General Atomics tests sense-and-avoid system.

• Author: Insinna, Valerie
• Position: UNMANNED AIRCRAFT

* General Atomics and NASA in November began flight testing a proof-of-concept sense-and-avoid system integrated onto an MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft, said Brandon Suarez, the company's subject matter expert on sense and avoid.

Before drones can be integrated in the national airspace, the Federal Aviation Administration has mandated that they must have a "due regard" capability that allows them to maintain a safe separation from other aircraft. Pilots in a cockpit can see the approach of other aircraft or wildlife and make split-second decisions to avoid a collision, but operators of unmanned aerial systems often may not have the same visibility. Latency in the data link connecting a drone to its pilot may also restrict the ability to maneuver the LIAS in the event of a possible collision.

The Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics formed a special committee in 2013 to develop industry standards for sense-and-avoid systems. General Atomics is part of the committee and is developing its system to meet the emerging standards, Suarez said.

"The flight testing that we're going through right now with NASA will lead to what we're calling a prototype sense-and-avoid system to fly in the summer of 2015," he said. "That prototype sense-and-avoid system, which will include an upgrade to the air-to-air radar ... and a lot of other kinds of system enhancements, will essentially match what the standards community is coming up with in a draft standard that's due as well."

The testing on the Ikhana--the name given to the NASA-owned MQ-9--took place at the administration's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. General Atomics will conduct a final flight test with NASA in 2016 with a sense-and-avoid system that will verify the RTCA's technical standards, Suarez said.

The company's...