Army Installs First Ground-Based Sense and Avoid System
The U.S. Army installed its first ground-based sense and avoid system radar at Fort Hood, Texas yesterday.
The system is one of five GBSAA systems planned for the U.S. Army to use unmanned aircraft systems in the national airspace without a visual observer to comply with federal regulation 14 CFR 91.113, which requires aircraft operators to have the capability “see and avoid” other aircraft.
“We are very excited to finally see this come to fruition,” says Viva Kelley, product director for the U.S. Army Unmanned Systems Airspace Integration Concepts product directorate. “I am very proud of my team’s accomplishments, and in the end, it will provide the Army with a safer and more effective way with which to conduct UAS training and testing.”
The GBSAA system was designed to be compatible with any UAS and will allow unmanned aircraft access to national airspace, initially for transport between airfields and restricted areas for training. System components include multiple LSTAR 3-D radar, data fusion, tracker, classifier, separation algorithms, displays and more according to an army press release.
“The GBSAA system has exceeded al of its performance requirements, from the test bed to the full system concept demonstrations and follow on testing,” says Col. Courtney Cote, project manager for UAS. “This system provides the alternate means of compliance with FAA regulatory requirements that will enable our Army to perform the critical mission training they need.”
The site will become fully operational in 2015 with preparations already underway for the second GBSAA site.
