Reliable Robotics reports it has made significant progress towards a working autonomy solution for the U.S. Air Force. Reliable’s automation system enables continuous autopilot engagement through all phases of aircraft operation, including taxi, takeoff and landing with a remote pilot supervising operations. Remotely operating large multi-engine Air Force jets like the KC-135 Stratotanker will enable higher aircraft utilization, more frequent deployment and almost continuous operation to fly further distances unimpeded by crew repositioning logistics. As part of an Air Force-funded contract to examine automation of large aircraft for reduced crew and uncrewed solutions, Reliable Robotics conducted detailed analyses of the applicability of its Remotely Operated Aircraft System (ROAS) to advance cargo logistics and refueling capacity.
Reliable’s most recent report reveals three positive findings related to adapting the system for large U.S. Air Force aircraft:
The airframe examined can readily accommodate required system upgrades for remote operation with only modest adjustments for remote piloting and select refueling operations. Navigation and communications upgrades will support expected future military operating environments.
Large remotely piloted military aircraft can gain efficiency improvements and operational flexibility equivalent to commercial operations without the need to manufacture new aircraft, providing the Air Force with significant financial advantage.
The same levels of system reliability required under FAA certification, and designed into the ROAS architecture and hardware, can be achieved when the system is flying on these larger airframes in the U.S. National Airspace System.
“At Reliable Robotics, we are obsessed with enabling previously unimaginable capabilities for the U.S. Air Force through autonomy,” said David O’Brien, Major General (Ret.), and Senior Vice President of Government Solutions at Reliable Robotics. “Automating existing inventory at fractional costs will provide commanders unprecedented flexibility and safety in meeting acute operational demands with the smallest deployed human footprint.”
Reliable’s certification plan was formally accepted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) earlier this year. Once certified, the system will improve aviation safety with higher precision navigation, sophisticated flight planning capabilities and more robust flight controls with or without onboard crew.
“We’ve been strategically focused on certifying our safety-enhancing aircraft automation system, and simultaneously building an Airspace Integration Solution that allows remotely piloted aircraft to be safely integrated into our airspace. With Marc’s expertise, we will advance our DAA capabilities using novel radars, which is core to the solution,” said Brandon Suarez, VP of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration at Reliable Robotics.
Reliable Robotics announced the addition of Marc Pos to lead radar design, filling a key part of its aircraft-agnostic Airspace Integration Solution plans. Reliable Robotics is developing a solution to enable the safe, secure and efficient integration of remotely piloted aircraft – crewed or uncrewed – in the National Airspace System (NAS). In his role as Senior Fellow, Pos will focus on the industry-wide challenge of certifying Detect and Avoid (DAA) systems capable of detecting and tracking all airspace users, regardless of whether or not they are equipped with a transponder. Radar is the only all-weather, non-cooperative sensor for DAA and no existing airborne radar currently enables commercial aircraft considering size, weight, power and cost drivers.
Reliable’s Airspace Integration Solution
Integrating UAS into the NAS requires a comprehensive set of interdependent subsystems, specifically, DAA systems, C2 links and the control station. These subsystems, functions and capabilities are collectively part of an end-to-end, certifiable solution for new and existing aircraft to be remotely piloted.
Pos will join Suarez to drive the development and certification of Reliable’s Airspace Integration Solution. Pos has close to 30 years of experience designing radios, radars and radar altimeters. During his 21-year tenure at Honeywell, he most recently served as a Radar System Fellow. He has led cross-disciplinary teams that developed phased array radar systems for airborne DAA, ground-based obstacle avoidance and navigation, as well as all-weather radars and radar altimeters used for autolanding in transport category aircraft today such as the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320.
Pos led a published NASA study on the usability of radar in the NAS, a project aimed at enabling beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations. Pos holds 14 patents for radar and radar altimeter innovations. He has also served on multiple RTCA committees related to radar sensing in DAA systems and currently participates in SC-228.
“Developing a reliable DAA solution that can be certified for operations in the NAS will be a win for the industry,” said Marc Pos, Senior Fellow at Reliable Robotics. “I’m looking forward to growing the radar division, and expanding the capabilities of Reliable’s Airspace Integration Solution.“
Importance of Radio Detection And Ranging (RADAR) Capabilities
A certified radar can be used on aircraft with or without a pilot on board to enhance operational safety, especially as commercial operations expand to more airports outside of metropolitan areas, which is the vision of Regional Air Mobility. Radars can detect objects in all weather conditions by measuring distance using radio waves (RF). Radars provide the range to an object, the speed of that object and if it is coming or going all in one detection. The FAA has published TSO-c212, which recognizes radar as a viable solution for air traffic detection and tracking, specifically invoking RTCA DO-366 as a valid performance standard. Adding radar to the Reliable Robotics sensor suite will provide a robust and certifiable DAA solution.
