NATO’s UAV flight in non-segregated airspace (FINAS) working group is proposing introduction of the term "DUO" – or designated UAV operator – to replace the term pilot in alliance UAV planning and operational procedures guidance.
The proposed terminology shift is part of an ongoing push by FINAS and other NATO planning committees to achieve standardisation of arrangements for UAV operations in the near to medium term.
What constitutes an appropriate definition of a UAV pilot or operator has been the subject of extensive debate within alliance working groups, according to David Seagle, programme lead for the US Navy PMA-263 Global Hawk maritime demonstration and US delegation head to FINAS.
“We spent countless hours arguing over terminology in the terms of reference. Is it a pilot? Is it a pilot in command? Is it an operator? Is it a systems monitor? We spent hours trying to work out what to call the UAV person that is flying. We finally agreed to DUO – designated UAV operator.”
Speaking at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s Unmanned Systems Europe 2007 conference in Cologne, Germany on 8 May, he said the term “covers the United States Air Force where they actually use rated pilots for Global Hawk and Predator; that covers the United States Marine Corps where they use senior enlisted personnel as pilots; that covers the Royal Navy, it covers you name it.
“DUO seems to capture the essence of what we are trying to establish in matters of that position; the authority of who signs for that air vehicle system and who has ultimate responsibility.”
The definition was initially developed by a FINAS subcommittee looking at UAV operational procedures and training requirements. A draft document incorporating the definition is at the draft stage with the intention for this to be issued in the near term as a NATO “D” document – a standardised reference but with an authority below adoption as a formal Stanag.
Seagle told the conference that “to date, to the best of my knowledge, there has been no baulking at the DUO. There have been some reservations but to date, to my knowledge, all the reservations have been addressed on a case by case basis.”
Source: FlightGlobal.com
