UAS Weather TDA - WIDA presentation

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Army Research Laboratory
Progress in the Development of an Unmanned
Aircraft Systems (UAS) Weather Tactical Decision
Aid
Terry Jameson US Army Research
Laboratory Computational and Information Sciences
Directorate White Sands Missile Range, NM DSN
258-3924, Commercial 505-678-3924 tjameson_at_arl.arm
y.mil 12 Apr 06
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WSMR Stallion AAF UAS Met Support
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Background

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

• See-and-avoid sensor

• Aerostar UAS (General Dynamics, Aeronautic
• Defense Systems, LTD)

• 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

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November 2005 Aerostar UAS Flight Test, WSMR
Stallion AAF
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TDA Investigations/Flight OPS Met Support

• PC-based IWEDA (implemented on laptop)

• Rule set adapted to Aerostar UAS

• AFWA 5km MM5 runs AOI centered over Stallion

• MM5 sub-domain focused on actual OPS area

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

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

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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?

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Todays UAS Weather Support Shortfalls
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.

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

• 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

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CURRENT TECHNOLOGY Air Force Weather Agencys
Web Page Capability
Enroute Weather Depictions
Example of forecast flight path cross-section
based on forecast model data. Depicts
horizontal/vertical distribution of clouds,
turbulence and winds.
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Armys Integrated Meteorological System (IMETS)
and Integrated Weather Effects Decision Aid
(IWEDA) UAS Products
1-D depiction of impacts over time
2-D depiction of forecast surface winds at a
fixed time
2-D distribution of impacts at a fixed time
Forecast Effects Decision Aids
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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.
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From UAS Roadmap, 2005-2030Office 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

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WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO?
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WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO?

• Development of TDA technology to incorporate
  tailored weather support to UAS flights.
• 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

INTEL Analysis
Operator Tasking
Sensor Collection
Sensor Payload Selection
Platform Protection
Weather Support to the UAS Mission From
Pre-launch to Post-recovery
Forecast Effects Decision Aids
En Route Weather Updates
Mission Planning Execution
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Technology GoalsSupport 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 doesnt 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?

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Technology GoalsSupport 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?

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HOW WILL WE GET THERE?
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GENERAL SUPPORT CONCEPT
Theater-scale JET-provided forecast model
databaseJoint Virtual METOC Data Cube ? 4-D
gridded fields of weather parameters

Text, Graphic, Digital Decision Aid Products
for manual and automated applications.
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
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The RD 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 UAs critical
  weather thresholds.
• Develop/implement route optimization scheme for
  determination of best course given user
  constraints and forecast weather.
• Weather INtelligence Routing WIN-R

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Integrating Weather Impacts Into Mission Profiles



New Flt Path Options Avoiding Enrte Hazards

Initial/Current Flight Path
Altered Flt Path (if needed)
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ADDING OTHER WEATHER IMPACTS CAPABILITIES
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.
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UAS Weather TDA 4-D visualization for mission
profile.
Departure Point
Target Area Obscured Cloud Layer Tops 4000
ft Bases 500 ft
Target Area
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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

Target Area 2 T6hr FL100
Target Area 1 T3hr FL140
FL090
Target Area 3 T9hr FL080
Alternate/ Optimized Route
Optimized FL050 GREEN
Planned route
FL040
FL060
Takeoff, T0hr
FL040
Landing, T12hr
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Current Demo Work
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

TAAC Area Of Interest (AOI)

• 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