UAVs and their integration into our operations: how they have helped, where they lack, what would you like to see in the future? From: Edward Zapolski UAV: Organic carrier tanker support as well as organic battle group surveillance, this area seem to be lacking. From: Thomas Phillips, CTR FACSFAC DET SCORE UAVs have been around for a lot longer than you think. Plenty of old rotor heads and shoes know a lot more than me about our first venture into UAVs before they were called UAVs; when they were called DASH - Drone Antisubmarine Helicopter. Peddled by Gyrodyne, that company still maintains a very interesting website about that history. Check out gyrodynehelicopters.com and there are several other internet sites with factoids of amusement. Just as the first Navy helicopters were procured for ASW, the first UAVs were also procured for ASW and deployed in threes on 240 destroyers. Fleet introduction, rapidly, in 1962. Had some teething problems and we lost 411 of 746 in service for mostly technical reliability reasons. By 1965, it had been used for NGFS spotting, night recon, "snoopy" missions and it is recorded that a DASH actually rescued a Marine who had become separated from his mates in hostile territory. While removed from ships by 1970 (to be replaced by LAMPS Mk-I), they continued in research service with the Navy until 1996 and with the Army until 2006. Possibly the greatest benefit of DASH is that all those destroyers configured for DASH had JP-5 on board and facilitated HIFR refueling for combat Rescue H-3s - the Big Mothers of HS-2, 4, 6, 8, and finally HC-7. From: Hon. Richard F. Healing, P.E. Properly equipped UASs offer a low cost means of expanding business opportunities and offering new capabilities for traditional rotorcraft companies. The biggest concern for any operator is the threat of collision between a UAS and any other aircraft. However, low cost, lightweight, highly capable avionics have been designed, developed, produced in prototype, and flight tested, that enable any equipped UAS to avoid collisions. This avionic system functions similarly to TCAS (aircraft-to-aircraft communication of position, course and speed) while receiving highly accurate ADS-B (In) position messages and powerful embedded computing capability to: (a) inform the UAS operator of potential loss of separation, (b) recommend changes in altitude, course and/or speed to achieve and maintain safe separation, or (c) to automatically direct the UAS’ autopilot to maneuver away from an imminent collision. What’s missing is a FAA requirement for all aircraft, including UASs, to be equipped with both ADS-B (Out) and ADS-B (In), which is the means by which an aircraft (like a helicopter, flying in airspace most likely used by UASs) will know where any other ADS-B (Out) transmitting aircraft is located in proximity, and be able to determine if any such aircraft is a potential threat of collision. Successful flight testing of this Navy funded system was conducted in 2012 at the Army Proving Ground in Yuma, AZ. For those flight tests, two Tiger Shark UASs were flown on intentionally designed conflicting/intersecting courses. Both aircraft were equipped with the same ADS-B (In/Out) system; one was connected to the UAS’ autopilot system and programmed to maintain a given separation. In all 44 different scenarios flown, the automatic collision avoidance system worked as expected. For those tests, the prototype system weighed just under 1 pound and occupied about 25 cubic inches. Today, using the very latest micro-chip technology, a new system weighing only 4 Oz. is being prototyped on a Navy Phase II SBIR, that will meet/exceed all FAA requirements for standard transponders, all requirements for dual-frequency ADS-B (Out), and will provide dual ADS-B (In), 1090ES, and a low power 1030 MHz interrogator (to function like TCAS). For military Mode 5 applications, the latest system will include embedded encryption of the ADS-B positions. Regulations cannot be drafted and approved quickly enough to keep up with the advances in technology that can make safe introduction of UASs into the NAS a reality; but only when such regulations are in place, and all aircraft are cooperative, will the promise of increased safety in NextGen, for all aircraft, be a reality.
Next Issue: "As our helicopters continue to take on an expanded role in the in Carrier Air Wing, what new missions do you see our community being relied on to execute in the future? What new opportunities do you foresee as our operations in this dynamic environment continue to evolve? What challenges do you foresee as our tactical requirements continue to grow? " Send reponses to our Editor in Chief: shane.brenner@navy.mil or comment on NHA's Facebook page. Anonymity is respected if requested. Rotor Review #140 Spring '18
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