Source: Coronado Unified School District
Coronado High School NJROTC, in conjunction with the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, held the first SOCAL Aerial Drone Competition NJROTC Invitational on Saturday, December 2, 2023.
The competition was held in the former VRC-30 Hangar on Naval Air Station North Island; the same hangar that was used as a set for the production of Top Gun: Maverick.
“This was a great opportunity for our cadets. I am thankful to Commander Nesbitt and Sr. Chief Hellwig for the tremendous amount of work they put into this event and so appreciative of their commitment to our students and the JROTC program at CHS,” said Principal Karin Mellina.
The event featured 21 competing teams from NJROTC units across Southern California in matches that involved remote-controlled flight in addition to programming the drones to navigate obstacles in autonomous mode.
Teams were evaluated on their planning, strategy, teamwork, and communication skills by a panel of judges that included former Air Boss, retired Vice Admiral Brent Bennitt, as well as five retired Navy Captains from the local chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA).
The Navy’s Air Boss, RADM Wikoff visited the competition and spoke with students, and recognized Kyla Granados, a CHS cadet who earned the FAA Part 107 Commercial Drone Pilot License.
The event had support from the Naval Aviation Community which provided an MQ-8 FIRESCOUT as a static display along with a pilot who explained how the Navy uses the system. Naval Special Warfare Group ONE also provided sailors that showed students operational drones and described how the skills cadets were using in the competition have real world benefit. The National Director of the Aerial Drone Competition attended the competition as well as the CEO of Robolink (the company that manufactures the competition drone). Both described the cadets and the event as “fantastic.”
Coronado Cadets earned first-place trophies in the programming and piloting skills portions of the competition (and are currently ranked fifth among NJROTC units worldwide).
Source: Coronado Unified School District
