Tag: defense

Tomorrow’s driverless convoy on the road today
Unmanned tactical wheeled vehicles for logistics and route clearance missions provide a significant force protection advantage — removing personnel from targeted vehicles, extending standoff distance from explosives, and empowering a single operator to simultaneously supervise multiple unmanned assets in convoy. This article discusses some of the enabling technologies and the motivations behind them, for safer and more efficient logistics and route clearance operations in a tactical environment.

By John Beck

Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) that can semi-autonomously operate over complex terrain represent a promising technological enabler for effective logistics supply and route clearance functions.

Oshkosh Defense has developed autonomous systems for tactical wheeled vehicles (TWVs), working closely with government agencies on autonomous appliqué systems with developed tactics, techniques and procedures that together offer a more efficient and less perilous means to perform critical missions in theater.

The system is designed to be unobtrusive, so that the host platform retains its original mobility, payload capacity, survivability (minimal impact to armor) and manual operation. By upgrading existing fleet vehicles with the capability for unmanned operation, the TerraMax UGV technology can economically and innovatively deliver force protection and force multiplication advantages.

MOTIVATION

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) pose one of the greatest threats to today’s ground forces carrying out logistics missions in hostile environments. While the up-armoring of tactical vehicles has been effective in reducing casualties, the warfighter remains at risk to the ever-increasing net explosive weights. By fielding UGVs, militaries will be able to remove personnel from TWVs and mitigate the danger of armor overmatch.

To increase efficiency of a reduced force structure, UGVs will serve as force multipliers, enabling a warfighter in a protected vehicle to supervise the coordinated operation of multiple UGVs from a safe standoff distance. These UGVs will be able to operate for extended periods of time, during day and night, and through dust and adverse weather conditions without fatigue or loss of awareness. UGVs will precisely maintain vehicle separation, enabling greater security, improved efficiency and fewer collisions.

Environment Drives Design. To be sustainable in theater, unmanned TWVs must equal their manned counterparts in performance, reliability and mobility in austere tactical environments. For the purposes of overcoming complex terrain, prevailing TWVs are engineered to be capable of feats such as fording 1.5 meters of water and traversing 60% gradients and 30% side slopes.

In addition, these vehicles are expected to operate across broad temperature extremes in dusty, sandy or muddy environments, enduring all manner of precipitation, vegetation and weather conditions. The stringent operational requirements of expeditionary forces influence both individual component selection and overall system design for manned vehicles; the same is true for an unmanned appliqué complement, which must be capable of interpreting and operating in these harsh and complex environments.

ENABLING FULL MOBILITY

TerraMax UGVs are actuated by a tightly integrated drive-by-wire system enabling precise vehicle control using MIL-STD system components to ensure reliability and durability in a tactical environment. It is a safety-critical system that integrates with relevant vehicle components, including steering, engine, brakes, transmission and auxiliary driving functions (such as the central tire inflation system, drive line locks and engine braking), preserving the broad mobility characteristics of the host platform.

The drive-by-wire system both enables higher level robotic control functionality and provides independent benefits in the form of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) features to benefit manual driving, reducing accidents and collisions.

To facilitate detecting errors absent in an in-vehicle driver’s intuition, the drive-by-wire system communicates with core vehicle diagnostic sensors. It also utilizes add-on sensors that enable monitoring of vehicle and auxiliary subsystem attributes such as hydraulic and pneumatic pressures, ambient and local temperatures, fuel and fluid levels, battery charges and power usage.

All of this data is accessible from the control interface. In addition, threshold values are configured for each monitored sensor such that an operator will be advised if any components exceed warning or critical levels. This ensures that severe conditions do not go unnoticed by an operator, who could be at a distance beyond direct line of sight and may be preoccupied or otherwise unable to dedicate full attention to monitoring multiple UGVs downrange.

Perception Sensors. The TerraMax UGV sensor suite (Figure 1) uses multiple sensor modalities to provide robust sensing capability. The primary sensor for analyzing terrain and obstacles is the high-definition (HD) laser detection and ranging (LADAR), with 64 scanning lasers sweeping 360 degrees.

Figure 1. Sensor suite aboard TerraMax UGV.

In addition, radars are positioned around the vehicle to detect moving obstacles such as other vehicles. Wide-angle cameras are also positioned around the periphery to give a remote operator the ability to visually check vehicle surroundings.

A navigation solution using GPS and an inertial navigation system (INS) supports the ability to drive accurately even with limited GPS signal availability. On the roof facing forward are two cameras used for teleoperation of the vehicle: a wide dynamic range (WDR) camera for daytime use and a short wavelength infrared (SWIR) camera for night operations.

