8 minute read
The UAV Virtuoso
By LT Thomas "Cosmo" Sandford, USN
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NHA’s Air Vehicle Operator of the year, LT Cassie Gettinger, shares her operational experiences flying the MQ-8B Fire Scout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle at Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 22 with Rotor Review
As a MQ-8B Fire Scout Air Vehicle Operator (AVO) and MH-60S pilot assigned to the first ever operational East Coast deployment of the Fire Scout, LT Cassie Gettinger played an integral role in proving the Fire Scout’s usefulness in drug interdiction operations while deployed to the Caribbean aboard the USS Detroit (LCS 7), and later aboard the USS Sioux City (LCS 11). In recognition of these accomplishments, NHA named her the Air Vehicle Operator of the Year. We caught up with her to ask her some burning questions about flying and deploying with the Fire Scout during her time in HSC-22.
Rotor Review: How do you feel about being named the NHA AVO Operator of the Year?
Gettinger: Shocked and flattered! I didn’t even know that was an achievement I could earn. Obviously, I’m very flattered about it.
Rotor Review: What separates an average Air Vehicle Operator from a superior one?
Gettinger: Putting in the time and effort to be proficient with the MQ-8. It’s an extra challenge being dual qualified or triple qualified as squadrons transition from MQ-8B to MQ8C because you’re studying multiple sets of systems (along with Limits and EPs), and executing multiple NATOPS evaluations, in an effort to fly two separate aircraft operated in two totally different manners. The superior AVOs are going to be the ones able to balance the career progression focus of flying the 60 (which is definitely important) while still giving the Fire Scout studying it deserves to be skillful. I think our squadron sets a really good example of taking this balance seriously. It started with our former COs, CDRs Matt Persiani and Matt Wright, and continues with our current CO, CDR Tim Drosinos, who came in saying, “We’re going to do this, and we’re going to give it 110%.” We take it just as seriously as the MH-60S operations we conduct.
Rotor Review: What are some of the benefits the Fire Scout has over the MH-60S?
Gettinger: I think UAVs are definitely useful. One of the biggest advantages of the Fire Scout is that it is quieter because it is smaller, which allows you to get closer to things you’d like to investigate without being detected. It is also capable of carrying radar for surface contacts, which is something we don’t have on the MH-60S. One of the other benefits is that the Fire Scout can stream live ISR coverage to CIC aboard the ship, where the Ship’s CO, the TAO, and everyone else can be in the room with you and can see what you’re seeing. With our LCS detachments we only have one 60 on board, so having extra eyes in the air to scan the ocean was helpful during our counter-drug deployments. For example, one of our sensor operators, AWS1 Ken Morris, spotted a single bail of cocaine floating out in the ocean, and the Fire Scout was able to loiter and keep eyes on it until we launched the MH60S to investigate it. It turns out it was empty though!
Rotor Review: Is it hard to put in the same effort to studying and flying the Fire Scout as you do flying the MH-60S? Why or why not?
Gettinger: Our careers as helicopter pilots put an emphasis on the MH-60S manned helicopter we fly—at the end of the day, we were selected as MH-60S pilots first. If you don’t get a qualification in the Fire Scout, it tends to not be a big deal, but if you fail to get Level III, Functional Check Pilot, or HAC in the MH-60S, that’s going to hurt your career. As we talked about earlier, it can be challenging because you have to balance all these qualifications. But, that should never take away from being proficient in the Fire Scout because it’s still a full size helicopter—not some camera drone—that can kill people like any other aircraft if mistakes are made.
Rotor Review: How did you employ the Fire Scout when you were on deployment in the Caribbean?
Gettinger: I’ve been on two Fire Scout deployments, and both were tasked with drug interdiction. One of those deployments was the first-ever Airborne Use of Force and Fire Scout operational deployment on the East Coast. That
first one was very much a learning experience. It was our first deployment flying it off the ship as a squadron, and we were testing how we can effectively employ it to identify suspect vessels and maintain coverage while either the 60 or RHIB launched with Coast Guard Law Enforcement members to interdict. On my second deployment, we were also able to use the Fire Scout to provide ISR coverage in Honduras looking at roads and bridge integrity after two back-to-back hurricanes hit the country. The J2 and Joint Task Force Bravo in South America were concerned about infrastructure, so they asked us to use the Fire Scout to check it out.
