PAE ISR has signed a cooperative agreement with NASA to conduct a UAS demonstration in the National Airspace System (NAS) in 2020, and work toward the full integration of this technology into the NAS.

“NASA's Systems Integration and Operationalization Demo program is a great opportunity to validate integration of larger UAS in the NAS,” says Beth Beach, vice president of business development.

“We will work with NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration to identify and resolve UAS Type Certification challenges and develop a concept of operations for pipeline inspection using the Resolute Eagle platform and American Aerospace Technologies, Inc.'s InstiMaps payload within the Pendleton UAS Range airspace.”

PAE ISR is the original equipment manufacturer of the Resolute Eagle, which is a long endurance, Group 3 UAS. With its range and endurance, the UAS can provide line of sight, beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), and satellite communications-based beyond line of sight operating capabilities. These capabilities allow the UAS to support a variety of missions, including for law enforcement, the military, and homeland security.

A single, reconfigurable aircraft, the Resolute Eagle comes in two configurations—standard and vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). Depending on its configuration, the UAS has a flight endurance of 12 to 18-plus hours.

The UAS is runway independent and offers the VTOL configuration necessary for deployment and recovery in challenging conditions, including maritime operations.

Additional features of the UAS include its large payload capacity of more than 75 pounds, a very low acoustic signature at mission altitudes, a small logistical footprint, and significant power onboard for multi-intelligence payload integration.