UAS Conference Speculates on the Industry’s Future



By Danielle Lucey



Morning session speakers at an unmanned aircraft systems conference held in London discussed how planning for a future heavy in UAS will be key to the United Kingdom’s integration success. 



Neil Hunter, a board member at AUVSI, discussed future spending trends for unmanned air, ground and maritime vehicles, which have taken a global hit because of the United States’ sequestration. The U.S. accounts for around 40 percent of global defense spending, said Hunter, and its unmanned spending is also disproportionately large compared to the rest of the globe. However, the future of the industry will likely shift to civil and commercial endeavors, he said, resulting in growth. 



“There is an awful lot going on out there today, with organizations using unmanned aerial systems to make their lives easier, more effective and cost efficient,” he said.



These increased uses will also lead to increased spending, he said. 



“It is expected that commercial spending will one day take over military spending,” he said. He projected that there will be $140 billion in UAS spending over the next 10 years. 



Dr. Peter Downer, a speaker from the Weapons, Evaluation, Capability Assurance in the Ministry of Defence, focused on the testing and evaluation that needs to occur in the U.K. and Europe to ensure that once unmanned aircraft get this high level of use that the capability to vet them will be there. 



“We no longer have the luxury of time and or money in fielding this as a new capability,” he said. 



Downer says the testing and evaluation community is currently focused on capabilities needed for 2020 through to 2030, but it is also keeping tabs on modern systems like Watchkeeper. 



On a panel discussing testing and evaluation, speakers had to defend the U.K.’s slow adoption process of the Insitu Scan Eagle, a UAS staple in other countries. Royal Navy Lt. Comm. P. Whitehead attributed it to a manpower problem, because the system takes four people to fly and maintain, and they would need to be trained.



“We simply can’t find the people at the moment, in short,” he said. 

 

Wing Commander D. Postlethwaite stressed that the U.K. should work with other European test and evaluation groups to ensure quality work that isn’t duplicitous, specifically mentioning the U.K. and France’s joint efforts with Scavenger medium-altitude, long-endurance aircraft. 



He also said keeping the relationship between the military and commercial UAS testing will become more important in the future. UAS companies could leverage the government’s testing and evaluation knowledge and ensure they have valuable products, he said. 



“We need to help industry understand what government needs and what the vision is for the future.”



The event was a precursor to DSEi, the defense conference being held this week in London at the ExCel center. To visit AUVSI at this event, go to booth N2-365.