NASA, Rockwell Collins to Conduct Series of Tests for Safe UAS Integration in National Airspace

Photo courtesy Rockwell Collins

 By Priya Potapragada



Rockwell Collins and NASA have scheduled a series of tests to safely integrate UAS into the national airspace.



Both companies’ representatives will hold interview sessions with the media 25 June at The Eastern Iowa Airport to address questions about UAS integration.



 “Routine integration of sizeable numbers of UAS into the national airspace system is a challenging task,” said Troy Brunk, vice president and general manager of Airborne Solutions for Rockwell Collins. “This technology will provide the critical communications link for UAS pilots on the ground to safely and securely operate their remotely piloted vehicles in flight even though they are many miles apart.”



The first part of the test will establish if the UAV can transfer communications from one tower to another. The NASA-owned Lockheed S-3 Viking and the University of Iowa Operator Performance Laboratory’s Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft will handle the testing of the UAS during two phases of testing. The second part of the test will demonstrate the ability of a single tower to communicate to multiple UAS.



 The non-proprietary data link waveform that will be used for the UAV will be designed to support multiple channels from a single ground transmitter, allowing multiple UAVs to be served at the same time. This project will assist industry and the Federal Aviation Administration to develop regulations for UAS flight in the national airspace.