Perception Software. The TerraMax UGV perception software leverages a multi-sensor suite that compensates for the weaknesses of one sensing modality with the strengths of another; for example, relying upon the dust-penetrating ability of automotive radar when LADAR and visible-spectrum camera feeds are obscured.

The perception software uses several modules to interpret the world around it: terrain detection, which assesses roughness of the nearby terrain and informs the selection of appropriate speeds; terrain classification, which distinguishes among foliage, dust or other airborne obscurants and obstacles (Figure 2) and enables traversability appraisals of the surrounding area; and dynamic obstacle detection, which tracks vehicles and dismounts and allows the UGV to exhibit defensive driving behaviors. This software also affords situational awareness and a means for remote supervision of the vehicle by providing processed output for display at the operator control unit.

Figure 2. Perception system display in the TerraMax UGV.

In addition, fused sensor data are combined using novel registration techniques that couple the vehicle’s perception of its surroundings with ground-truth geospatial mapping data to correct for errors in GPS position estimates. This allows the system to be enhanced by, rather than dependent upon, GPS and vehicle-to-vehicle data. Government testing has demonstrated the ability of the TerraMax UGV system to endure complete GPS blackout for more than 19 kilometers with no noticeable impact on mission performance.

Key features of the perception system are:
- operable in all environments under all weather and lighting conditions;
- installed inconspicuously on the base vehicle and capable of covert modes of operation;
- able to deliver reliable system performance under extreme GPS degradation or denial.
Motion-Planning Software. This onboard software takes in an operator’s objectives regarding routing, speed and inter-vehicle spacing as entered during mission planning or on-the-fly. It consequently observes processed sensor data from the perception system and calculates and executes speed and steering commands that guide the vehicle along an optimal path. The motion planning software has been developed with machine learning techniques to emulate smooth human driving behaviors such as avoidance of obstacles and terrain hazards while maintaining appropriate vehicle speed on various terrains.

Key features of the motion planning system are:
- intelligent speed and path selection in all terrain, including secondary roads and trails;
- capability of sustaining high platform mobility (for example, handling fording and grade climbs);
- ability to support high operational tempo (OPTEMPO).
Modes of Operation. When enabled for unmanned operation, a TerraMax UGV can be placed in one of three different modes: semi-autonomous, follower,or tele-operation. The mode selection for each vehicle is controlled from the primary OCU that can be installed in any other tactical or combat vehicle.

In semi-autonomous mode, basic waypoint navigation via GPS coordinates is supported. In addition, mission plans can be created that include information such as check-points, intended vehicle separation distances, speed limits by region, and exclusion zones. These missions are planned from the OCU on a route map that is produced from standard geospatial vector data and predefines the roads on which the UGVs may travel.

This feature, illustrated in Figure 3, allows for on-the-fly mission planning and route changes by selecting “via points” on the road network (similar to a Google Maps functionality) that are automatically connected into a full route plan.

Figure 3. Waypoint navigation.

This requires significantly less effort than manually selecting each individual waypoint for each unmanned vehicle. Once a route has been established, the UGVs traverse the assigned road using their fused global position estimates (leveraging GPS signals as well as the sensor-enhanced map registration to stay on the road) and take advantage of the data link between the vehicles to ensure they maintain prescribed leading and following distances.

In follower mode, no predetermined mission plan is required; a manned vehicle such as the command and control vehicle (C2V) is simply designated as the leader by the operator, and the unmanned vehicles will follow anywhere on the roadway (while still performing intelligent road-keeping and obstacle detection). Two modes of leader tracking are supported: coordinate-based and direct observation.

In the primary mode of coordinate-based following, the lead vehicle transmits its GPS-based position to the follower via the radio data link. The follower vehicle correlates this position to the route map and subsequently appends a waypoint to its upcoming path that would bring the follower to a position on the road directly behind the leader.

In tele-operation mode, an operator assumes remote control of a single UGV and directly commands vehicle speed, steering and other functions via a rugged handheld controller. The operator has a selection of either live video feeds, or an augmented reality view supported by perception data overlaid on aerial imagery, displayed on the OCU display.

OPERATOR CONTROL UNIT

The operator control unit (OCU)hardware and software (Figure 4) are designed to be installed in any other tactical vehicle, along with a low-cost GPS receiver and radio data link that enables communication with multiple TerraMax UGVs from up to 1 kilometer. The OCU allows a single operator to manage coordinated mission command and control of mixed convoys comprised of manned and unmanned vehicles. Route information and convoy behaviors can be pre-planned, saved, loaded and modified as needed during operations.

Figure 4. TerraMax UGV operator control unit.

Touchscreen and function keys allow rapid input using relevant and contextual menus including configurable preset values. Live position and status of each vehicle is displayed on a zoom-able overhead map, and camera feeds from any of the UGVs may be displayed in a familiar picture-in-picture format.

