By MC2 Shawn J. Stewart

U.S. Air Force Maj. Mark Jacobsen, Executive Director of Uplift Aeronautics, briefs NPS students, faculty and staff on the organization's Syria Airlift initiative during a Consortium for Robotics and Unmanned Systems Education and Research (CRUSER) colloquium in the Mechanical Engineering Auditorium, July 13. The project uses drones to deliver humanitarian aid.

"I was inspired by the Berlin Airlift of 1948. It was an all-volunteer team comprised of military personnel who just wanted to help. They airdropped tons of food and medicines to those in need," said Jacobsen.

Jacobsen traveled to southwest Turkey in March of 2014 on a research trip. There, he came face-to-face with the human side of the on-going Syrian conflict.

"I kept hearing people ask why aren't the Americans helping us," he said. "I decided to do something about it."

According to Jacobsen, the Syrian government's Integrated Air Defense System (IADS) precludes manned flights into the area. But he and several colleagues discovered a novel way to get aid into the hands of the needy.

"My team and I decided to launch a pilot program researching the use of UAVs to deliver water, medicine and other supplies into war torn areas of Syria and disaster areas of the world," said Jacobsen. "An estimated 240,000 people are in need of food and medical attention in Syria, with millions more who are inaccessible due to war conditions."

CRUSER Director Dr. Ray Buettner thinks that Jacobsen is part of a growing trend that is poised to increase over time.

"Mark and his team represent a growing phenomenon, that of non-profit groups seeking to use small UAS [unmanned air systems] for humanitarian assistance," said Buettner. "Naval forces may run into similar groups as they carry out HADR [humanitarian assistance and disaster relief] operations around the world. It is both relevant and important for the CRUSER community to be aware of these groups, their motivations and their technologies."