Posted on 08/03/2004 4:10:13 PM PDT by BenLurkin
EDWARDS AFB - A century after the first airplane flew with a pilot on board at the controls, a new generation of aircraft is emerging that removes the pilot from the vehicle altogether. These unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, are the next wave in military and commercial flight systems, performing tasks that are too dangerous, tedious, strenuous or otherwise unsuitable for manned aircraft.
As it has been through its long history of flight test, Edwards Air Force Base is at the epicenter of this latest trend in aviation, using its unique combination of facilities and talent to further the field.
"Today it is mind-boggling what you can do without the presence of a person," said Maj. Gen. Doug Pearson, commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards.
"We are at the point where this is no longer hobby-shop business. This is very serious military operations."
The base showcased its variety of UAV programs Monday, a kick-off to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International's Unmanned Systems North America 2004 Symposium this week in Anaheim. Some 600 people, most traveling by buses from the symposium, took in the dozen or so aircraft and displays.
"This really shows you the only limitation we have is our imagination," said George Ka'iliwai, technical advisor for the Air Force Flight Test Center. "Technology is enabling us to do things never done in the past."
The vehicles run the gamut of sizes, shapes and uses, from the hefty Global Hawk long-endurance, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft already in military use and continuing testing at Edwards, to tiny research aircraft that fit on tabletops and conduct scientific missions. The vehicles fly at hypersonic speeds and at a slow crawl, reach high into the atmosphere and cruise low to the ground.
"We always underestimate the future," Pearson said. "Whatever you think the future of UAVs will be, I can virtually guarantee it will be bigger."
Edwards is already well-suited for UAV testing, and base leadership is working to expand that capability.
The base boasts of extensive ground-test facilities and the expansive natural runway of Rogers Dry Lake, as well as the frequency spectrum necessary to support unmanned operations.
Especially important is the extensive restricted air space, eliminating the need to coordinate with manned vehicles in the national airspace and the restrictions there. UAV test flights are coordinated at the base as any other flight-test operations.
"We're very comfortable with operating UAVs in our airspace," Ka'iliwai said. "We're developing tremendous technological expertise in testing UAVs."
That body of technological expertise is what distinguishes Edwards in the realm of UAV testing and development.
To that end, the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards is adding a short course on UAV testing, addressing the differences inherent in testing vehicles without pilots on board. The program, beginning later this fall, will use small vehicles for hands-on training.
"Overall, it's expertise, not just facilities," Ka'iliwai said.
One of the biggest obstacles facing the development of UAVs is integrating these unmanned aircraft into the existing national airspace system. Edwards and its tenant NASA Dryden Flight Research Center are working on that issue as well.
NASA recently launched a program to integrate unmanned vehicles into the national airspace in the next five years. The goal is to make flying UAVs as routine as other aircraft, said Kevin Petersen , Dryden center director.
The process involves not only the technological elements of sensors to detect and avoid other aircraft and other navigational and safety equipment, but also the regulatory component within the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA has jurisdiction over operations in national airspace.
Commercial interest in UAVs is helping drive the integration effort, Petersen said. Among the myriad uses envisioned for unmanned vehicles are border and coastal patrols, aerial surveying, fire spotting and disaster overflights.
There is also interest in using long-endurance vehicles as telecommunication platforms and surrogate satellites that can be launched more easily and cheaply and returned to Earth for repairs or upgrades.
Cargo carriers such as FedEx have expressed interest in unmanned vehicles for long-haul cargo duty.
"No one can really envision how they will be used in the future," Petersen said.
"It's really going to change the way we do business out here," Ka'iliwai said. "It will change the way we fight wars; it already has."
UAVs such as Global Hawk and Predator are in use in Afghanistan and Iraq, providing reconnaissance and, in some instances, firing weapons.
AeroVironment Inc.'s Pointer vehicles are also serving in the battlefield. These small, hand-launched aircraft provide reconnaissance information to troops in the field, operating as flying scouts and relaying real-time video of what is over the horizon.
"It's basically saving lives, keeping people out of trouble," said Paul Trist Jr., field services supervisor and UAV flight instructor for AeroVironment. "It's keeping our guys safer."
The electric-powered aircraft are simple to use, requiring minimal training for the operators, Trist said.
The Pointer has proven so popular - the company has built more than 500 - that a new version is in the works. The Raven is half the weight and size, but offers the same capabilities.
The next step forward in military applications for UAVs is as combat weapons systems, capable of delivering ordinance on targets.
Development of such a weapons system is the goal of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle program, a joint endeavor with The Boeing Co., Air Force, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Navy.
The program reached a major milestone Sunday at Edwards, when two unmanned X-45A vehicles were flown together autonomously in formation, the first time such a feat has been accomplished.
The X-45A is a technology demonstrator, providing the foundation for the JUCAS effort. A larger second version, the X-45C, is under development, with its first flights expected in late 2006 or early 2007.
X-cellent!
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