Drones Take Flight in the AAC in 2019

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Drones set to take off in Cadet Activity Program in 2019

A major milestone in the introduction of drone flying into the Cadet Activity Program (CAP) for Australian Army Cadets (AAC) was recently achieved with the completion of a number of instructor courses around Australia. As part of the plan for the introduction of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to all Army units currently being implemented by Headquarters Forces Command, (HQ FORCOM), civilian contractor UAVAIR conducted a series of instructor training courses around Australia from 15 September to 11 November 2018.

Personnel from HQ AAC and all state Brigades and Battalions, most of them ACS staff, participated in the courses, which combined four hours of online training with four hours of hands on flying time. There are now a total of 25 trained instructors in AAC cadet units and headquarters around the country. “The course was very good and very hands on” said Lieutenant (AAC) Cindy Darko, of A Company Tasmanian AAC Battalion, who attended the training in Melbourne.
“Once we had the safety brief it was basically pick up your drones and away you go. After completing the course I would have no hesitation in selecting cadets that could be trained to fly drones safely in the unit,” she said.

The instructor training has been conducted in parallel with the development of a new elective by HQ AAC training branch to be added to the CAP.
After the trial of the first draft of the package by Tas AAC Bn in July, a confirmatory trial will be conducted by one of the other Brigades, yet to be confirmed, early in 2019.

“The addition of UAS training to the Cadet Activity Programme will really improve the training experience that can be offered by Cadet units,” says Staff Officer Grade Two (SO2) Training at HQ AAC, Major Gary Allday. “It’s important that we ensure that we have a well-developed and uniform package that units can implement to maximise the skills development of their cadets while maintaining the safety of personnel and equipment,” he said.

However, units will not have to wait until completion of the training package before getting their hands on the drones.  The first 40 Phantom 4 pro UAS kits, which include the drones and all necessary accessories, have been assembled at HQ AAC in Canberra.  Once the remaining 10 kits, to be supplied by Army, have arrived, most of the 50 will be issued to Cadet Brigade and Battalion HQs, which will be responsible for keeping them and loaning them to units.  The distribution of the drone kits is anticipated to be completed by early in 2019.

The Australian Army Cadets (AAC) provides a personal development program for young people and is conducted by the Australian Army in cooperation with the community and aims to benefit the nation by developing the individual and their communities.

The AAC adopts the values of the Australian Army - Courage, Initiative, Respect and Teamwork - to empower youth to achieve their potential. There are more than 16,000 Army cadets based in over 220 units around Australia,

Caption: Cadet Lance Corporal Ryan De Bruyn, A Coy TAS AAC Bn, gets some air at the UAS Instructor Course at Simpson Barracks, Melbourne, in October.