Coordination with Manned Aircraft and Air Traffic Control

Abstract

The relatively recent introduction of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS, or “drones”) into the global aviation market has taken regulators, air traffic management organizations, and civil aviation professionals by surprise. The unique nature of the operations and potential uses of unmanned systems, which are derivative of their small sizes, extraordinary maneuverability, and unprecedented capability to perform tasks that manned aviation cannot duplicate, has placed increased burdens on airspace management strategies, policies, and technology. As the civil aviation community tries to adapt to this disruptive and potentially destructive technology, new paradigms in the ingrained and well‐tested methodology of integrating all types of aviation traffic into a seamless and safe system must be explored. Need for onboard and ground‐based surveillance equipment, autonomous “sense‐and‐avoid” sensor devices, new classes of airspace, UAS‐specific operational limitations, revised pilot qualifications, international harmonization of regulations, and regulatory responses to rapidly evolving technology is but a few of the ever‐changing challenges facing air traffic control organizations, airlines, commercial aviation operations, and private pilots. And perhaps the greatest threat to the safety of the users of the aviation system is the millions of small drones that have been sold over the last 2 years to nonaviators.

SEMU - SErvice Management for UAVs

“…Particularly in cases of smaller UAVs not radar-detectable, air controllers will not be able to provide aircraft separation to manned aircraft. (MARSHALL, 2016). • C2 LINK LATENCY AND MAINTENANCE: Except for fully autonomous UAVs, the Command and Control (C2) link is critical.…”

“…The connection made by C2 link should be active for as long as possible, and research is required for emergency actions for when the link is lost (FAA, 2018a). Also, C2 link is vulnerable to radio or electromagnetic interference, radio or satellite system failure (MARSHALL, 2016), and its latency may retard the UAV response to traffic control requests, which can compromise systems with real-time requirements (ALTAWY; YOUSSEF, 2016). • STANDARDIZATION: Standards on efficiency, safety and reliability are required for UAVs to operate within the Airspace.…”

“…Frequency bands for UAS payload communication must be allocated (FAA, 2018a). • AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT: The Airspace Management needs adaptation to operate with UAVs (MARSHALL, 2016). When managing traffic, air traffic controllers must consider the vehicle characteristics (a smaller UAV will be more affected by turbulence than a bigger one), a challenging task when the high heterogeneity is taken into account.…”