Raytheon is participating in a major FAA field test of unmanned drone traffic management systems.
The field test started earlier this year and is expected to run into 2023. During the test the FAA and several partners are flying unmanned drones in “realistic scenarios” to learn more about how to manage drone traffic in different and complex environments.
The test flights are being run at the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership in Blacksburg, Virginia and the New York UAS Test Site in Oneida County, New York.
The latest UTM (unmanned traffic management) technology such as data correlation using remote identification and updated cybersecurity is being tested as part of the project.
Denis Donohue, president of surveillance and network systems at Raytheon Intelligence and Space said, “The safe integration of uncrewed systems in our airspace requires close partnerships between government, private industry and academia.
“We are investing heavily to evolve both the UTM and advanced air mobility markets based on our portfolio of proven capabilities in traditional air traffic services including automation, sensors, communications and navigation.
“Our Skyler radar is designed to meet this challenge. Data from Skyler will provide situational awareness, and support detect and avoid operations.”
According to Raytheon Skyler is more accurate and precise compared to existing radars used for UTM and the only one that meets DO standards for ground-based surveillance in UTM.
The test outcomes will provide the FAA with information to support policy development and help industry update standards to support both routine visual line of sight and beyond visual line of sight operations. Test infrastructure updated through field testing activities will allow for continued collaboration between the FAA and the UTM community to support maturation of the UTM ecosystem.
