Insitu Pacific has successfully demonstrated a detect and avoid (DAA) capability on its ScanEagle tactical UAS.
The company says the demonstration was conducted on a ScanEagle at Coominya in Queensland, and the Australian-designed DAA system and onboard processing system that was developed in collaboration with researchers from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), detected other aircraft and relayed them to the ScanEagle’s pilot. It says, following the demonstration, the DAA is ready to be tested in real-world scenarios.
“The flights demonstrated the value this technology brings to advancing airspace integration across all classes of airspace, and to deliver superior information to better support operators achieve safe separation between small unmanned aircraft and general aviation aircraft,” Insitu Pacific MD Andrew Duggan said in a release.
“While Insitu Pacific regularly conducts beyond visual line of sight flights with Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) approval in uncontrolled airspace, the DAA technology will help open up increasingly flexible access to that airspace,” Duggan added.
“This will enable the ADF maximum flexibility to operate UAS in support of national emergencies such as bushfires and floods, as well as significantly increasing their capability in border protection and security missions in Australian airspace.”
Brendan Williams, Associate Technical Fellow, Airspace Integration at Boeing Australia, added, “We have a multi-layered safety case approach for airspace integration risk management, and the DAA technology complements our existing airspace management tools to identify and mitigate hazards.
“It will also provide additional assurance to both the regulator and customers that the UAS can provide detection of aircraft that are not equipped with transponders, and allow the UAS to be commanded to take avoiding action without other aircraft needing to take any action themselves,” Williams added.
The ScanEagle and the larger Integrator model are being offered to the Australian Army’s LAND 129 Phase 3 and Royal Australian Navy’s SEA 129 Phase 5 tactical UAS requirements.