Vance warriors first AETC security team to fly Raven

  • Published
  • By Joe B. Wiles
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Several high-powered sport utility vehicles were turning donuts in the Middle Eastern desert sand barely 300 meters outside the American air base, hidden by a small hill between them and the fence line. Hearts were pounding in the chests of the U.S. Air Force security forces team members watching the SUVs on a small computer monitor. 

High above the desert floor, circling over the SUVs, was a small, unmanned aircraft with wings of Kevlar, a battery-powered motor and a high resolution camera with a thermal imager connected real-time to the computer monitor. 

"It took us a few minutes to realize they were only a bunch of civilian teenagers acting stupid in the desert," said Staff Sgt. Jennifer Chambers, a flight chief with the 71st Security Forces Squadron here. Everything looks suspect until proven different when your job is protecting lives and resources. 

At the time, Sergeant Chambers was deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base outside Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and was a dedicated operator of the RQ-11 small unmanned aircraft system, known as the Raven. She and four other members of the 71st SFS were the first team in Air Education and Training Command to use the Raven operationally. They flew it for perimeter security, adding an extra layer of deterrent around the base. 

Tech. Sgt. Joseph Gonzales, Senior Airman Sean Patterson, Airmen 1st Class Kaleigh Land and William Ritchey completed the team operating the Raven. "We spent the first four months of our deployment rebuilding the Raven program at Al Dhafra AB and proving it, and our team, could do the job," said Sergeant Chambers. "For the last two weeks we were doing actual operational missions." 

The Raven system comes in a large black box about the size of a table. "There are three aircraft and the operating system in the box," said Sergeant Chambers. Each of the hand-launched aircraft is composed of eight Kevlar parts designed to break apart upon impact of landing. 

On a full battery charge it can fly for almost 90 minutes at altitudes between 150 and 500 feet. The Raven weighs a little more than four pounds and has a 4.5 foot wingspan. It is replacing the aging Desert Hawk unmanned aircraft system. 

The 71st SFS team spent two weeks training at Creech AFB, Nev., about 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas. "Flying the Raven was easy, once you got the hang of it," said Airman Ritchey. "But you need to work with it every day to become an expert." 

Sergeants Chambers and Gonzales worked primarily with the Raven. Airmen Patterson, Land and Ritchey performed traditional security forces duties around the base when not working with the Raven. Fortunately they were wearing the desert camouflage uniform and didn't have to wear body armor. "It was 110 degrees and 80 percent humidity," said Airman Ritchey. "It was pretty uncomfortable." 

"There had not been a successful mission with the Raven before we got to Al Dhafra," said Sergeant Chambers. "It is a fairly new system for the Air Force. We got it operational." 

A team from Barksdale AFB, La., replaced the 71st SFS team in June. "The deployment was an eye-opening experience," said Sergeant Chambers. "It was certainly a challenge, but a good one."