The technology lets pilots of unmanned aerial systems, or drones, safely fly missions beyond a drone operator’s visual line of sight in shared airspace using existing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ground radar feeds.
“This installation establishes the blueprint for how airports and states across the country can safely integrate uncrewed aircraft into existing airspace,” Wahid Nawabi, AV chairman, president and chief executive, said in a statement.
The capability in Springfield will support flight tests, evaluation, and day-to-day operations by routing AFRL’s access to the FAA’s ground-radar network through what the company calls “AV_Halo COMMAND” — technology that creates a “single, secure operating picture, giving operators continuous situational awareness for BVLOS mission planning and airspace safety.”
“AV_Halo is the connective tissue that turns a collection of sensors, radars, and platforms into a living, breathing airspace system,” Stephen Lloyd, senior director C2, CUAS, and tracking at AV, said in a statement. “By fusing FAA ground radar, and ... surveillance sensors into a single, secure operating picture, AV Halo delivers the assured visibility and machine-speed decision support needed for predictable BVLOS operations.”
In an interview Tuesday, Lloyd said he has worked with the Air Force and the Ohio Department of Transportation for a while on this and other projects.
The research and development agreement lets pilots to fly their drones further than they can see them — a key capability for research helpful to the Air Force and much of industry, he said.
This software technology “provides a level of surveillance ... back to the drone pilot,” Lloyd said.
“This is really an enabling capability for Ohio in general, primarily for the Air Force, the DOD (Department of Defense),” he said.
One can think of the new Springfield facility as a “room” or “operations center,” Lloyd said. Springfield-area residents, and Ohio residents in general, can expect over time to see more drone work and testing of new platforms in the area, he said.
“It’s really important what they’ve turned on,” Lloyd said. “More and more people will want access.”
Civilian companies can use the technology if there’s an agreement with the AFRL, and if AFRL oversees the operation, Lloyd said.
The updated technology makes Springfield unique nationally. “There are like two or three (similar facilities, with similar scale) in the country,” Lloyd said.
AFRL’s SkyVision system, operating at the airport since 2019, can be thought of as the gateway to 225 square miles of airspace allowing BVLOS flights up to 18,000 feet in altitude, with no aircraft size restrictions.
“We are replacing SkyVision 1.0 with SkyVision 2.0,” said Lloyd, who worked as part of the original SkyVision team.
The SkyVision technology has allowed safe flights of unmanned aircraft by detecting other aircraft while in flight using radar feeds from airports in Dayton and Columbus, and from the long-range radar at London, Ohio.
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