Mission
The purpose of this project is
to field an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to provide aerial surveillance,
observation, and reconnaissance of disaster areas. The UAV will aid in disaster relief and
search and rescue (SAR) efforts. The UAV
system will have a relatively small logistical footprint and provide useful
time periods of overhead coverage. The
estimated time of development to fielding will be six years.
Base requirements
1. Transportability – Entire system (all
elements) shall be transportable by a vehicle not to exceed the 2.5 ton range.
1.1 –
Vehicle shall provide stowage space for disassembled unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV).
1.2 –
Vehicle shall provide stowage space for UAV catapult launcher.
1.3 -
Vehicle shall provide stowage space for recovery net system.
1.4 –
Vehicle shall provide stowage space for command and control (C2) communications
equipment.
1.5 – Vehicle shall provide exterior mounting
points for C2 equipment.
1.6 –
Vehicle shall provide stowage space for UAV operator control terminal.
1.7 –
Vehicle shall provide stowage space for UAV system support tools, equipment,
and spare parts.
1.8 –
Vehicle shall provide necessary electrical power to support UAV system
operations.
1.9 –
Vehicle shall provide stowage space for crew’s personal gear and provisions.
1.10
– Vehicle shall transport up to 4 personnel.
1.11
– Vehicle shall not expose UAV system
components to damaging and excessive g-forces due to transit.
1.12
– Vehicle shall traverse light to moderate
uneven terrain.
2. Payload
2.1 – Shall
not exceed 33% of the gross weight of the air vehicle.
2.2 - Shall be capable of color, daylight, video
imagery from an altitude of 1,000 feet AGL.
2.3 –
Shall be capable of infrared (IR) imagery from an altitude of 1,000 feet AGL.
2.4 –
Shall provide a range of view of at least 90 degrees on either side of
centerline axis.
2.5 –
Shall be interoperable with C2 system and equipment.
2.6 –
Shall use power provided by the UAV.
2.7 – Shall
be easily accessible for maintenance purposes.
3. Support
Equipment – Equipment that shall provide support to UAV system operations.
3.1 –
Shall include a portable, collapsible catapult launch mechanism.
3.2 –
Shall include a portable, collapsible net recovery mechanism.
3.3 –
Shall include UAV system support tools, equipment, and spare parts.
3.4 –
Shall include personal protective equipment (PPE) for crewmember safety.
3.5 –
Shall include appropriate fire suppression equipment.
3.6 –
Shall include appropriate environmental impact preventative equipment.
10. Testing Requirements
10.1
Transportability
10.1.1 Item
Storage
10.1.1.1 Test
fit space for disassembled UAV.
10.1.1.2 Test
fit space for UAV catapult launcher.
10.1.1.3 Test
fit space for recovery net system.
10.1.1.4 Test
fit space for C2 communications equipment.
10.1.1.5 Test
fit space for UAV operator control terminal.
10.1.1.6 Test
fit space for UAV system support tools, equipment, and spare parts.
10.1.1.7 Test
fit space for crew’s personal gear and provisions.
10.1.2 Durability
10
10.1.1
10.1.2
10.1.2.1 Test transit
g-forces.
10.1.2.2 Test transit
over light to moderate uneven terrain.
10.1.3 Electrical Power
10
10.1.1
10.1.2
10.1.3
10.1.3.1 Test electrical
power output.
10.1.3.2 Test compatibility
of power connections with UAV operations support system equipment.
10.1.4 Other Items
10
10.1.1
10.1.2
10.1.3
10.1.4
10.1.4.1 Test transportability
of up to 4 crewmembers.
10.1.4.2 Test exterior
mounting points for C2 equipment.
10.2 Payload
10.2.1 Weight
10
10.1
10.2
10.2.1
10.2.1.1 Test that
payload weight does not exceed 33% of gross weight of air vehicle.
10.2.2
Capabilities
10
10.1
10.2
10.2.1
10.2.2
10.2.2.1 Test
color, daylight, video imagery from an altitude of 1,000 feet AGL.
10.2.2.2 Test
infrared (IR) imagery from an altitude of 1,000 feet AGL.
10.2.2.3 Test
range of view of at least 90 degrees on either side of centerline axis.
10.2.3 Other
Items
10
10.1
10.2
10.2.1
10.2.2
10.2.3
10.2.3.1 Test
interoperability with C2 system and equipment.
10.2.3.2 Test
power output provided by the UAV.
10.2.3.3 Test
accessibility for maintenance purposes.
10.3
Support Equipment
10.3.1 Operations Support
10
10.1
10.2
10.3
10.3.1
10.3.1.1 Test portable,
collapsible catapult launch mechanism.
