A soft whirring cut through the still morning air above a quiet corner of Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility as a Skydio X10D drone rose into the air, gliding smoothly toward the bright blue Hawaiian sky on June 18, 2025. This marked the beginning of a special project with the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific and PHNSY & IMF, aimed at exploring how drones can help the shipyard stay safe, repair issues more quickly, and respond to emergencies. “We are looking to utilize drone technology to help our inspection, maintenance, and engineering groups to perform visual inspections and access portions of the crane where we would normally have to use a mobile elevated work platform,” said Kamuela Unga, Code 740 Inspection, Test QA, and Training Division Head. Unga is hoping that drones may be the answer to help mitigate the safety hazards often involved in working at great heights on large industrial cranes within the shipyard. “Unmanned aircraft systems have the potential to transform how we conduct inspections, maintenance and emergency response at the shipyard,” said Vincent Acevedo, a technical specialist with NIWC Pacific. “Platforms like the Skydio X10 and X2D allow us to safely assess hard-to-reach or hazardous areas, such as crane structures, without disrupting operations or putting personnel at risk. These systems can capture high-resolution imagery, conduct thermal scans, assess corrosion, and even support emergency response scenarios involving radiological threats.”

Full report : Cleared for Takeoff: New Drone Tech Takes Flight at PHNSY & IMF.

For more see the OODA Company Profile on Skydio.