Tests Performed At Holloman AFB Makes UAVs Safer For Piloted
Aircraft
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
in the Tularosa Basin aren't new. Planes without pilots have been
flying in and out of Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, NM for
years as drones and aerial targets.
What is new and quite phenomenal is the type of Unmanned
Aircraft System testing being done here. These efforts are being
led by a consortium of Southern New Mexico high-tech operations
with the unsurprising name of Unmanned Aerial Systems Test and
Evaluation Center. Holloman's 46th Test Group is its hub with
Physical Science Laboratory at New Mexico State University and
White Sand Missile Range playing key roles.
The object of this UAS testing is to have an unmanned plane fly
in regular commercial/general aviation airspace safely with the
equivalent level of safety as a manned aircraft. The obvious
military benefit is to be able to launch "pilotless" planes that
are capable of performing the "dull, dangerous and dirty," jobs
from intelligence gathering, border security, disaster response,
search and rescue and possibly even transport while not affecting
the level of safety or service for manned aircraft.
There have been a number of close calls in the increasingly
crowded skies over Iraq and Afghanistan as the 21st Century
battlespace commanders strive to deconflict the manned and unmanned
aircraft operations that have been integrated on the same airfield.
Some of these close calls have involved unmanned platforms, which
concern the pilots of manned aircraft because the UASs do not have
a pair of human eyes in the aircraft that may provide a last line
of defense to detect an intruder and initiate a maneuver to avoid a
collision. The sensors that are on board the UAS can be used to
scan for traffic in the skies, but there still is not a system in
place that can replace a human in the aircraft as a last line of
defense.
A key technology that would keep all airborne vehicles safe
would be a sense and avoid system on the UAS. The 46 TG's flight
test squadron, the 586th has the lead for testing this technology
for UASs. Providing test discipline and expertise is Mr. Ken Wernle
who manages the Unmanned Systems Operation and Validation Program
contract that the 46 TG has with PSL. He says, "Sense and avoid is
one of the keys to being able to file a flight plan and fly in the
National Airspace."
Currently, UAVs are subject to strict FAA limitations and flying
in restricted airspace, both of which limit their training and
operational effectiveness in executing the broad scope of UAV
missions. The airspace restrictions limit UAV test and training
flexibility and further limit operational usability for locating
forest fires or providing other surveillance of national
disasters.
The sense and avoid system that is being tested by PSL and the
586th can be installed on any UAV, large or small, to operate
safely world wide. There are even thoughts that the "sense" portion
of the system could be used by general aviation aircraft to alert
pilots sooner than their eyes could, enhancing the pilot's
situational awareness.
Some of the first UTEC test flights were out of Stallion Army
Air Field on the north end of WSMR restricted airspace. Initially,
the UAS test payload was asked to look for an intruder approaching
head-on. Test results have shown "better than the human eye"
detection using special cameras and significant computer
processing. Follow-on tests in late 2006 were flown with a
simulated UAS with a "man" sitting at the controls as the aircraft
autonomously avoided the intruder aircraft. This technology would
not only assist unmanned aircraft but could assist all general
aviation aircraft to increase their awareness of traffic in their
vicinity and avoid accidents. Eventually, the goal is to progress
to a completely autonomous "man out of the loop" system.
Mr. Kevin Dunshee, 46 TG Plans and Programs Engineer and a
former fighter pilot, says, "This technology will help the 21st
Century battlespace commanders to easily, effectively and safely
deconflict both manned and unmanned flight operations operating
from the same Air Base."
Flight operations in WSMR restricted airspace will resume with
additional Unmanned Aerial Systems testing in December. These tests
will concentrate on detection and sending information to the flight
controls for completely autonomous operations where the UAV will
detect an aircraft, evaluate whether it will travel close enough to
be a concern, and then take its own evasive action to avoid a
collision.
(ANN thanks Mr. Dwight Harp, 46th Test Group honorary
commander, for this report)