AFRL COUNTER team wins Air Force Outstanding Scientist Team Award

  • Published
  • By Holly Jordan
  • Air Vehicles Directorate
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The Cooperative Operations in Urban Terrain (COUNTER) team was recently honored with the Air Force Outstanding Scientist Team Award for their research into using small and micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to seek out threats in urban terrain.

The award recognizes the efforts and achievements of the top Air Force scientists who make noteworthy and/or significant contributions to technology and/or solving technical problems in sustainment, testing, training, or advancement of Air Force systems.

The COUNTER project seeks to use UAVs for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. Small UAVs fly at altitudes of 1,000 to 3,000 feet, collecting video images and nominating potential threats for closer inspection. Micro UAVs are then launched to perform a closer inspection of the areas of interest to determine if actual threats exist.

Data from the UAVs is monitored by a human operator, using the Vigilant Spirit Control Station. By using the real-time data collected by the UAVs and sent to the control station, the operator can then decide which features within the environment warrant further action.

The UAVs used in COUNTER are ideal for surveying urban terrains, where potential threats can often be obscured by buildings or ground clutter.

The COUNTER team has recently engaged in a number of flight tests and demonstrations, including a test that successfully enabled a single operator to optimally manage multiple small UAVs working cooperatively. The team also participated in the 2007 Talisman Saber US-Australia joint warfighting exercise.

The team was previously honored with the AFMC Science, Engineering and Technical Management Award for their efforts.

"This is a tremendous honor for the COUNTER team," says Mark Mears, AFRL COUNTER Program Manager. "This diverse, multi-organizational team has successfully worked together to demonstrate fieldable technologies for the warfighter and has used their experiences to improve the definition of areas for UAV control research."

The COUNTER team during the award period consisted of Maj Nidal Jodeh, Dr. Dave Gross, Mr. Steve Rasmussen, Mr. Jeff Hill, and Dr. Raymond Holsapple of the Air Vehicles Directorate, and Mr. Gregory Feitshans, Mr. Jason Davis, and Mr. Allen Rowe of the Human Effectiveness Directorate.

The team members will be presented with the award at a ceremony held at the National Museum of the United States Air Force on Sept. 3, 2008.