RTX has successfully demonstrated the operation of a solid-state circuit breaker to support hybrid-electric propulsion systems in future aircraft, a key part of the aviation industry’s efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Much like a circuit breaker in a residential home, a circuit breaker on an aircraft helps protect the plane by removing power from the system when it senses an electric fault. With future hybrid-electric propulsion systems slated to see increases in voltage and power compared to today’s aircraft, they will require new circuit breakers that can handle higher loads. RTX’s novel solid-state technology will enable its circuit breaker to handle five times the power of the largest circuit breaker flying today, with the ability to interrupt thousands of amps of current in less than 100 microseconds.
The circuit breaker is being developed as part of a collaboration between the RTX Technology Research Center (RTRC), Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney under NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program (AAVP).
“Without new circuit breakers that can manage higher loads, hybrid-electric aircraft won’t be possible,” said Andreas Roelofs, RTX vice president of research and RTRC director. “We’re leveraging the combined expertise of the RTX enterprise in power electronics, protection and integration to create a lightweight, power dense solution that will help enable the next generation of hybrid-electric and all-electric platforms.”
Having completed design, functional and altitude testing, RTX expects to further develop and refine the solution through system integration in Collins’ new electric power systems lab—The Grid—and flight demonstration in the coming years.
Hybrid-electric propulsion is a key pillar of the company’s sustainability technology roadmap. In addition to the solid-state circuit breaker, the company is also developing megawatt-class motor drive systems, a hybrid-electric flight and participating in the European Union’s Clean Aviation SWITCH project.
Collins Aerospace opened a $14 million expansion of its additive manufacturing center in West Des Moines, Iowa, recently. The 9,000-square-foot addition provides space for the site to house several new 3D metal printers. The first printer installed has eight times the build volume of the facility’s existing printers, significantly increasing the center’s additive manufacturing capabilities.
“From supporting the backlog in commercial aircraft to enabling future platforms, and reducing carbon emissions to providing supply chain relief, additive manufacturing is poised to play an integral role in the future of the aerospace and defense industry,” said Renee Begley, West Des Moines site lead for Collins Aerospace. “Additive manufacturing has the potential to help us reduce weight, complexity, lead time and cost in the parts we supply, and this expansion represents an investment in our business to help deliver those benefits to our customers.”
Collins’ West Des Moines facility will design and produce engine components for commercial and military aircraft. The company says the new printers will allow the site to explore additive production of these components, building on the multiple land-based turbine components it already has in production. Additionally, the facility is one of only eight in the U.S. to receive the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (NADCAP) certification for Additive Manufacturing.
NI, an industry leader in automated wireless test and measurement, today announced new options and extended capabilities for its third generation PXI Vector Signal Transceiver (VST), the PXIe-5842. Combined with NI’s software ecosystem, the PXIe-5842 is a versatile tool that can be used to test and validate products in aerospace and defense applications while supporting traditional RF capabilities such as spectrum analysis, signal analysis, and signal generation.
Demand for increased RF bandwidth, frequency agility, dynamic range, and digital data movement is pushing traditional instrumentation beyond its current capabilities. NI’s VST3, the PXIe-5842, is accelerating the development of the next generation of digitally integrated active Electronically Scanned Arrays (ESA) for radar, SatCom, and electronic warfare applications as well as commercial wireless applications such as Wi-Fi 7, 6G, Ultra-wideband (UWB) and Bluetooth.
The PXIe-5842 delivers precise control over signal parameters and real-time analysis with its extended frequency coverage from 30 MHz to 26.5 GHz. Enhancements also include up to 2 GHz of instantaneous RF bandwidth and upgraded Local Oscillator (LO) offset mode with improved average noise density. This version now enables digital and analog pulse modulation capabilities, and its 16-lane high-speed serial interface enables low-latency digital I/Q data streaming at rates up to the full 2 GHz IBW of the instrument, with futureproofing to 4 GHz. When combined with PXI-based FPGA co-processors from NI, the third generation VST can emulate RF environments or other RF devices for system level tests. These new capabilities build upon the flexibility and versatility of the PXIe-5842, are useful for generic RF testing and are particularly suitable for aerospace and defense applications.
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