Rotor Review: Which aircraft do you enjoy flying more?
Gettinger: The MH-60S. The Fire Scout is really cool, it’s not as taxing on your body, and it’s nice to be flying from an air-conditioned room in the middle of the Caribbean. However, you aren’t getting the feeling of flying. The feeling of hovering off a tanker to rescue someone or landing in soccer fields to provide humanitarian aid to a country like Honduras is something you can’t get from a UAV. I enjoy the ISR aspect of the Fire Scout, but the physical thrill of flying the MH-60S is definitely my favorite!
Rotor Review: When you joined the Navy as a manned helicopter pilot, did you ever think you’d end up flying a drone, as well?
Gettinger: Not at all. I actually always envisioned being a part of a carrier squadron. My grandfather was an A-4 Skyhawk pilot and my dad was a Prowler Naval Flight Officer, so all I grew up knowing was carrier aviation when I joined the Navy. I wanted to be a jet pilot when I came in, and then I got selected to go helicopters which I really knew nothing about. I actually soft-patched with HSC-5 which would’ve been a carrier squadron, but due to a manning shuffle a week later, they switched me to HSC-22. That was the first time I knew I’d fly a drone!
Rotor Review: What had you heard about the Fire Scout prior to joining the community?
Gettinger: I had actually heard mixed things about the Fire Scout in HSC-22; things like flying the Fire Scout would take away from manned helicopter hours and stuff like that. Honestly, I didn’t want to go to HSC-22. From what I’ve heard from the new check-ins, the perception of the Fire Scout has changed on the Seawall for the better, and I think it’s because when I was going through the Fire Scout training pipeline, HSC-22 had not used it operationally yet. I feel like now that it’s actually flying, we’re incorporating it into our missions, and JOs are still getting competitive shore tour billets, there are a lot more positive things to say about it! I’m actually really happy I went to HSC-22. Besides the awesome people there, I think the Fire Scout provides a unique opportunity to our squadron that no one really else has had up to this point. If you think about the fact that only one squadron—which will soon be two squadrons when HSC-28 starts flying it— out of seven on this coast actually fly it, it truly is a unique opportunity.
Rotor Review: Are you thankful you learned to fly the Fire Scout?
Gettinger: I am. I think it helped me be a better MH-60S helicopter pilot because the 60 does some ISR, but mostly as a means to complete the rest of a mission. For example, for our Authorized Use of Force mission for drug interdiction, that might ultimately include expending ordinance or going into the landing zones and dropping people off...stuff like that. Up until this point, we’ve relied on other assets like the MH-60R and other external ISR assets for long-term coverage. I think being a MH-60S pilot makes you a better Fire Scout operator, because you already know what info you’d want to receive from the Fire Scout to then provide to the crew of the MH60S you’re supporting.
Rotor Review: What disadvantages are there to flying an aircraft remotely, rather than being in a cockpit?
Gettinger: The biggest detriment is the loss of situational awareness. When I’m sitting in a cockpit, I can look outside below me and see where I am, which has helped me out in many situations. Say you get stuck in a rainstorm, well you can just look out and see where you are. You don’t have that benefit in the Fire Scout. We fly by our senses so often to know how fast we are going and our orientation in space, but backed up by instrumentation in case those senses are called into question. But with the Fire Scout, you fly by instruments all the time—you don’t have any feedback from those senses. For example, one time we lost our link with the Fire Scout. We knew where it was going and had our lost link pattern placed appropriately. When link is lost, a “ghosted” icon appears where the computer predicts the Fire Scout will be. We had a 20 to 30-knot headwind at the time, so the UAV was only going approximately 40 knots over the ground. When it reestablished link, it was way further behind than the computer thought it was. Because the Fire Scout takes time to go through its logic, you really have to pay attention to the operating environment and the winds and be a lot more ahead of the aircraft while understanding how long certain maneuvers will take. For example, the Fire Scout can take up to seven minutes to complete an approach to landing on the ship, whereas we can land within 30 seconds with the MH60S.
Rotor Review: What advice do you have for new MH-60S pilots who are considering flying the Fire Scout?
Gettinger: Take it seriously. Always remember you’re flying an actual aircraft even if you’re not sitting in its cockpit. And if you’re really interested in flying UAVs, don’t lose sight of the manned side of flying because your manned experience will make you a better UAV operator.
