Integrating the Unmanned Aircraft System into the National Airspace System

Abstract

The rapid proliferation of the UAS and the eventual redeployment of current systems deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq will require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide unrestricted unmanned aircraft access within the National Airspace System (NAS). The Department of Defense (DoD) requires routine access to the NAS to execute directed missions, meet training requirements, and perform necessary testing to meet the Joint Force Commander's (JFC's) established mission priorities. Over the past several years, the DoD has been able to execute a small portion of UAS flights in the NAS but current rules and regulation do not facilitate seamless integration with manned aircraft. Although the DoD and the FAA recognize the importance of integrating manned and unmanned aircraft within the NAS, there are many challenges and gaps that must be bridged to facilitate successful integration. The most important challenge to overcome when integrating manned and unmanned aircraft into the same airspace is safety.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 18, 2011
Accession Number
ADA545639

Entities

People

  • Cory A. Mendenhall

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accidents
  • Air Force
  • Air Traffic Control Systems
  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Cognitive Systems Engineering
  • Collision Avoidance Systems
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Control Systems
  • Ground Control Stations
  • National Security
  • Sense And Avoid Systems
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Unmanned Systems
  • Unmanned Vehicles

Readers

  • Aviation Safety and Air Traffic Management
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Autonomous Capabilities and Mission Reconnaissance.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs
  • Space