UXS Program Management

Bringing Drone Wisdom to Others 

John “J.C.” Coffey 

Executive Director, Uncrewed Systems (UXS), Cherokee Nation

Chairman, Federal UXS Tribal Interest Group

Innovation &

Uncrewed Systems (UXS)
• Largest Native American tribe, with almost 400,000 tribal citizens

• Tahlequah, Oklahoma, capital city of Cherokee Nation

• 14-county jurisdictional service area

• Sovereign, tripartite government

• We are technology tribe that leads in innovation.

• Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., Leadership 

Award for Public Service from the International Economic 

Development Council (2021)

• Just as Cherokee, Will Rogers, took to the sky nearly 100 years 

ago, we are looking to emerging technologies to keep us moving 

forward.

CHEROKEE NATION
Serving a Higher Purpose

Cherokee Nation Business

• The Cherokee Nation, the largest Native American tribe in the U.S. with almost 

400,000 tribal citizens

• Cherokee Nation Businesses – the economic engine of the Cherokee Nation

• Cherokee Nation & its businesses employ more than 11,600 people & has an 

annual economic impact of $2.16B on northeast Oklahoma

• 63% of profits reinvested in businesses:

• Promote self-sufficiency of Cherokee Nation citizens through job opportunities

• Create jobs in a variety of industries

• Build capacity from within the tribe by training & educating Cherokee people

• Partner with industry leaders to learn from the best & train Cherokee Nation 

citizens to do the same

• 37% of profits support programs & services

• Education

• Health Care

• Housing Programs
Our Workforce
Our Vision is to be a leader in UXS...

Native Americans have always been connected to 

nature, the environment and surroundings. 

With drones and the IoT we will be more connected then 

ever at sea, in the air and on land the possibilities are 

endless. We will be there!

FAA UAS Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight ARC
Cherokee Nation’s UAS – Government and Beyond

• Decades of sophisticated operations experience across the government space from CONOPS to OPS.

• Utilizing experience to serve our Nation and Country. Been there from the beginning!

• Numerous DOT, FAA, NASA, DHS, DOD, BIA and others support ensuring comprehensive technical solutions.

• Accelerating integration into the National Airspace including the Key Infrastructure required.

Underserved Community Involvement

• Federal Tribal Interest Group for Uncrewed Systems 

• The BIA Tribal Climate Resilience Program website is: https://www.bia.gov/bia/ots/tribal-climate-resilience-program

• The Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal 

Government specifically action items to address. (See Section 10)

Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government

“Whole of Government Approach” to UAS 

and Underserved Community Involvement
Building. Solving. Serving.

Level 1 

certification

Level 2 

certification

Level 3 

certification

• Once size does not fit all when it comes to the level safety systems 

complexity required.

• Higher risk activities will require more complex safety systems and 

certification.

• The three levels of certification are directly proportional to the level of 

safety system requirements. 

© © ©

© copyright AUVSI 2017 all rights reserved

Cherokee Nation UAF FAA UAS IPP & Beyond – Pilot Shortage

Including coordination with Tribal Schools and Universities

Trusted Operator Pilot (TOP) Certification
NASA / FAA AAM Ecosystem Community Integration Working Group

Aircraft

Airspace

Operator

Infrastructure

Acceptance
NASA / FAA AAM Vertiport Construction Standards

Our Inter-Agency engagement includes:

• DOD, DHS and other government agencies within the NCR

• Supporting operations in the DC Flight Restricted Zone

• Global Support including UAS Hangars overseas

• Numerous standards working groups

Our experience includes:

• We built the Emergency Landing Zone at St. Elizabeth’s

• We support the Pentagon Heliport

• We built the Emergency Landing Zone for the US Embassy 

residence facility in Juba South Sudan

• We have worked in, on and around airfields at Tinker AFB, 

Andrews AFB, Pentagon, St. Elizabeth’s, and Alliance Airfield

• We built international UAS and Vertiport facilities
Cherokee Federal Capabilities

INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION 

TECHNOLOGY

PROFESSIONAL 

SERVICES

NATURAL 

ENVIRONMENT

MEDICAL

RESEARCH

BUILT 

INFRASTRUCTURE

ENGINEERING & 

MANUFACTURING

Geospatial Intelligence Helpdesk Training and Education Restoration Viral Disease Construction 

Management Rapid Prototyping

Law Enforcement Enterprise Systems Logistics Support Environmental Quality Surgical Research Design Engineering Engineering Services

Human Intelligence Network Support 

Facilities Support / 

Custodial / Janitorial 

Services

Environmental &

Geologic Research Vaccine Development Asset Management Low Rate Production

Business Intelligence Web Design Program Management Resource Management Clinical Trials Data Management Full Scale Production

Financial Forensics Network Security Information Technology Environmental Liabilities Financial Management Cost Estimating Kitting 

Strategic Planning 

Communications

Data Management Quality Assurance / 

Quality Control Data Management Program Management Cost & Schedule Management Warehouse Operations

Information Operations Unmanned Systems Human Resources Cost Estimating Epidemiology Planning & Programming Depot Level 

Maintenance

Intelligence, 

Surveillance, and 

Reconnaissance

Risk Management 

Framework Administrative Cost & ScheduleManagement Bio Surveillance Sustainability Systems Integration

Psychological 

Operations Programming Policy & Planning Planning, Programming, Budget & Execution Lab Support Facility Management Supply Chain/Distribution

Battlespace Awareness Mobile App 

Development

Supply Chain 

Management Root Cause Analysis Psychological / Trauma Physical Security Field Team/Modifications

Identity Intelligence Cybersecurity Financial Management Base Realignment and 

Closure Activities

Military Medical Health 

Readiness Technical Reachback Life Cycle Management
Building. Solving. Serving.