A distilled version of the perception information can be selectively overlaid, aiding the operator’s situational awareness of the vehicles’ surroundings. Remote control and tele-operation is supported using a ruggedized game-style controller for situations when the operator wants direct control of steering and throttle.

TRAINING

Because pre-deployment training opportunities may be limited and any near-term requirement for highly specialized troops is untenable, ease of skill acquisition is critical. In two warfighter experiments for the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Lab’s recent Cargo UGV project, the TerraMax system was demonstrated to be operable by veteran motor transport operators after a three-day training course comprising classroom instruction, a realistic desktop simulation environment, and hands-on exercises with the vehicles.

The capstone experiment integrated two TerraMax UGVs into a manned logistics convoy, which was then subjected to a variety of realistic operational scenarios including unexpected road blocks, simulated IED strikes and night operations. Results showed the novice users were able to successfully complete mission objectives using the unmanned systems.

At the conclusion of each of the warfighter experiments for the Cargo UGV project, operators believed they could comfortably control three to five UGVs from a single user interface without suffering cognitive overload.

CONCLUSION

With onboard sensing and decision-making, these unmanned TWVs can provide a force multiplier by empowering a single operator to simultaneously supervise several unmanned assets traveling in convoy, operating semi-autonomously for extended-duration movements. This advantage is significant because it permits more efficient completion of missions by lowering both risk to, and demand for, ground forces.

The procurement, operations and maintenance costs for a robotic capability on TWVs will also be minimized by modernizing existing fleet vehicles with an appliqué kit, but to become viable in theater operations, unmanned TWVs must be able to contend with the same performance, reliability, and mobility in the austere tactical environments as their manned equivalents.

TerraMax UGV technology can be applied to any tactical vehicle and has already been prototyped on the Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR), Palletized Loading System (PLS), Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) and the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV).

TERRAMAX HISTORY

Oshkosh has been developing and fully autonomous UGVs since 2003. Among its several generations:

In the 2005 Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge, TerraMax was one of only five vehicles to complete the entire 132-mile course.

In 2007, the TerraMax vehicle was one of 11 qualifiers at the DARPA Urban Challenge.

In 2012, a second unmanned MTVR was built to evaluate multiple UGVs supervised by a single operator.

In 2013, TerraMax UGV M-ATV demonstrated capabilities for route-clearance missions. (Featured on the June 2016 cover.)

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This article is based on a technical presentation given at AUVSI xPONENTIAL, May 2016 in New Orleans.

John Beck is chief engineer, Unmanned Systems, at Oshkosh Corporation.
June 6, 2016
Airbus to provide solar cells for MicroLink Zephyr UAV

Airbus Defence and Space has issued a production contract for MicroLink Devices’ solar sheets for use on the new Zephyr S platform.

The Zephyr platform is a new class of unmanned air vehicle that operates as a high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS) enabling affordable, persistent, local satellite-like services. The aircraft runs exclusively on solar power, and the Zephyr aircraft is at the forefront of the HAPS arena, holding world records with regards to absolute endurance (more than 14 days) and altitude (more than 70,000 feet).

The next generation of Zephyr HAPS — depicted flying in formation in the stratosphere — will be powered by MicroLink solar sheets. (Art: MicroLink Devices)

The British Ministry of Defence currently has ordered two Zephyr S from Airbus Defence and Space. The Zephyr S has a wingspan of 25 meters, is 30 percent lighter and can carry 50 percent more batteries than its predecessor — the 22.5-meter wingspan Zephyr 7. This enables the Zephyr S to carry heavier payloads for surveillance and communications roles.

The Zephyr S is designed to fly continuously for over a month before having to land. The vehicle can then be refurbished and redeployed.

The MicroLink Devices solar sheet is lightweight, flexible and highly efficient. It was designed as an enabling technology for electrically powered, area- and weight-constrained applications such as unmanned air vehicles, which run on renewable energy.

The combination of high-efficiency and low mass enabled by the epitaxial liftoff (ELO)-based solar cells provides superior performance. The ELO solar cells are a perfect match for the HAPS platform. The resulting solar sheets have specific powers in excess of 1,000 W/kg and areal powers greater than 250 W/m².

MicroLink’s ELO technology was sponsored by numerous U.S. agencies including NASA, DARPA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Office of Naval Research, NAVAIR, Army Research Office, Army REF, CERDEC and the Department of Energy.

