Applications Of Unmanned And Remotely Piloted Aviation Technology Comes Under Scrutiny At Abu Dhabi Global Aerospace Summit.
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| Courtesy: www.nasa.gov |
Experts are tipping Remotely Piloted Aviation Technology
as the future of air travel as they prepare to exchange views on innovation in
aviation safety in Abu Dhabi as part of the Global Aerospace Summit. The
conference which will be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre on
March 7 – 8, 2016, will examine the commercialisation, public perception and
regulation of unmanned autonomous systems (UAS), replacing pilots with greater
cockpit automation and how to improve passengers’ trust in unmanned aircraft.
According to a statement issued by organizers of the Summit
revealed that “while some sector leaders believe the future is ‘unmanned’ they
admit there’s public reluctance to accept the trend – an issue, they say, could
be due to nothing more than incorrect wordplay.”
NATS
Middle East, an innovative air traffic solutions and airport performance
provider, says it is working towards dispelling public misconceptions of
unmanned technology and towards ensuring the safe integration of UAVs into UK
airspace while adopting an enabling approach to support the needs of this new
economic and recreational sector.
“The
UAV industry is experiencing rapid growth across all branches of the sector.
From small hobby craft, through their larger cousins designed for logistics,
surveillance and asset inspection, right up to large payload carrying UAVs and
even conventional sized aircraft,” says NATS Middle East Director, John Swift.
“This
exciting, new economic opportunity, comes with some potential operational
challenges. These are to control airspace, which has to be protected against
the possibilities of incursions by unauthorised UAVs and managed to safely
integrate authorised UAVs; and also to currently uncontrolled airspace which
could begin to experience high and complex movement volumes.”
Experts
point to recent issues which have called into question the use of UAVs, or
‘drones.’ In January 2015 an unidentified UAS brought air traffic to a halt for
nearly an hour at Dubai International Airport. The misuse of civilian UAS has
been identified as a major risk by the UAE government, and commercial and entertainment
use of drones now requires a permit.
The USA’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says more
than 600 UAS sightings were reported by commercial pilots in 2015 alone – up
from 238 in 2014 – while Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA)
ascertained drones to be a safety risk in the event of a bush fire, not just
for firefighting aircraft but also firefighters on the ground. They CASA says
it will now fine people using drones near a bushfire $9000.
John
Swift acknowledges the challenges and says a ‘hands-on approach’ is needed to
tackle them. “NATS is responding to these challenges through active
participation in trials with manufacturers and operators; in developing
training courses, guidance materials and policy advice. As well, as participating
in international industry forums and investigating registration schemes,
tracking technologies and research into the data and other services industry
will need to operate safely and efficiently,” he says.
However, unmanned systems are proven to deliver important
benefits in military use such as enhanced performance, reduced cost and
eliminated personnel risks.
Textron Systems has designed and manufactured Unmanned
Autonomous Systems for decades, as well training, deploying, operating, and
maintaining them for military and commercial customers around the world.
“Unmanned systems have been used successfully among some of
the world’s most advanced militaries for more than 25 years. Having conducted
millions of flight hours of experience at some of the world’s busiest airfields
and alongside manned aviation assets for military missions, world nations and
civil aviation authorities are now making the transition to using these
technologies to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into civil airspaces. For
example, our Aerosonde™ Small Unmanned Aircraft System delivers the
multi-mission flexibility and performance of a larger system in a highly
expeditionary configuration ideally suited to a variety of military and
commercial mission sets,” says Ellen Lord, President and CEO of Textron
Systems.
“To
date, Textron Systems’ unmanned systems have successfully completed missions in
wildfire deterrence and meteorology, as well as oil and gas inspection and
surveillance – and the opportunities for ‘dull, dirty, and dangerous missions’
are continuously expanding due to both the demonstrated successes with these
systems, and the potential they bring for these types of jobs.”
UAE
firms such as Adcom Systems, Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investments (ADASI)
and the International Golden Group have already developed UAV operational and
maintenance capabilities in joint ventures with firms from the United States,
France, and Spain.
ADASI foresees
the value of the Middle East UAV market from 2014 to 2023 rising to $4.5
billion, representing about 10 percent of the global UAV market during that
period.
The
Global Aerospace Summit’s 1,000 invited aerospace, aviation, space and defence
elite delegates will hear the latest and future safety strategies from invited
representatives of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Thales Avionics,
Inc., Cathay Pacific Airlines and Emirates.
“The industry is acutely aware of increased public concern
over air safety and will be looking for breakthrough technologies and techniques
to secure this aspect of travel in both the short and long term,” said Nick
Webb, Managing Partner of Streamline Marketing Group (SMG), which organises the
biannual Summit.
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