Safety analysis process for the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) and see-and-avoid systems on remotely piloted vehicles
September 20, 2004
Conference Paper
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AIAA 3rd Unmanned-Unlimited Technical Conf., 20-23 September 2004, pp. 1-13.
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Summary
The integration of Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPVs) into civil airspace will require new methods of ensuring traffic avoidance. This paper discusses issues affecting requirements for RPV traffic avoidance systems and describes the safety evaluation process that the international community has deemed necessary to certify such systems. Alternative methods for RPVs to perform traffic avoidance are discussed, including the potential use of new see-and- avoid sensors or the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). Concerns that must be addressed to allow the use of TCAS on RPVs are presented. The paper then details the safety evaluation process that is being implemented to evaluate the safety of TCAS on Global Hawk. The same evaluation process can be extended to other RPVs and traffic avoidance systems for which thorough safety analyses will also be required.