MicroLink Devices solar sheets are lightweight and flexible with high specific and aeral powers enabling significant mobile power generation. (Photo: PRNewsFoto/MicroLink Devices)

“We are extremely pleased to have developed a relationship with the Zephyr team four years ago and to transition our high-performance solar sheet development efforts into a production program,” said Noren Pan, president and CEO of MicroLink Devices. “We are also thankful to Airbus for their purchase order and the confidence they have in MicroLink’s solar sheet technology and manufacturing ability. We know of no other flexible solar sheet that offers a comparable performance in terms of power and weight and reliability under a wide temperature range.”

“Our collaboration with MicroLink Devices in the development stages and in the current production program has enabled the latest generation of Zephyr HAPS, which is a critical addition to our extensive portfolio of space and defense products,” said Steve Whitby, head of HAPS Business Development. “MicroLink Devices is a world leader in the epitaxial liftoff of compound semiconductors providing outstanding performance for many semiconductor devices. Combining Airbus and MicroLink Devices engineering expertise has proven to be a successful platform for our on-going success.”

May 18, 2016
Royal Navy adopts iXBlue’s inertial technology

The iXBlue’s Marins inertial navigation system.

iXBlue, a navigation and positioning company, is providing 70 Marins M7 to equip 35 Royal Navy major surface ships and submarines as part of the Navigation Compass Programme.

The decisions to equip both the Queen Elizabeth-Class Aircraft Carriers and the fourth Astute-Class nuclear-power submarine with iXBlue’s Marins inertial navigation system (INS) were the first steps made by the UK Ministry of Defense toward the adoption of iXBlue fiber-optic gyroscope technology.

The ministry awarded a five-year contract awarded to Lockheed Martin UK, iXBlue’s strategic partner, for iXBlue’s inertial technology.

The 70 Marins M7 INS will replace the obsolete gyro systems on board the Royal Navy ships which include Type 23 Frigates, Hunt and Sandown Class mine countermeasure vessels and submarines. They will be integrated by Lockheed Martin UK within the compass system installed on board.

“We conducted a detailed assessment of all available possible partners along with their proposed technologies,” said Robert Kramer, vice president of Lockheed Martin UK – Integrated Systems. “By precisely understanding the Royal Navy expectations and assessing their views on the industry leading suppliers, it clearly appeared that iXBlue’s solutions best fitted the needs in terms of performance, capability and cost.”

The Marins family of military-grade FOG INS (M3, M5 and M7 models) are the latest additions to iXBlue range of naval products. They offer performances and reliability that meet the requirements of the demanding navies. Marins M7 model offers a drift of less than 1 nautical mile in 72 hours of surface GNSS-denied or submarine-dived navigation.

“We are very grateful to the Royal Navy for such a decision that demonstrates through a fair and open competition iXBlue’s INS excellence in terms of performance, reliability, lifecycle costs and versatility. This success relies on iXBlue core values: innovation, excellence and a strong commitment to the user,” said Olivier Cervantes, iXBlue vice president for sales and marketing.

Such a milestone contract opens up bright prospects for iXBlue in the field of military inertial solutions, Cervantes said.

May 18, 2016
Congress yanks funding for OCX

The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee withheld the full amount requested by the Pentagon for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 for OCX, the Next-Generation Operational Control System (ground control) for GPS, heretofore deemed necessary to operate the next generation of satellites, GPS III. The Pentagon had asked for $394 million in the upcoming funding cycle, to enable Raytheon to continue work on the program.

If allowed by Congress to continue, OCX may cost as much as $5.3 billion, and there is no certainty that the bill will not rise further.

The Senate committee will not release the $394 million until the Defense Department complies with the requirements of the Nunn-McCurdy Act governing defense programs. Otherwise, Congress could act to terminate OCX.

The terms of the Act now require the Secretary of Defense conduct an in-depth review and then state that the program is essential to the national security, is more important than other programs that will have to be cut to accommodate its cost overruns, and that there are no acceptable alternatives.

From the Defense Department point of view, the new GPS III satellites are essential because of, among other things, their signals’ improved resistance to jamming and cyberattack, an oft-cited peril in the modern global security scenario.

How GPS III could be launched — the first satellite is scheduled for sometime in 2017 — and operated without OCX is not entirely clear, although in February, Lockheed Martin received a $96 million contract to provide contingency control operations for the first GPS III satellites upon launch because OCX won’t be ready.

Raytheon and the U.S. Air Force announced a month ago that OCX “successfully passed the first formal qualification test milestone” needed to check out the system and for the early monitoring of satellites in orbit. That “validates the maturity of the OCX launch and checkout system,” according to a statement by Bill Sullivan, Raytheon’s OCX program director.

Raytheon won the OCX contract in 2010 with a bid somewhat more than $1.5 billion. The Air Force recently made its FY 2017 budget request for $393 million as part of an overall anticipated program cost of $4.82 billion. However, a Bloomberg news report states that the total cost may have risen to $5.3 billion.

