aviation Safety Program, OPNAVINST 3750.6s.

“Safety is paramount in everything we do. Unmanned aircraft systems are new, fast-paced, and growing technologies,” said Ernest Cardenas, Navy and Marine Corps Training and Logistics Support Activity (TALSA) Lead and summit participant. “It was great to see the Navy and Marine Corps combine efforts working toward safer Fleet-wide operations. I look forward to participating in future UAS-related summits and efforts.”

During the summit, presentations by stakeholder organizations across the Naval enterprise included the Naval Safety Center Aviation and Lessons Learned Directorates and the Naval School of Aviation Safety. Discussions included the conduct of UAS operations for the Navy and the DoD overall, in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) policies, regulations, and a memorandum of agreement (MOA) concerning UAS operations in U.S. National Airspace.

 “I appreciate the Naval Safety Center’s efforts to host the summit. It meant a lot to see so many organizations represented here with a seat at the table,” said Maj Rex Brooks, USMC, II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). “Our collective efforts here and in the rest of the Naval Aviation Force will lead to more capable and proficient UAS operators and operations in combat.”

“As SUAS cost and technology advance rapidly, we must recognize the benefit to reporting SUAS mishaps. Every community in the Navy and Marine Corps is using UAS technology,” said Hawkins. “It’s important to learn from those mishaps and share lessons learned across the enterprises. We got positive feedback from our participants on the summit and we are looking to having follow-on summits annually.”

For more news from the Naval Safety Center, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/nsc and www.safetycenter.navy.mil. For more Navy information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

The Naval Safety Center (NAVSAFECEN) hosted a Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) Safety Summit July 9-10 at its headquarters building. The purpose of the summit was to ensure alignment of safety reporting requirements by non-aviation UAS communities with NAVSAFECEN and Fleet UAS safety reporting.

Led by Cmdr. Rudy Hawkins, Aviation Safety Directorate, Assessment Team Leader, and Navy Rotary Wing/UAS Analyst at NAVSAFECEN, dozens of participants from across the Naval enterprise reviewed Department of Defense (DoD), Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV), Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command (SOCOM) SUAS policies, as well as historical data on SUAS reports from various safety reporting systems.

“The SUAS Summit was brought about due to the lack of Small UAS mishap reports archived by the Naval Safety Center,” said Hawkins. “It is difficult to determine mishap rates and failure trends when not all our events are reported appropriately.”

NAVSAFECEN is actively working to incorporate the Chief of Naval Operations principles of High Velocity Learning (HVL) into the SUAS community and capture Lessons Learned from SUAS mishaps. The summit provided an opportunity for collaboration among key stakeholders to unify UAS investigation strategies and to discuss future safety and policy concerns, including the addition of UAS-specific guidance in the Naval Aviation Safety Program, OPNAVINST 3750.6s.

“Safety is paramount in everything we do. Unmanned aircraft systems are new, fast-paced, and growing technologies,” said Ernest Cardenas, Navy and Marine Corps Training and Logistics Support Activity (TALSA) Lead and summit participant. “It was great to see the Navy and Marine Corps combine efforts working toward safer Fleet-wide operations. I look forward to participating in future UAS-related summits and efforts.”

During the summit, presentations by stakeholder organizations across the Naval enterprise included the Naval Safety Center Aviation and Lessons Learned Directorates and the Naval School of Aviation Safety. Discussions included the conduct of UAS operations for the Navy and the DoD overall, in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) policies, regulations, and a memorandum of agreement (MOA) concerning UAS operations in U.S. National Airspace.

 “I appreciate the Naval Safety Center’s efforts to host the summit. It meant a lot to see so many organizations represented here with a seat at the table,” said Maj Rex Brooks, USMC, II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). “Our collective efforts here and in the rest of the Naval Aviation Force will lead to more capable and proficient UAS operators and operations in combat.”

“As SUAS cost and technology advance rapidly, we must recognize the benefit to reporting SUAS mishaps. Every community in the Navy and Marine Corps is using UAS technology,” said Hawkins. “It’s important to learn from those mishaps and share lessons learned across the enterprises. We got positive feedback from our participants on the summit and we are looking to having follow-on summits annually.”

For more news from the Naval Safety Center, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/nsc and www.safetycenter.navy.mil. For more Navy information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

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For more news from Naval Safety Center, visit www.navy.mil/.