Six Indigenous students have graduated from a landmark UAS pilots training course in Darwin in a milestone event for Six Seasons, a new alliance of Indigenous Elders.
The first cohort consisting of four men and two women were presented with their training certificates, a key step in building a new enterprise and a unique vision to nurture talent and grow self-esteem among young Indigenous Northern Territorians, in a ceremony attended by Shadow Defence Minister Richard Marles.
Six Seasons was formed by a group of Elders representing communities from the Tiwi Islands to Adelaide River and aims to use training in advanced Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) as the foundation of a new NT industry catering for the needs of government agencies and the resources and agricultural sectors.
The vast distances of the Territory make UAS technology extremely cost competitive for tasks as diverse as bushfire fuel-load assessments, pipeline patrols, fisheries monitoring and ferrel species surveys.
Six Seasons has teamed up with technology company Elbit Systems to provide remote pilot training and explore opportunities for various UAS platforms.
The students received both theoretical and practical training at Batchelor Institute, south of Darwin. They were then tested on both components of the course and the certificates they received allow a Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot Licence (RePL) to be issued by CASA.