May 17, 2016
Arcturus VTOL UAS deployed with the Mexican Navy

Arcturus UAV reports the Mexican Navy has deployed its T-20 Jump fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV for unspecified operations in Mexico. The customer took delivery of the VTOL system in March.

The announcement was made at AUVSI’s Xponential 2016.

The T-20 Jump is a VTOL variant of Arcturus UAV’s catapult launched T-20 platform. It operates without any special launch or recovery equipment. Gross payload capacity is 60 pounds.

The Mexican Navy configuration with an electro-optics and infrared (EO/IR) sensor has approximately 15 hours of endurance and a 75-mile data-link range. An EO/IR and EW capable version offers 11 hours of endurance. Mexico has operated a fleet of catapult launch T-20s since 2014.

Arcturus has proposed the T-20 Jump VTOL platform for MEUAS III, the United States Special Operations Command‘s (USSOCOM’s) worldwide UAS services contract. Arcturus has also proposed a heavy fuel version of the T-20 Jump for the Royal Australian Navy’s Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Program.

May 2, 2016
JNC 2016 program available online

The ION 2016 Joint Navigation Conference (JNC) advance program is now available online. The JNC, sponsored by the Military Division of the ION, will be held June 6-8 (FOUO U.S. ONLY) at the Dayton Convention Center, Dayton Ohio; and the U.S. ONLY CLASSIFIED sessions will be held June 9 at the Air Force Institute of Technology on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

JNC 2016 will be the largest U.S. military positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) conference of the year, with joint service and government participation. Registrants can save $200 on conference registration by booking the hotel first, and entering a valid hotel confirmation number from one of the official conference hotels at the start of the registration process.

JNC 2016 will focus on technical advances in guidance, navigation and control (GN&C) with emphasis on joint development, test and support of affordable GN&C systems, logistics and integration. From an operational perspective, the conference will also focus on advances in battlefield applications of GPS; critical strengths or weaknesses of fielded navigation devices; warfighter PNT requirements and solutions; and navigation warfare.

PLEASE NOTE: Attendance Restricted
Conference attendance for both FOUO U.S. ONLY (June 6-8) and U.S. ONLY CLASSIFIED (June 9) sessions will be screened by the Joint Navigation Warfare Center and will be restricted to U.S. ONLY.

March 29, 2016
US military leads autonomous trend

Virtually all unmanned systems, from drones to autonomous vehicles, use GPS location technology and advanced mapping. As systems evolve, and enemy threats become more sophisticated, new requirements are emerging. The U.S. military is out in front of this trend, developing unmanned autonomous systems at an even faster pace, with more ambitious goals, than the civilian market. This is borne out by several recent tests and announcements, all profiled individually at env-gpsworld-integration.kinsta.cloud. This month’s column rounds up their essential details for a skyview of the burgeoning field.

Publisher’s note: Defense PNT columnist Don Jewell will return next month.

Unmanned ground-air collaboration for war-zone delivery

An unmanned Black Hawk delivers an autonomous ground vehicle to a remote site in a demonstration for the U.S. Army of a joint robotic air-ground mission.

Carnegie Mellon University and Sikorsky Aircraft used an autonomous helicopter and an autonomous ground vehicle to demonstrate that ground and air robots can perform complex, cooperative missions. In an October 2015 demo, an unmanned Black Hawk helicopter picked up an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), flew a 12-mile route, delivered the UGV to a ground location and released it.

The drop-zone collaboration promises to keep warfighters out of harm’s way. For example, this type of robotic mission could avoid warfighters’ exposure to hazardous conditions, such as chemically or radiologically contaminated areas.
The Black Hawk was equipped for autonomous operation by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Co. It delivered a Land Tamer autonomous unmanned ground vehicle from Carnegie Mellon’s National Robotics Engineering Center to a remote site, where the vehicle performed environmental monitoring for potential contamination.

“We were able to demonstrate a new technological capability that combines the strengths of air and ground vehicles,” said Jeremy Searock, NREC technical project manager. “The helicopter provides long-range capability and access to remote areas, while the ground vehicle has long endurance and high-precision sensing.”

Once the helicopter lowered the vehicle to the ground, the Land Tamer drove itself off its transport platform to commence its leg of the mission. The vehicle, equipped with sensors for detecting chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear contamination, then found and surveyed several potentially contaminated sites, autonomously traversing six miles in the process. When the vehicle sensors detected potential contamination, operators were able to switch the vehicle from autonomous operation into a tele-operated mode for a more detailed exploration of the site.