Cherokee Federal Programs 

Core Capabilities Evolving with UXS

Engineering, Scientific, Research & 

Development & Technical Support

• Design and Construction Support

• Facilities Engineering and Asset Management

• Planning, Programming, Budgeting and 

Execution

• Environmental Remediation and Compliance

• Scientific and Technical Subject Matter 

Expertise

• Research and Development (R&D) Support 

and Staffing

• Systems Engineering

• Weapon System RDT&E

• Global Health Threat Surveillance

• Patient Safety Policy Implementation

• Weather Analysis and Modeling

• Oceanography & Mapping

• Geospatial Data Acquisition & GIS Services

• Geospatial Modeling and Application 

Development

• Autonomy

• Interoperability

Intelligence & Analysis Support

• Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance 

(ISR)

• Information Operations

• Analysis and Reporting

• Battlespace Awareness

• Identity Intelligence

• TENCAP Technical Assistance

• Counter Narcotics and Global Threats

Uncrewed Systems (UXS) Support

• Program Development, Strategies & Roadmaps • Proof of Concept Coordination • System engineering – analysis of alternatives • Test & Evaluation • Data Management & Analysis (Cloud, ML/AI) • Facilitating FAA Air & Battle Space Approvals • Field-Based Operations & Maintenance • Transitioning to “Fully Operational Capability” • Policy, Regulations and Compliance • Cyber, Security and Counter-UXS

Strategic Operations and Data Management 

• Program and Project Management

• Configuration and Change Management

• Logistics and Maintenance Management

• Business Reengineering

• Business and Transaction Support

• Warehouse and Logistics Support

• Software Modernization and Maintenance

• Data Life Cycle Management

• IT Infrastructure Upgrades

• Physical Security Systems

• Systems Administration

• Network Management

• Data Center Services

• Enterprise Architecture

• Information Systems Security and 

Cybersecurity

• Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

• Clouding & Clouding on the Edge 

• Advanced Data Analytics

FORWARD-FOCUSED MARKET CAPABILITIES
Building. Solving. Serving.

Unmanned Systems (UXS) supporting the Digital Enterprise

Key Enablers Data Optimization and Distribution - Data Management & Analytics - Networks & IT - Infrastructure & C4

- Interfaces & Standards - Facilities & Sustainment - Program, Policy, Training & Operations

Core Technologies Integrate, Test, Assess and Manage - Cyber & Physical Security - Systems & Integration - Communications

- Cloud Architecture & Processing - Mission ML / AI - Power, Propulsion & Endurance

- Positioning & Timing - Sense & Decide - Performance & Reliability

UXS Platforms Build, Buy or Lease

• Air

• Sea

• Land 

ISR

Environmental 

Intelligence & 

Climatology

GIS & Survey 

(+Maritime)

Emergency Response 

& Disaster Relief

Capabilities

C

N

E

X

P

E

R

T

I

S

E

Whole of 

Government

• Stalker – USMC

• Puma – USCG

• Zephyr - USN

• GlobalHawk – NOAA

• Latitude - NOAA

• Coyote – USN NOAA

• Altavian – USDA

• Juniper – USDA

• Triton - USCG

• Tiger Shark – NOAA

• Puma – NOAA USCG

• ScanEagle – NOAA
Building. Solving. Serving.

Cherokee Federal UXS Content

UXS AI / ML

Data 

Management

& Analytics

Clouding

Welcome to the Drone Age: https://cherokee-federal.com/news

Drone Wisdom: https://cherokee-federal.com/media-center & https://cherokee-federal.com/unmanned-systems

CNSP continues to expand Triton capabilities for DHS: https://cherokee-federal.com/industry-insights/cnsp-continues-to-expand-tritoncapabilities-after-reaching-major-project-milestones-for-dhs-project

Cherokee Federal advances ocean science with autonomy, AI & telepresence: https://cherokee-federal.com/industry-insights/cherokeefederal-subject-matter-expert-advances-ocean-science-with-ai

Cherokee Federal provides end-to-end data management disaster-response efforts: https://cherokee-federal.com/industryinsights/cherokee-federal-provides-end-to-end-data-management-for-federal-disaster-response-efforts

Capability Content in Development

• Cloud 

• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

• Emergency Response and Disaster Management

© 2017 Cherokee Nation Businesses . All Rights Reserved.

John “J.C.” Coffey

Executive Director, Uncrewed Systems (UXS)

Cherokee Nation Federal

John.Coffey@cherokee-Federal.com

904-923-1709

Parting Gifts & Getting Started

Membership in Uncrewed Systems Federal Tribal Interest Group

Big Data Expert in the “Drone Age.” Take a look: www.uxswisdom.com

Sophisticated UXS Operations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2WjYkyaJL8

Expertise in protecting the C6 – Cyber & Counter-UXS

AUVSI Membership - Tribal Discount