by Richard TomkinsSan Diego
Feb 16, 2015
A pre-production sense-and-avoid radar system for remotely piloted vehicles has been flight tested aboard a Predator B by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.
The successful test -- the first for a fully functioning air-to-air radar on an unmanned aerial vehicle – "meets the requirements for 'due regard' operations in international airspace and advances the integration of such aircraft into international and domestic airspace," the company said.
"This flight test is the culmination of over four years of radar development activity," said Frank Pace, president, Aircraft Systems, GA-ASI. "DRR will allow users to operate Predator B independently in international airspace without the need for land-based, sea-based, or off-board airborne airspace surveillance, offering our customers greater freedom of movement around the globe."
GA-ASI said its testing of due regard radar, or DRR, was to validate the system's functions on a UAV and its integration with the Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System II, which is the collision avoidance system used on many commercial aircraft.
The multiple tests flights were conducted last December in Montana and California and involved scripted encounters against multiple small- and medium-sized manned aircraft, GA-ASI said.
"This latest flight test aboard an RPA is a significant milestone in the continued maturation of our DRR air-to-air radar program that began in 2011," said Claudio Pereida, executive vice president, Mission Systems, GA-ASI. "We are honored to be leading the effort to help define standards for flying aircraft such as Predator B in the National Airspace System in close cooperation with the FAA, NASA, and our industry partners."
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