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The Sensors Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), in conjunction with the Global Hawk Systems Group, the J-UCAS System Program Office and contractor Defense Research Associates, Inc. (DRA) is conducting an Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) of a sense-and-void capabi lity with the potential to satisfy the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) requirement for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to provide “an equivalent level of safety, comparable to see -and-avoid requirements for manned aircraft”. This FAA requirement must be satisfied for UAV operations within the national airspace. The Sense-and-Avoid, Phase I (Man -in-the-Loop) ATD will demonstrate an on -board, wide field of regard, multisensor visible imaging system operating in real time and capable of passively detecting approaching aircraft, declaring potential collision threats in a timely manner and alerting the human pilot located in the remote ground control station. The technology basis, program schedule, and transition plans of the ATD will be presented. I. INTODUCTION Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Regulation 7610.4 states remotely operated aircraft (ROA, aka UAV, UAS) must provide an “…equivalent level of safety, comparable to see -and-avoid requirements for manned aircraft” in order to operate in the National Air Space (NAS). The capability must be effective against all air traffic, with or without active, transponder-based collision avoidance systems. Currently, no ROA “see and avoid” capability exists. ROAs operating in the NAS must obtain Certificates of Authorization, a cumbersome , time consuming process, and/or use either chase planes or ground-based observers. The Air Force Research Laboratory’ Sensors Directorate (AFRL/SN), the Aeronautical System Center (ASC) and Defense Research Associates, Inc. (DRA) have developed sense and avoid technology that has the potential to meet the FAA’s “see and avoid” requirement. Systems such as the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) and Mode S transponder satisfy part of the requirement for avoiding air traffic through cooperative technology. Cooperative technology incorporates the use of transponders to establish the position of participating air traffic to determine the possibility of a collision. No system or subsystem, however, is available to p rovide the “see and avoid” capability against non-cooperative aircraft. (Aircraft without a transponder based collision avoidance system) AFRL/SN has been commissioned to execute an Advanced Technology Demonstration of a sense and avoid (SAA) capability based on electro -optic sensors, innovative detection and tracking algorithms, and high performance data |
