Leveraging Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Technology for Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HA/DR): The Last Tactical Mile

This paper examines the 2017 Hurricane Maria HA/DR VTOL delivery efforts in the mountainous northwest sector of Puerto Rico (PR) and utilizes near-term VTOL UAV technology in a fixed demand model to derived results to analyze. Additionally, the study covers a varying demand model for the VTOL assets to generate data for a scalable HA/DR response planning tool assisting decision makers. The goal of this study is to analyze qualitative inputs from subject matter experts in the Department of Defense (DoD) who served during the HA/DR efforts in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico to illustrate a list of assumptions to take into consideration in a realistic model for the selected VTOL UAV. The data derived from the HA/DR efforts were utilized to quantify the fixed demand model to highlight VTOL UAV applicability against traditional VTOL assets. Further, a model was built to assess varying demand while maximizing each VTOL assets water and meals ready-to-eat (M.R.E.) transport capability to produce actionable data to feed into a HA/DR planning tool. Analysis of both models produced by mixed methods research supports that there is a place for developing VTOL UAV technology resulting a lesser cost and higher utilization rate during sustained logistics for HA/DR. During the fixed demand scenario of Hurricane Maria HA/DR efforts in northwest P.R. for the 34 days in theater, the selected VTOL UAV utilized through the model accomplished the mission, set at a lower daily cost of $1,887.00 while requiring two operators with three assets. The models also demonstrated that the cost would be approximately 74 percent less than a single MV-22B with four operators, or 74 percent less than a single HH-60W with eight operators modeled as if they were conducting the same mission set in separate scenarios. The UAV accomplished the daily requirement at a slower pace and with an increased number of dispatches from the hub.