# Presentation: 900935

## Army Research Laboratory

**Army Research Laboratory**

**Terry Jameson**
**US Army Research Laboratory**
**Computational and Information Sciences Directorate **
**White Sands Missile Range, NM**
**DSN 258-3924, Commercial 505-678-3924**
**tjameson@arl.army.mil**
**12 Apr 06**

**Progress in the Development of an **
**Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) **
**Weather Tactical Decision Aid**

## Stallion AAF UAS Met Support

**WSMR **
**Stallion AAF UAS Met Support**

## Background

** ****HAFB 46****th**** TG/PSL ATDSS-II Test Program**

-  “**Aerostar” UAS (General Dynamics, Aeronautic**
**Defense Systems, LTD)**

-  **“****See-and-avoid” sensor**

-  **WSMR Controlled Airspace, Stallion AAF**

-  **Intruder Aircraft Flight Ops**

-  **“****Piggy-backed” UAS Weather TDA Testbed**

-  **MET Support/Flight Ops Briefings**

-  **Nov 05, Jan 06, Feb 06 field test participation**

## November 2005 Aerostar UAS Flight Test, 		WSMR Stallion AAF

**November 2005 Aerostar UAS Flight Test, ****	****	****WSMR Stallion AAF**

## TDA Investigations/Flight

**         ****OPS Met Support**

** ****PC-based IWEDA (implemented on laptop)**

** ****MM5 sub-domain focused on actual OPS area **

** ****Zipped IWEDA script file e-mailed to Stallion - daily**

** ****Rule set adapted to Aerostar UAS**** **

** ****AFWA 5km MM5 runs – AOI centered over Stallion**

** ****Outlooks, forecasts, updates provided on-site or via**
**	****phone call**

## Outline

**Where are we today in operational support to unmanned aircraft in the Army?**
**Where do we want to go?**
**How will we get there?**

## Today’s UAS Weather Support Shortfalls

**NOT NECESSARILY TAILORED TO UAS-UNIQUE AND SPECIFIC WEATHER REQUIREMENTS!**

***Mission Planning***

**DD Form 175-1 is standard weather **
**briefing medium**
- Text only
-   Generalized locations of hazards
-   Requires pilot/operator to “visualize”
-        enroute and target area weather from
-        text on form.

**Upcoming technology solves some **
**text-only briefing problems:**
-   Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS),
-    Joint Flight Weather Briefer (JFWB), and
-    Joint Environmental Toolkit (JET)...
-   Adds some graphics
-   Adds some data automation
-   Improves the weather database used for
-      flight weather briefings, thus improves
-      weather forecasts

## CURRENT TECHNOLOGY:

**Depicts horizontal/vertical distribution of clouds, turbulence and winds.**

**CURRENT TECHNOLOGY:**
**  ****Air Force Weather Agency’s Web Page Capability**

***Enroute Weather Depictions***

## 1-D depiction of impacts over time

**Army’s Integrated Meteorological System (IMETS) and **
**Integrated Weather Effects Decision Aid (IWEDA) UAS Products**

**1-D depiction of impacts over time**

**2-D distribution of **
**impacts at a fixed time**

**2-D depiction of forecast **
**surface winds  at a fixed time**

***Forecast & Effects Decision Aids***

## AF Operational Weather Squadron 

**AF Operational Weather Squadron **
**Web Page Capability**

***Regional/Theater Weather Depictions***

- Regional scale turbulence forecast shows unfavorable flying conditions across Korea for unmanned aircraft.
- However, finer-scale, localized, and more timely forecasts (from mesoscale models and in the future, Weather Running Estimate-Nowcast) tailored to unmanned aircraft missions can reveal favorable flying conditions.

## From UAS Roadmap, 2005-2030Office of the Secretary of Defense, Aug05

- Goals for unmanned aviation:
**  ****#7:  Improve adverse-weather UA capabilities to provide higher mission availability and mission effectiveness rates**
- RECOMMENDATION:
**Incorporate and/or develop all-weather practices into future UA designs**

## WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO?

## WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO?

***	******GOAL: Improve UAS Mission Success Rates!***
**Integrate weather impacts with UAS mission profiles**
**Depict weather impacts along the mission route**
**Determine optimal flight path; avoiding unfavorable weather conditions**
**M2M Capabilities**

***Platform Protection***

***Sensor***
***Payload Selection***

***Sensor Collection***

***Forecast***
***& Effects ***
***Decision Aids***

***En Route***
***Weather Updates***

***Mission***
***Planning & Execution***

**Weather Support**
**to the UAS Mission**
***From Pre-launch***
***to Post-recovery****** ***

***Operator Tasking***

***INTEL Analysis***

_**WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO?**_

## Technology GoalsSupport to the UAS Platform and Operators for:	

**  ****Aircraft mission operating capabilities (icing, cross winds, turbulence, ... warnings and avoidance)**
**  ****Target and recovery area navigation (visibility, clouds, dust, fog, haze...) so operator doesn’t lose navigation bearing or visual orientation**
**  ****Survivability, including enemy acquisition of the UAS platform...**** How far can the UAS be seen & heard?****  Where are radar dead zones due to refractive ducting, etc.?**
**  ****Enroute obstacles and no-go area constraints (terrain limits and unfavorable weather conditions...)**
**  ****Fuel consumption, max range, max loiter time over target, ****quickest/safest routing with respect to weather conditions...**
**  ****Max payload weight and aircraft climb rate in current weather conditions...**
**  ****Weather-impacted communications:  How far can the aircraft travel from its telemetry and control links?**

