The Air Force Research Laboratory has accomplished its goal of establishing a test site within one hour of the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base from which AFRL researchers can fly Unmanned Aerial Vehicles from beyond their visual line of sight in affiliation with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. The AFRL and the Ohio Department of Transportation are now operating a new technology known as SkyVision located at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport. The technology sanctions a safe, accurate and effective operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems by detecting and avoiding other aircraft while in flight using radar feeds from airports located in Dayton and Columbus. SkyVision can be described as an air traffic control system for the UAS.
The Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine, the Lt. Governor Jon Husted, Jack Blackhurst, the executive director of AFRL, U.S. Congressmen Warren Davidson and Mike Turner and a host of other federal, state and local officials had announced the new capability during an event at the airport in Springfield. The accessibility of this technology has entitled the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a certificate of waiver or authorization (COA) to the AFRL so that the lab could perform tests related to the defense-related UAS technologies without relying on ground-based spotters or chase aircraft.
According to FAA rules, Unmanned Aircraft Systems are only permitted to fly within the uninterrupted line of sight of the person who is responsible for operating the UAS under most circumstances, but the newly issued COA permits the AFRL and the Ohio Department of Transportation’s UAS Center in Clark County to use SkyVision to operate beyond the line of sight of the operator within a 200 square-mile area of unrestricted airspace near the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport.
Gradually, the FAA will also allow UAS test flights to take place at altitudes ranging from 1,000 feet above ground to 10,000 feet above the sea level. Air traffic control experts from the UAS Center will operate SkyVision during each flight. The UAS Center is part of the ODOT’s DriveOhio Initiative. The SkyVision detection system is located within a mobile recreational vehicle unit predicting the day when SkyVision will be able to travel to the point of need rather than being restricted to a specific location.
The Secretary of the Air Force released a new strategy for Air Force Science and Technology which deals with partnerships with the government, allies, universities, industries and anyone who would want to work with them. Besides DeWine said that as their country steps more into the unmanned age of flight this technology would be at the forefront of the aviation frontier. Col. Riley Pyles, the senior materiel leader for the Aerospace Management Systems Division, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass described some of the history involving the AFLCMC’s efforts on the SkyVision capability. He stated that their role in developing the technology undergirding the SkyVision system goes back to a limited and fixed system that they installed at the Cannon Air Force Base several years ago to support the MQ-1 Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper training operations. Besides, they have advanced the technology to the point that the FAA now entrusts them and the AFRL to use the system to fly any kind of UAS in a totally unrestricted airspace.
As per a report published by Value Market Research, the booming aviation industry coupled with the growing demand for an improved navigation system is driving the market growth. Also, the rise in air passengers has led to high demand for an appropriate navigation system However, the high costs associated along with complex navigation system is presumed to restrain market growth as per the report.
With AFRL and AFLCMC fully engaged in an age of moving technology from the lab bench to the warfighter faster, SkyVision may emerge to be a big step in UAV research. Art Huber, the AFRL deputy director of operations says that just like the early days of manned flights we all are in a ‘golden age’ of rapid technological advancements which today helps to support the amazing new capabilities for unmanned aerial systems and that he sees the SkyVision system as a remarkable achievement on the road to full integration of remotely piloted aircraft in the National Airspace System.
Naira Shekhawat has been into Content Writing just after completing her Graduation in English Literature. Her love for words has won her many accolades in her respective jobs ever since. Naira covers business sections for VMR News. She is a traveller by heart and loves writing on food blogs as a freelancer.