Publications

Airspace protection in the capital area is provided by an Integrated Air Defense System (IADS) created through the coordinated response of U.S. government and local law-enforcement agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Capitol Police. The IADS includes U.S. Coast Guard helicopters, fighter aircraft, and airborne early-warning aircraft cued by surveillance radars. Under Operation Noble Eagle, the response to a threat includes warning flares deployed from fighter aircraft and, ultimately, the use of surface and air-launched missiles. Selecting the appropriate response requires a means for rapidly assessing the aircraft threat. New and existing sensors must be simultaneously cued to the target of interest and integrated with existing sources of information to display a common-air-picture display to support the decision makers. This article describes the development of an Enhanced Regional Situation Awareness system, an integrated sensing and decision support system developed for the complex and busy airspace surrounding the National Capital Region.

The integration of Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RF'Vs) into civil airspace will require new methods of ensuring aircraft separation. This paper discusses issues affecting requirements for RPV traffic avoidance systems and for performing the safety evaluations that will be necessary to certify such systems. The paper outlines current ways in which traffic avoidance is assured depending on the type of airspace and type of traffic that is encountered. 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). Finally, the paper outlines an established safety evaluation process that can be adapted to assure regulatory authorities that RPVs meet level of safety requirements.

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.