Veteran-owned and operated

Scale the UAS capability you already have. Build new capabilities into your organization.

Trained people, aircraft and field support for UAS programs. We work alongside primes and their government programs, military units and industry teams on the work around unmanned systems: training, train-the-trainer, exercises, testing and field support.

  • Capacity now: More people, preparation and support around your existing team.
  • Capability afterward: Stronger skills, shared knowledge and more work your people can perform in-house.

01 / Who we are

Primes and their programs.
Military units.
OEMs and industry teams.

Who we are
Harbor 153 is a veteran-owned UAS services company. We work alongside primes and their government programs, military units and industry teams on the work around unmanned systems: training, train-the-trainer, exercises, testing and field support.
What we bring
Experienced instructors, operators and builders, so your program gets more done now and keeps the capability after we leave.
If you hold a contract
If you hold a training or unmanned-systems contract, we add experienced people to your team for the days or weeks you need them, working under your contract and to your customer’s standard.
How we work
We are a small, hands-on partner. Every engagement is scoped to your program, schedule and range, and we learn your systems so each job builds on the last.

02 / Experience

What we fly,
build and teach.

Our network includes experienced drone operators, instructors and builders. The experience below is individual and representative; we confirm people, qualifications and availability for each engagement.

Aircraft and systems flown, built or instructedHover or tap a category

  • Fixed-wing

    ScanEagle (1,000+ hours), Puma, Raven, Stalker, Penguin-B, Mugin-3, custom ArduPilot builds, and more

  • Rotary and VTOL

    Camcopter S-100 (1,000+ hours), Skydio X10 and Dock, Teal 2, Black Hornet, SkyRaider, DJI Matrice (including commercial BVLOS), Autel, and more

  • FPV and custom multirotor

    FPV quads and custom multirotors built and tuned by our builders; autonomous multirotor and hoist-payload development, and more

  • Custom builds and fabrication

    Custom aircraft, payloads, targets and parts designed and built by our builders: 3D printing, CNC, composites, wiring and integration, and more

  • Software, radios and C2

    ArduPilot, Betaflight, ATAK/TAK, Silvus and MPU5 radios, and more

Representative experience

  • Lead UAS train-the-trainer for 5th Special Forces Group, including Puma, plus small-UAS master trainers.
  • FPV build-and-fly courses for Special Forces groups and conventional Army units.
  • Group 1 to 3 primary instruction, plus operational and developmental test and evaluation.
  • Red-air builders and test pilots: 50+ fixed-wing airframes prepared and test-flown, across more than a dozen red-air platforms.
  • Opposing-force drone teams for special operations and allied exercises since 2023, including attack-drone profiles and red-cell electronic warfare.
  • Counter-UAS field service, course development and integration.
  • Built and led a 24/7 Skydio drone operation from scratch: SOPs, pilot training and evaluation.
  • Range control, airspace deconfliction and JTAC experience.

Backgrounds: Army Special Forces, 75th Ranger Regiment, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Air Force TACP/JTAC and combat control, Marine Corps, State Department, Army aviation and National Guard, plus defense contractors and commercial operators. Operating experience across the Middle East and Central Asia, Europe, Africa, the Indo-Pacific and the Caribbean.

03 / Where we help

Four ways we plug
into your program.
Most engagements combine two or more.

Instructors, aircraft and range, builds and red air, surge people. Each starts with what your program needs to get done now and what your people should be able to do afterward.

Instructors and train-the-trainer

Your program needs trained operators now and instructors who keep training after we leave. Our instructors have done exactly that.

What that includes

  • Course design built from the manufacturer’s manuals, your program of instruction and the unit’s mission
  • Hands-on operator training at your site or the unit’s
  • Train-the-trainer and check rides, so your instructors can teach and qualify others
  • Puma and other platforms, matched to the people we send

Aircraft, range and field support

A course needs aircraft that fly and a place to fly them. We coordinate both, or work with yours.

What that includes

  • Aircraft that are government-furnished, yours or sourced by us, prepared and maintained in the field
  • Range time, airspace and frequency coordination, deconfliction and safety
  • Troubleshooting, field repair and spares
  • Radio, data-link and TAK setup

Custom builds and red air

Our builders design and build what the program needs, from training aircraft to expendable targets.

What that includes

  • Custom aircraft, payloads and parts to your requirement and sourcing rules (NDAA included)
  • Red-air presentations flown to your test or training plan
  • Expendable targets, with loss and liability agreed up front
  • A short after-action report on what was flown and what the pilots saw

Surge pilots and operators

Programs come in spikes. We add experienced people for days or weeks, with no change to your headcount.

