Key criteria of UAV applicability in medium range ice reconnaissance and ice information service of maritime operations

The modern development of Earth remote sensing methods has enabled scientists to make the huge breakthrough in the field of sea ice information support of maritime operations in the arctic and other freezing seas.Nowadays ship navigation teams regularly receive near the real time satellite data, ice maps and ice forecasts. Nevertheless, the situations when satellite information has either insufficient resolution or is not transmitted aboard on time are not rare. In the case of ship stuck in the heavy ice conditions or when choosing an ice station for scientific work it is necessary to perform the ice reconnaissance directly from the ship. Such tasks can be solved with the use of a helicopter, nevertheless it is safe and cheaper to use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).The article provides material that combines longstanding experience of conducting an operational sea-ice information support for maritime operations, of aerial ice reconnaissance, special ship-based observations of the sea ice key characteristics as well as experience of operating various unmanned aerial systems in high-latitude conditions by the scientists of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. This paper aims to structure the flight and operational characteristics of the unmanned vehicle (UAV), as a platform useable for operational sea-ice information support of ship navigation in ice. The main objective of the article is to clearly outline the specifics of application and technical requirements for unmanned systems, both currently used and newly developed, which in turn will allow a wide range of professionals to avoid errors at the stage of planning the use of UAV systems, as well as during aircraft development and design. To solve this task the article highlights key criteria of medium range ice reconnaissance from the icebreaker, ice reconnaissance techniques, maximum parameters of meteorological conditions for UAV usage, the ways of UAV returns on the ship, and necessary equipment details.