00:00The Philippine Coast Guard is expanding the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to strengthen surveillance, rescue operations, and emergency response.
00:08Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Captain Noemi Kayab-Yab said the drones tested in La Union can fly up to 60 minutes with GPS navigation, live video, and object tracking.
00:19She added that UAV data may serve as evidence against maritime law violators, while units will be distributed nationwide to extend reach to remote areas.
00:28Alongside this initiative, the PCG is also preparing 1,300 personnel to serve in the upcoming BARM elections.
00:58And to tell us more about this development, joining us via Zoom is Captain Noemi Kayab-Yab, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson.
01:06Good evening, Captain, and welcome to PTV News Tonight's Interface.
01:09I'm Sharm Zespina.
01:11Thank you, Ms. Sharm, and good evening.
01:13Thank you for your time tonight, Captain Noemi.
01:15First and foremost, let's dive right down into it.
01:18What is the primary objective of the unmanned aerial vehicle flying exercise that happened in San Juan, La Union?
01:26Well, the primary objective of this UAV exercise is really to test the capabilities of our UAVs.
01:32In aerial and maritime surveillance, as you have mentioned, to include as well the coastal monitoring and emergency response.
01:39This UAV is part of the modernization effort of the Philippine Coast Guard to strengthen our maritime domain awareness.
01:45Okay, you mentioned earlier a lot of major significance in the UAVs' presence.
01:56But how can the UAVs strengthen the PCG's mandate, specifically in surveillance, maritime domain awareness, and coastal monitoring?
02:04What are these specific instances?
02:07These UAVs provide the real-time and, of course, the higher-resolution imagery that can't always be captured by our patrol boats.
02:15They can monitor the wide areas faster, document the incidents, and at the same time, pinpoint the locations of the subjects on land or at sea.
02:25Okay, Captain, why is calibration and flight testing important before UAVs are deployed in operations?
02:32We know that any technical difficulties can destroy the entire objective.
02:36Yes, this calibration exercise that we have conducted is really to ensure the safety, the data accuracy, and proper system functionality.
02:48So without proper calibration, the Philippine Coast Guard believes that the reports may be inaccurate,
02:52which can lead to poor decisions and, of course, technical issues during the missions.
02:58Okay, that being said, what is the entire process or a summary of pre-flight checks, sensor alignments, and navigation system calibration for these UAVs?
03:10The pre-flight checks begin with inspecting the battery, signal transmissions, the propeller integrity, and the flight software,
03:19while the sensor alignment involves adjusting the camera and the infrared sensors to correct the angles.
03:26And lastly, the navigation calibration includes ensuring the GPS accuracy and the flight stability.
03:33Captain, earlier you mentioned that there is a huge benefit for surveillance and maritime domain awareness using these UAVs.
03:44But what are more of the key technical capabilities of these UAVs?
03:49Well, this UAV can fly for one hour and in 1,000 feet in height and 10 kilometers in distance.
03:57It has also a GPS navigation that can transmit live video feeds.
04:03And it also has the ability to automatic flight path programming and objective tracking.
04:07So with this capability of the UAVs, we can deploy our patrol boats once the subject is identified through the live feeding.
04:16This is a huge help, especially for addressing incidents of illegal fishing, oil spills,
04:23and as we all have heard, the skirmishes and other maritime threats.
04:27How can the UAVs help address all of this?
04:31These UAVs, Ms. Charms, can help in early detection and documentation of incidents.
04:37And through real-time footage that we will be acquiring once we deploy these UAVs,
04:42we can easily respond and deploy our vessels effectively.
04:47The footage also serves as an evidence for filing of legal cases against the violators.
04:54Captain Noemi, how many UAV units do we have at the moment?
04:57There was 1,300.
04:59Are there plans to expand this UAV deployment to other Coast Guard stations in the country?
05:06Yes, as of the moment, Ms. Charms, we have 31 drones at hand.
05:11And the goal of the Philippine Coast Guard really is to make its strategic utilization.
05:17So we intend to equip all our operational commands of these UAV units
05:21to ensure equal surveillance capability and especially in remote areas
05:26that are hard to be reached by our patrol boats.
05:29All right. Thank you so much for your time, Captain Noemi Kayabyab,
05:33spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard. Thank you.
05:37Thank you, Ms. Charms, and good evening.
