Exelis has entered into agreements with four of six of the US Federal Aviation Administration-mandated unmanned air vehicle test sites to provide them with the Symphony RangeVue UAV air traffic management system.
The web-based system takes data from a range of feeds and incorporates them into one display. It is derived from the Symphony ATC system already used by the FAA, but is tailored to provide information to UAV operators.
Four UAV test sites – North Dakota, New York, Virginia and Alaska – are all to receive Symphony RangeVue in an effort to “increase the visibility of their airspace”, Christian Ramsey, programme manager for Exelis Information System UAS, says. “The whole thing is web-based and implementation is very easy.”
It can be used as a command centre decision-support tool, a post-event analysis system, or to provide a sense and avoid capability for UAV ground control stations. It alerts operators when a UAV is approaching airspace boundaries or when other aircraft are nearby.
Exelis is also working with NASA to test the system, with a flight demonstration scheduled for August under the administration’s UAS Traffic Management effort which is looking to incorporate low-altitude small UAVs into ATC systems.
Although Symphony RangeVue is designed to prevent UAVs having to carry broadcast equipment on board, Exelis is also looking to test a small Sagetech-developed automatic dependence surveillance – broadcast system for UAVs, which would allow unmanned aircraft to communicate with ATC.
Source: Flight Daily News