## Technology GoalsSupport to the UAS Payload Package:	

**  ****Target approach****:  How close must the imaging payload be to see its target?  TAWS-like acquisition range, target area cloud ceilings, cloud-free line-of-sight, precip, etc.**
**  ****Best route/altitudes to target****:  What angles of approach provide the best view for onboard sensors?  (best contrast, least optical turbulence, least sensor vibration...)**
**  ****Target acquisition****:  Target/background contrast change in visible and IR (IRTSS capabilities?)**
**  ****Detection****:  How far away can an INTEL source EO/IR/radar/radio signal be detected passively (atmospheric effects on EM propagation...)**
**  ****Weather Impacted Communications****:  How far away can the payload get from its data downlink?  **

## HOW WILL WE GET THERE?

## GENERAL SUPPORT CONCEPT

**Nesting ******** Nowcast 0-3hr Database.**
**Automated refresh of forecast 4-D **
**cube for TDA pre-mission & enroute updates.**

_**LOCAL SENSORS**_
**Surface Data Sensors**
**Upper-Air Sensors**
***UAS MET Sensors***

**Theater-scale JET-provided forecast model **
**database...Joint Virtual METOC Data Cube**
****** ****4-D gridded fields of weather parameters**

_**GENERAL SUPPORT CONCEPT**_

**Text, Graphic, & Digital Decision Aid Products for manual and automated applications.**

## The R&D Concept

_**Combine**_** 4-D UA **_**path**_** with 4-D weather **_**forecast cube**_**.  Calculate weather adverse impacts on flight path.**
_**Visualize**_** impacts along UA path using red, amber, green and fly-through weather icons showing weather limitations based on each UA’s critical weather thresholds. **
**Develop/implement **_**route optimization**_** scheme for determination of “best” course given user constraints and forecast weather.**
**Weather INtelligence – Routing = WIN-R**

## +

**Avoiding Enrte Hazards**

_**Integrating Weather Impacts Into Mission Profiles**_

**+**

**=**

**+**

**=**

**Initial/Current **
**Flight Path**

**Altered Flt Path (if needed)**

## ADDING OTHER WEATHER 

**Acoustic Tactical Decision Aid output showing areas (green) where a UAV can be heard by a ground observer.  The decision aid will use local terrain, gridded forecast model data, and aircraft-specific acoustic signature data to produce the output related to the color contours.**

**ADDING OTHER WEATHER **
**IMPACTS CAPABILITIES**

## UAS Weather TDA 

**Target Area Obscured**
**Cloud Layer**
**Tops   4000 ft**
**Bases 500 ft**

***UAS Weather TDA ***
***4-D visualization for  ***
***mission profile.***

**Departure**
**Point**

**Target Area**

## “Optimized” Flight Path

_**“**__**Optimized” Flight Path**_
**Weather INtelligence – Routing = WIN-R**

***  ******Original planned flight path routes through “red” or “unfavorable” conditions***
***  ******Automated flight route optimization algorithms to provide alternate routes around, over, under unfavorable conditions***
***  ******Look for the “greenest” or “most favorable” path***
***  ***_***Solution is an “all-weather” option to increase mission success rates.***_
_***  ***__***Technology applicable to ALL aircraft***_

**Takeoff, T=0hr**

**FL040**

**Target Area 1**
**T=3hr**
**FL140**

**Target Area 2**
**T=6hr**
**FL100**

**Target Area 3**
**T=9hr**
**FL080**

**FL090**

**FL060**

**FL040**

**Landing, T=12hr**

**Planned route**

**Alternate/**
**Optimized Route**

**Optimized FL050**
**= GREEN**

## Current Demo Work

**TAAC Area Of Interest (AOI)**

**TDA **_**Testbed**_** co-located with **
**UAS Technical Analysis and Applications Center (TAAC)**

- _Initial_ TDA Support Concept (Near-term FY06 deliverables):
**AFWA 5km MM5 grids**
**Stand-alone UAS rules-driven IWEDA**
**Acoustic Detection TDA tailored to UAS ops**
**IMETS and JAAWIN products**
**Army Air Maneuver Routing low-level target approach visualizations (coming soon)**
**Test periods in Oct & Dec 05; Jan, Feb... 06**

_**Current Demo Work**_

- _Future_ work:
**Real-time weather obs assimilation from all sources (incl. on-board TAMDAR)**
**Local 3-hr Nowcasts updating weather database and “correcting” local forecast grids in real time**
**WIN-R capability - Customized, tailored, and automated flight route optimization for weather hazards avoidance.**
**TDA available at all echelons with access to weather data “cube”**
**Commercial Joint Mapping Tool Kit (C-JMTK) & FalconView compatible data, displays, & visualizations**
**M2M Capabilities**