Non-GPS autonomous aerial delivery

A JPADs pallet lands on target, followed by several others still in the air, during recent testing. (Photo: US Army)

The U.S. Army’s Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS) has developed a new capability with a navigation alternative to GPS. In recent tests, JPADS were dropped from planes, and immediately determined their location using optical sensors to compare local terrain with commercial satellite imagery. The new system demonstrated navigation to its intended point, using nothing but imagery to guide it.

JPADS, largely guided by GPS, has already proven its importance in supplying troops with necessary materials and equipment, relying less on vulnerable convoys. However, the new JPADS also works with little knowledge of the aircraft’s location at the drop point.

Dropping critical supplies from the air has allowed the U.S. military to rely less on easily-ambushed truck convoys and helicopter resupply. Exposure to improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and ambushed convoys resulted in more than 3,000 causalities in Afghanistan and Iraq through 2007.

JPADS has proven to be an important tool in the Army’s logistics chain in many scenarios to supply troops with material and equipment in adverse terrain and remote locations when ground lines of communication are not possible or deemed too high a risk.

“This is a huge step forward for aerial resupply,” said Chris Bessette, Draper’s JPADS program manager. “By enabling the system to operate using imagery alone when dropped as high as 25,000 feet above Mean Sea Level and upwards of 20 miles away from the target depending on winds, we can ensure that JPADS is even more versatile so troops receive supplies like fuel, ammunition, food, and water in the safest manner possible.”

Unmanned teaming, video-streaming

In August, U.S. Army Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft took part in manned-unmanned teaming exercises in South Korea, including streaming video and metadata to an AH-64 Apache helicopter while in flight. The MQ-1C Gray Eagle proved its ability to conduct operations in diverse weather condition, according to manufacturer General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI). The Gray Eagle is used by the Army for reconnaissance, surveillance, communications, convoy protection, IED detection and precision weapons delivery.

During the exercise, the Gray Eagle UAS streamed video and metadata via a line-of-sight data link directly to the helicopter from extended distances. The Apache then retransmitted the imagery to a One System Remote Video Terminal (OSRVT), allowing field commanders within the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) to receive both live Gray Eagle streaming video and retransmitted video sent by the Apache. Once the Gray Eagle was airborne, U.S. ground forces passed contact reports and target coordinates to operators in the aircraft’s ground control station. The operators were then able to direct the Gray Eagle’s sensors to positively identify and track the targets.

The overall military perspective

A V-Bat UAV from Martin UAV. Applications include aerial mapping, border patrol, shipboard operations and others.

Worldwide threats will make robotic and autonomous systems’ development important for decades, according to officials speaking at the Unmanned Systems Defense conference late last year.

GPS World’s contributing editor Kevin Dennehy wrote, “Because America has been at war for more than 14 years, unmanned technology has been developing at a rapid rate, perhaps even faster than emerging autonomous commercial systems. The replacement of even manned aircraft has some in the military establishment wary, but others know it’s only a matter of time before most vehicles, surface ships and aircraft are unmanned.”

The Secretary of the Navy said its current manned fighter plane, scheduled to see activity from now until 2037, may be its last to carry an actual human pilot.

The Navy’s Kraken drone munitions delivery system begins its mission underwater,then explodes past the surface to operate in the air. The Air Force also is developing small drones that can be launched and recovered by a larger aircraft after a mission is complete.

An Army initiative called Leader Follower includes rudimentary autonomous convoy operations capability with GPS and base mapping systems, autonomous steering and braking. Army program managers say the program is in staffing, but should be approved in a few months. A full-blown Automated Convoy Operations capability would allow any manned system, including tanks and mobile artillery, to operate autonomously. Last year, the Army and Lockheed Martin successfully demonstrated a driverless line-haul convoy with seven military trucks at speeds up to 40 mph.

Talking about a new generation

Lt. Gen. Michael Williamson, U.S. Army deputy to the assistant secretary of defense for acquisition, said the service is divesting its aging robotics and drone systems, which means future contracts for defense companies. “In 14 years of war, we have rode this equipment pretty hard,” he said. “We believe in modernization, but also looking to buy new systems, which is a new shift in order to gain a competitive advantage over our enemies, who are leveraging unmanned systems.”

The Defense Department recently established the Defense Innovation Unit, based in the San Francisco Bay area, to take advantage of rapid autonomous developments in the Silicon Valley.

Virtually all unmanned systems, from drones to autonomous vehicles, use GPS location technology and advanced mapping. As systems evolve, and enemy threats become more sophisticated, new requirements are emerging.

