Army radar to allow UAS to fly in National Air Space

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 2, 2012) -- By March 2014, the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, an Army unmanned aerial system, or UAS, will be able to train in the same airspace as the Boeing 747, with the help of the Army-developed Ground Based Sense and Avoid system.
The Army recently concluded a two-week demonstration of the Ground Based Sense and Avoid system, or GBSAA, at Dug way Proving Ground, Utah. During the demonstration, the Army put the system through multiple training "vignettes" that validated both the design and functionality of the system.
"We are ready to begin the certification process in order to be fielding in March 2014, for the Gray Eagle locations," said Viva Austin, product director for the Army's Unmanned Systems Airspace Integration.
The five locations for Gray Eagle basing and training include Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Riley, Kan.; Fort Stewart, Ga.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; and Fort Bragg, N.C. It's expected the first system will field in March 2014 at Fort Hood. About three months later, the system should field to Fort Riley. All five sites should be equipped with the GBSAA system by 2015, officials said.
The GBSAA is a radar and warning system designed to allow Soldiers to fly unmanned aerial systems, like the Gray Eagle, inside the National Air Space, while still meeting Federal Aviation Administration regulations. The system monitors location and altitude of the UAS and other aircraft, detects possible collisions, and makes recommendations to UAS operators on how to avoid those collisions.
As unmanned aerial systems and the Soldiers who fly them return home from theater, the Army needs a way to keep those UAS operators trained for the next battle, and they need to do that training inside the United States and inside the National Air Space, or NAS.

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