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Operations
Unmanned Systems Safety
John Canning, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren
Unmanned systems present unique characteristics that should be fully understood when developing a safe system design. Unmanned military systems add several additional levels of complexity, particularly for weaponized systems. This paper presents ongoing work in defining the special safety concerns, issues and problems involved with unmanned systems. Although the traditional system safety approach can and should be applied to unmanned systems, a good starting point for both the safety program and system design is with safety precepts specifically for the system application. This paper presents current thoughts on safety programmatic, operational and design precepts recently proposed for military unmanned systems, including weaponized systems. The process used to derive these precepts is also discussed. In addition this paper summarizes the results of a jointly sponsored Unmanned Systems Safety Workshop held in March of this year. Workshop participants were a large cross-section of the unmanned systems safety community.
The Pioneer RQ2B Support to the Warfighter
Maj P.J. Kerr, HQMC Aviation, Lt Col Eric Chase, PMA 263
Following over 15 years of combat operations by the U.S. Marine Corps, the Pioneer (RQ-2B) is currently conducting operations at the highest tempo in the history of the system. The brief will cover lessons learned from two Marine Corps squadrons that operate the system and review how the experience has influenced future procurement of UAS for the Marine Corps. The brief will review the expansion in demands and capabilities for the Pioneer system and the role that industry played in developing these capabilities. A perspective will be included on what the first two decades of Pioneer operations in the field can tell about the use of UAS in general.
The Commercialisation of UAVs
Bruno Esposito, Advantage Business Group
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have a proven and highly respected reputation in the defence sector and their potential applications in commercial markets are immense. What are the hurdles to extending the proposition into a much larger - and more lucrative - market?
Bruno Esposito, Chairman of the recently created European UAV Working Group, is one of Europe's leading authorities on UAVs. An acknowledged expert on air traffic management (and a pilot with over 1,000 flying hours on military aircraft), Bruno has considerable experience of how current defence applications can be adapted and developed for commercial uses. He has a profound understanding and appreciation of overcoming the technological, operational and 'cultural' hurdles, which face this sector.
Europe boasts the busiest skies the world. It is already addressing the issue of how to incorporate the concept of 'free flights' into a saturated and controlled airspace, so how will it absorb the introduction of UAVs?
What technological and operational issues will it face? How can the industry persuade legislators, regulators and a public (who still require the assurance of train drivers in automated trains) to accept UAVs?
What lessons are there for other markets?
Expanding the Missions of Unmanned Surveillance
Don Cattell , General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
In 1994 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) first flew the Predator unmanned aircraft system (UAS) under contract with the U.S. Department of Defense. Since this historic first flight, the capabilities of the Predator UAS series have expanded dramatically. More than 185,000 flight hours have been accumulated, with over two-thirds of that time spent in combat.
Predator provides persistent surveillance, up to 50+ hours at a time on some platforms, which gives operators the reconnaissance capability required to gain increased situational awareness of contacts of interest or enemies. With its strike capability, Predator can neutralize and destroy time-sensitive or fleeting targets.
This presentation will explore the future of unmanned surveillance. Predator will soon have a maritime surveillance capability, providing operators with the opportunity to build and maintain a coherent and complete maritime picture, made possible by Predator's persistence and cost advantage.
Near-future missions may include ASW detection/tracking, PSYOPS, SIGINT, weather/storm research and tracking, and communications. Other future missions may include air-to-air refueling, cargo transport, deep strike and direct support.
Present ISR/strike capability is only beginning to unveil the potential of the UAS. If the mission requires persistence, no other vehicle is better suited to fill that capability than a UAS.
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Events
