Tue, Aug 11, 2009
Goal Is UAS Integration In National Airspace System
GE Aviation announced Monday it has
entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement
(CRDA) with the FAA. The government-GE Aviation collaboration will
provide a variety of operational and technical assessments to
support integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the
National Airspace Systems (NAS) including the assessment of Next
Generation (NextGen) Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO).
“Under this Agreement we will be accomplishing an aviation
first by completing the research to facilitate flight of an
Unmanned Aircraft System with an FAA certified, trajectory-based
flight management system,” said Chris Beaufait, president of
Avionics for GE Aviation. “Safe integration of UAS into our
national airspace will include trajectory-based flight management
as an enabler. This CRDA directly supports development of the FAA
NextGen Air Traffic Management System.”
This Agreement provides a safe and effective means to evaluate
Trajectory Based Operations Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the
National Airspace. Simulation will be conducted at the FAA’s
William J. Hughes Technical Center beginning this fall and will
continue for two years. The research under this Agreement will be
complemented by related industry cooperative agreements supported
by FAA, including an agreement between AAI Corporation and GE.
GE Aviation’s participation
will include adapting its FAA certified flight management system to
achieve reliable trajectory-based control of UAS including
demonstration flights of an AAI Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft
System in 2009. The results of these cooperative efforts will
demonstrate the ability to integrate certified flight management
capability into existing U.S. military UAS as an enabler for
operations in national airspace.
GE Aviation plans to work with our industry partners to
commercialize a trajectory-based control system for UAS producers
and operators. Technology derived from this collaborative research
will also be folded back into GE Aviation’s commercial Flight
Management System to support advanced capabilities.
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