Underwater UAV for reconnaissance and surveillance

A surrogate LDUUV is submerged in preparation for a test to demonstrate the capability of the Navy’s Common Control System at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport in Puget Sound, Washington. (U.S. Navy photo)

In December 2015, the U.S. Navy tested its newly developed Common Control System (CCS) with a submersible unmanned vehicle in underwater missions in Puget Sound, Washington. The CCS successfully demonstrated its capability to provide command and control to a surrogate Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (LDUUV) — an underwater UAV destined for reconnaissance and surveillance missions.

CCS is a software architecture with a common framework, user interface and components that can be integrated on a variety of unmanned systems. It will provide common vehicle management, mission planning and mission management capabilities for the Naval unmanned systems portfolio. Operators used the CCS to transmit pre-planned missions via radio link to the LDUUV’s autonomous controller. In turn, CCS displayed actual vehicle status information to the operators. The vehicle was able to maneuver to the target areas and collect imagery.

“These tests proved that operators could use CCS from a single global operations center to plan, command and monitor UUVs on missions located anywhere in the world,” said Capt. Ralph Lee, who oversees the Navy’s CCS program at Patuxent River, Maryland. “This event also showed us that CCS is adaptable from the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to UUV missions.”

CCS is intended to be compatible across all domains — air, surface, undersea and ground. The Navy initially plans to deploy the CCS on unmanned air vehicles. It will provide common vehicle management, mission planning and mission management capabilities for the Naval unmanned systems portfolio.

March 11, 2016
Managing editor reflects on a decade with GPS World

By Tracy Cozzens, Managing Editor

In February, I hit the 10-year mark with GPS World magazine. That milestone caused me to stop and reflect on all the changes in my work over the past decade.

In 2006, our web presence was mostly taking the print magazine and replicating it on the website, complete with a Table of Contents for the current issue. We had dozens of categories and subcategories, slicing and dicing the industry into micro-segments. I found it increasingly difficult to decide which category to place stories into, because so much research and so many products have multiple applications.

We’ve now greatly simplified the categories, but they still overlap. A Mobile story will touch on Transportation and OEM. A Survey story is also a Mapping story. A UAV story has applications for Defense or Mapping. Because of this, I invite you to see our categories as a jumping off point, not as independent silos. Peruse all the pages of our magazine — you may be surprised at what you find.

Another massive change over the past decade is our way of thinking. GPS World is no longer just a monthly print magazine with a now-and-then web story or editorial. We are the major industry web presence, with almost 1.5 million page views annually.

In 2006, I spent perhaps 20 percent of my time on the website. Today it’s closer to 80 percent.

In many ways, I have gone back to the early days of my career as a daily newspaper journalist to post news every day on both gpsworld.com and our sister Geospatial Solutions website. You can easily tap into these news streams through Twitter (which, coincidentally, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month.)

I’m looking forward to another 10 years with GPS World, and I hope you come along for the ride.

March 8, 2016
Retrofitted Predator succeeds in long-winged flight

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) has successfully flown the Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper Extended Range (ER) Long Wing craft.

The long-wing Predator is retrofitted with improved long-endurance wings, greater internal fuel capacity and additional hard points for carrying external stores. The flight took place Feb. 18 at GA-ASI’s Gray Butte Flight Test Facility in Palmdale, Calif., on a test aircraft.

GA-ASI is a a manufacturer of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems solutions.

“Predator B ER’s new 79-foot wing span not only boosts the RPA’s endurance and range, but also serves as proof-of-concept for the next-generation Predator B aircraft that will be designed for Type-Certification and airspace integration,” said Linden Blue, CEO. “The wing was designed to conform to STANAG 4671 [NATO Airworthiness Standard for RPA systems], and includes lightning and bird strike protection, non-destructive testing and advanced composite and adhesive materials for extreme environments.”

During the flight, Predator B ER Long Wing demonstrated its ability to launch, climb to 7,500 feet (initial flight test altitude), complete basic airworthiness maneuvers, and land without incident. A subsequent test program will be conducted to verify full operational capability.

Developed on Internal Research and Development (IRAD) funds, the new wing span is 13 feet longer, increasing the aircraft’s endurance from 27 hours to more than 40 hours.

Additional improvements include short-field takeoff and landing performance and spoilers on the wings that enable precision automatic landings. The wings also have provisions for leading-edge de-ice and integrated low- and high-band RF antennas.

An earlier version of Predator B ER featuring two wing-mounted fuel tanks is currently operational with the U.S. Air Force as MQ-9 Reaper ER.

The long wings are the first components to be produced as part of GA-ASI’s Certifiable Predator B (CPB) development project, which will lead to a certifiable production aircraft in early 2018.

Further hardware and software upgrades planned for CPB will include improved structural fatigue and damage tolerance, more robust flight control software and enhancements allowing operations in adverse weather.

