Overview

• Coyote Rovers are unmanned ground vehicles equipped with lifelike coyote decoys to patrol airfield runways and scare off birds and other animals.
• ERDC research biologists Shea Hammond and Jacob Jung spent five years developing the prototypes under the Army Corps of Engineers.
• Tests at airfields in Florida and Tennessee showed the UGVs reduced wildlife incursions and offered potential savings on bird-strike repair costs.
• The program now aims to secure Defense Department funding to expand trials, integrate autonomous capabilities and assess full-scale operational use.
• Bird strikes currently cost the US military millions of dollars annually in aircraft damage and pose safety risks to pilots.