What that includes

  • FAA Part 107 pilots for test, demonstration and support flying
  • Experienced SMEs where the job needs building, integration or instruction
  • Independent operator feedback before government evaluations

Bring the right specialists together around your team’s questions.

Practical instruction and shared problem-solving help your people apply new knowledge to the equipment, preparation and training they own.

04 / Illustrative examples

What an engagement
could look like.

Two hypothetical scenarios, not past performance.

A prime’s training contract

Your trainers need qualifying on an aircraft the customer still flies.

Your program needs its own trainers certified on a program-of-record aircraft before the next class, and the aircraft and the range are not settled yet.

Harbor brings a master trainer who has run that course inside the force, coordinates aircraft and a range near the customer’s post, runs the course and check rides inside a weather-safe window, and leaves a written record of who qualified on what.

The intended result: your trainers teach the customer’s operators, the aircraft and range questions are answered, and Harbor is a call away for the next class or the next platform.

A unit’s exercise

An experienced team. A new requirement.

Your team is preparing an exercise that needs more UAS activity and a capability it has not used before. You may have your own UAS personnel, or need Harbor to run that part of the event.

Harbor works with your exercise lead to define the UAS roles, equipment and preparation. We can add specialists to your team or plan, set up and run the agreed UAS element. Practical instruction can help your people learn to operate or maintain the systems involved.

The intended result: more training delivered, a new UAS activity put into practice, and skills your people can use at the next event.

Start with the next event.
Build from what you learn.

After the engagement, review what worked, what your team can now handle, and where support would be useful next. Future work can follow your training calendar, new personnel and changing requirements.

05 / How we work

Built around your program.

We are a small, hands-on partner. Every engagement is scoped to your program, schedule and range, and we learn your systems so each job builds on the last.

It starts with a 30-minute call. Within 48 hours we send a short written outline of how we could help: people, aircraft, schedule and cost.

Under your contract
We work as your subcontractor, under your contract and your customer’s rules.
Team size
Two to five people, from a single day to a multi-week block; larger work scoped case by case.
People and aircraft
Assembled for each job from our network and matched to the platform and role.
Approvals
We work within your range’s airspace, frequency and safety approvals; insurance and liability settled first.
Notice and scope
One to three weeks for people, two to three weeks or more for custom builds; unclassified work in the United States, other locations by discussion.
  1. Define the requirement together

    Bring your platforms, dates, location and what your people can already do. Harbor and a subject matter expert identify the team, aircraft and preparation the work calls for.

  2. Review the outline and prepare

    Work through the proposed team, plan and itemized budget with us. Agree the scope and costs, confirm responsibilities and approvals, and coordinate how Harbor fits into your program.

  3. Deliver on the ground

    Instruct, fly, build or support, coordinated with your lead and to your customer’s standard.

  4. Review and inform the next step

    Discuss what was flown, what the pilots saw and where equipment fell short. Provide written feedback and recommendations where included in the scope.

06 / The team

Operational and training experience,
from planning through the debrief.

Harbor’s founders draw from the internal team and a wider network of pilots, instructors and technical specialists with Army and Air Force backgrounds spanning SOCOM and JSOC, special operations aviation, unmanned systems and the defense industry. Their experience includes real-world operations, exercise planning and execution, and operator and instructor training.

Each proposed team member’s relevant background, UAS experience, and platform familiarity are discussed privately during scoping.

Zac Boeckmann

Co-Founder

  • West Point ’16: Mechanical Engineering
  • Notre Dame Law ’28
  • Former Detachment Commander
    3rd Special Forces Group
  • 313

Cole Wheeler

Co-Founder & Owner-Operator

  • West Point ’16: Defense and Strategic Studies / Systems Engineering
  • Former Troop Commander, 2CR
  • 313

Joe Pervall

Co-Founder

  • West Point ’16: Law / Environmental Engineering
  • Northwestern-Kellogg MBA ’27
  • Former Detachment Commander
    3rd Special Forces Group
  • 313

07 / Your requirement

What we would like to learn from you.

We would rather build around your problems than sell you a menu. On a first call we would ask:

  • Which platforms, and how many people need training, by when?
  • Who issues or accepts the qualification your customer requires?
  • Where will aircraft and range time come from, and what is hard about getting them?
  • When do you need extra people for days or weeks?
Professional inquiries