March 7, 2016
MediaMapper Mobile featured at GEOINT App Store
Red Hen Systems‘ MediaMapper Mobile app for Android is available for download at the GEOINT App Store at no cost to credentialed U.S. government employees, first responders and the Department of Defense. It is the second app developed in the private sector to be added to the store.

MediaMapper Mobile shows users where they have been, what they have seen, and what the environmental conditions were. This app is a Tactical Handheld Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (THISR) tool that captures photos and video, geotags points of interest, records notes with images, and creates date and time stamps. “You can literally back up data collection from any mission, real-time, using MediaMapper Mobile,” said Retired Army Special Forces Captain Bruce Donaldson.

MediaMapper Mobile’s uses extend beyond defense to include asset management, biosurveillance, biodiversity studies, natural resources management, road and highway surveillance, and more.

Download MediaMapper Mobile from the GEOINT App Store to an Android mobile device and complete these tasks:

Collect Information
- Embed GPS data (time, longitude, and altitude) and sensor information (altitude, temperature, humidity) in photos and videos.
- Mark features of interest (FOI) while taking photographs and recording audio notes.
- Take sequential photos based on time or distance intervals.
View Information
- View a complete video, along with its track log and route on a map, showing where it was taken.
- See thumbnails of photos and videos on Google Earth to identify their locations.
- Use photo triangulation to determine the location of a remote object photographed from at least two positions.
Share Information
- Generate a PDF of any photo or map screen, complete with GPS and Laser Range Finder information, then annotate the PDF, add a QR code and email it.
- Upload photos to a server or share them via email, along with their latitude, longitude, pitch, roll and yaw.
Download for free.
March 7, 2016
ION Joint Navigation Conference abstracts due by Feb. 15

The deadline for submitting abstracts for the Institute of Navigation (ION) Joint Navigation Conference (JNC) is Monday, Feb. 15.

Abstracts must be received by Feb. 15 and must be written for public release. For more information and instructions on submitting an abstract, visit the ION website.

The JNC is the largest U.S. military positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) conference of the year with joint service and government participation. For Official Use Only (FUOU) U.S. ONLY sessions will be held June 6-9 at the Dayton Convention Center in Dayton, Ohio. The U.S. ONLY CLASSIFIED sessions will be held June 9 at the Air Force Institute of Technology.

The ION Joint Navigation Conference, sponsored by the ION’s Military Division, will focus on technical advances in guidance, navigation and control (GN&C) with emphasis on joint development, test and support of affordable GN&C systems, logistics and integration.

From an operational perspective, the conference will also focus on advances in battlefield applications of GPS; critical strengths or weaknesses of fielded navigation devices; warfighter PNT requirements and solutions; and navigation warfare.

The ION JNC features more than 200 operational presentations on a diverse array of topics. It also features a technical exhibit and showcase of GNC technology products and services and operational product demonstrations.

Attendance Restricted. Conference attendance for both FOUO U.S. ONLY (June 6-8) and U.S. ONLY Secret Clearance (June 9) sessions will be screened by the Joint Navigation Warfare Center and will be restricted to U.S. ONLY.

February 3, 2016
Insitu Blackjack UAS receives ‘go’ for Navy, Marine ops

The Navy and Marine Corps’ RQ-21A Blackjack unmanned aircraft system (UAS) received the official green light for operation Jan. 13, marking a major milestone for the program.

The program has achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC), announced Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Aviation Lt. Gen. Jon Davis. IOC confirms that the first Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron (VMU) squadron is sufficiently manned, trained and ready to deploy with the RQ-21A system.

“We are ‘go for launch’,” said Col. Eldon Metzger, program manager for the Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Office (PMA-263), whose team oversees the Blackjack program. “Achieving IOC designation means the fleet can now deploy using this critical piece of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance architecture to enhance mission success.”

An RQ-21A Blackjack in flight during testing aboard USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19) in 2015. The Marines will deploy for the first time with the unmanned air system this summer. (U.S. Navy photo)

In December 2015, builder Insitu delivered the first system from low-rate initial production (LRIP) lot 3 to VMU-2. The Blackjack system will support of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), based in Camp Legeune, North Carolina. The Marines will make their first shipboard deployment with the system this summer.

“The Blackjack team has endured many long hours seeing this program to fruition and I am very proud to lead such a dedicated team of professionals,” Metzger said.

A Blackjack system is comprised of five air vehicles, two ground control systems, and launch and recovery support equipment. At eight feet long and with a wingspan of 16 feet, the air vehicle’s open-architecture configuration is designed to seamlessly integrate sensor payloads, with an endurance of 10-12 hours.

The expeditionary nature of the Blackjack, which does not require a runway for launch and recovery, makes it possible to deploy a multi-intelligence-capable UAS with minimal footprint from ships.

January 28, 2016