The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is to research automated ground handling and approach and departure manoeuvre systems for unmanned air vehicles operating from air bases that are simultaneously handling manned aircraft.

Contracts will be awarded in mid-September for the automatic terminal area operational control (ATAO) project, which will explore UAV taxiing, obstacle avoidance, area movement command and control, communications, standard and non-standard departures, published approaches and holding patterns. It will also look at interoperability between UAV ATAO requirements and sense-and-avoid systems designed to prevent mid-air collisions. Initial funding is expected to total around $500,000 to cover work to the end of 2008.

Solicitation documents describe shared airfield terminal areas as “an especially congested area of operation for aircraft an atmosphere that is time-critical, detail-sensitive and conducive to task saturation. UAVs encounter unique problems in the terminal area. A UAV operator has difficulty maintaining the same situational awareness and tempo of activities as an airborne pilot.”

Source and more info: Flight International