10.3.1.2 Test
portable, collapsible net recovery mechanism.
10.3.1.3 Test
UAV system support tools, equipment, and spare parts.
10.3.2 Safety
10
10.1
10.2
10.3
10.3.1
10.3.2
10.3.2.1 Test
personal protective equipment (PPE).
10.3.2.2 Test fire
suppression equipment.
10.3.2.3 Test
environmental impact preventative equipment.
10.3.2.4 Ensure
safety equipment complies with federal and state regulations (“Selecting PPE
for the Workplace”, n.d.).
Development
The type development process
most suited to this project will be Rapid Application Development (RAD). The short development time to fielding (Six
years) makes RAD an appropriate choice. The
goal is to produce a working system to support critical, time-sensitive
disaster relief missions. Another factor
is the use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components when possible to aid
in rapid development and conservation of resources. Since this UAV system is intended to be
highly mobile and present a small logistical footprint, scalability to a larger
aerial vehicle is not a concern (“Selecting a Development Approach”, 2008).
Testing
COTS components will be
utilized where possible and appropriate to expedite the testing process. The primary components where COTS solutions
will be most important will be the sensor suite (payload), powerplant,
launching and recovery systems, communications antennae, transport vehicle,
computer hardware, and safety equipment.
These components will have already been tested and proven
individually. Testing may proceed to the
integration stage to test all components of the complete UAV system.
Testing of the UAV airframe
will be a relatively simple process compared to other aircraft due to the
relatively low speed and service ceiling intended of the UAV. Initial flight tests may be performed before
integration of the payload. A ballast to
simulate the weight of the actual payload can be used in the initial flight
tests. Initial test locations will be on
clear, unobstructed fields and progress to locations simulating disaster areas.
Testing of the transport
vehicle will consist mainly of modifications to ensure the vehicle will not
transmit damaging g-forces to any system components during transit (“Vibration
and Mechanical Shock Test”, 2014).
Sensors will be used to monitor compliance with the requirements.
Overview
Natural disasters do not
adhere to a schedule and often occur with little to no warning. In the aftermath of any event, time is a
critical factor to saving lives. As
such, the development to fielding process for a system to provide critical
enhancement for disaster relief personnel must be rapid. This is the primary factor driving the goal
set for the development to fielding schedule.
The requirements of the UAV
system was driven by the concept of keeping the entire system highly mobile and
easily deployable. The aerial vehicle
needed to be compact yet capable of providing useful capabilities over the area
of operations. The performance of the
UAV needed to be high enough to reach destinations in a timely manner and
provide a useful loiter time as well.
The service ceiling needed to be high enough to allow the sensor payload
to provide wide imagery coverage while remaining within the sensors’ parameters
to provide the best quality image.
The requirements of the
payload were selected to provide the best aerial observation and surveillance
capabilities possible. The wide field of
view and quality of imagery will provide the best possible vantage point aloft
for disaster relief personnel, particularly search and rescue teams. The IR imagery provides observation
capability in low light or dusk conditions, extending the window of operations. Limited visibility and low light conditions
present significant challenges to manned aerial search and rescue platforms
(Tripp, 2011, p. 7). A UAV could be
deployed in conditions deemed too hazardous to flight crews. The IR capability would also be useful in
seeing through light cover (“CHP Helicopter”, 2014). The
weight requirement was selected to ensure enough space was reserved on the air
vehicle for an appropriate powerplant and a sufficient fuel supply. These two components are critical to the
performance factors mentioned previously.
The number of required
crewmembers was to be kept to a minimum to keep the logistical footprint
small. Two person carry will most likely
be necessary with the heavier pieces of equipment, such as the air
vehicle. A crew of four would be
sufficient to carry out sustained operations.
The size of the transport
vehicle was selected to ensure the entire UAV system could be transported by a
single vehicle. Separating the
components into multiple vehicles would increase the logistical footprint since
each vehicle would require the same amount of maintenance as a single one. Multiple vehicles also mean that each one
requires a driver and may increase the number of personnel required for the
crew. Uneven terrain capability was also
levied as a requirement since a disaster area may have damaged roads, debris,
or require detours onto off paved surfaces.
Staging locations may also be on unpaved surfaces. The requirement for the vehicle design to
limit g-forces on the UAV system was levied to extend the lifespan of the
components. Prolonged exposure to
damaging g-forces and vibration during transit will shorten the life of the components
of the UAV system. Response to a
disaster area will almost certainly require significant ground transit,
potentially reducing the useful operational life of the UAV system before it is
even deployed.
References:
Tripp, D. (2011).
Working with Search & Rescue
Helicopters. London: Crown
Copyright.
