America’s Pacific Communicators use UAS to Deploy, Fight, Win

During Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) 24-01 in Hawaii, the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division tested the K1000ULE, Kraus Hamdani Aerospace’s fully electric ultra-long endurance unmanned aircraft system, in dense jungle terrain and steep mountain environments. Capable of flying above 11,000 feet mean sea level, the K1000ULE relayed over 135 TSM™ radios across the brigade combat team, from squad leaders to division-level command, enabling a seamless common operating picture using WINTAK.

Designed for anti-access and GPS-denied environments, the solar-powered K1000ULE flew for more than 75 hours over target, carried a 7-pound payload, and provided enough power to operate multiple simultaneous systems. In this mission, it supported Silvus radio backbone extension, advanced computing, and multi-node retransmission of mission-critical position, location, and information (PLI) without requiring tethered or vehicle-mounted solutions.

Informed by lessons from Ukraine and informed by the need to minimize static exposure, aerial retransmission systems like the K1000ULE are helping modernize the U.S. Army’s Tactical Network approach for contested environments. The 25th Infantry Division G6 strongly recommends the K1000ULE be adopted as a program of record and fielded to Integrated Tactical Network (ITN)-enabled divisions.

Read the full article at Army Communicator

Written by Maj. Justin James, 25th Infantry Division G6