Recherche

The exercises are being completed by Thales UK, as part of a project involving QinetiQ and the University of the West of England for the ASTRAEA programme. ASTRAEA is working with the Civil Aviation Authority to develop the regulations and techniques that will permit the use of UAVs in unrestricted UK airspace.

Following significant progress in the development of a ground control station, the latest tests have gathered feedback from those with extensive flight experience to ensure that the control station provides users with the right information to oversee and control a UAV effectively and safely.

CAA test pilots, a microlight pilot, an ex-military navigator and an air traffic controller have all taken part in the exercises, which involved them taking control of a mock UAV reconnaissance mission using the current ground station software set-up and a flight simulator.

Each invitee completed the standard tasks of a mission commander, from developing a flight plan, right through to overseeing the take-off, flight and landing of an aircraft. The only difference was that they completed these tasks remotely.

Julie Martin, Research and Technology Group Manager at Thales UK, commented: "Our development of a ground control station for UAVs has reached a stage where it will now benefit greatly from the experience of commanders and pilots of manned aircraft.

"All of those people involved used the system to fly a UAV in simulated airspace, and had to cope with a series of pre-defined events that could alter a routine flight - such as taking appropriate action when, for example, another aircraft takes off unexpectedly nearby, or the scheduled inbound airport is closed due to bad weather.

"The results of this visualisation work are crucial in helping us to understand how, in the future, different people responsible for UAVs might fly, and what information and feedback they need from the ground station they use, and from the UAV itself."

The visualisation exercises will conclude in August, the results from which will feed into a report detailing recommendations for the further development of the ground control station software.

About ASTRAEA

ASTRAEA is a pioneering £32 million aerospace programme which is investigating key technological and regulatory issues related to opening up non-segregated airspace to unmanned autonomous aircraft. The programme last three years and represents a cross section of interested parties, involving government, industry, academia and regional bodies.

About Thales and Thales UK

Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide. Thales' leading-edge technology is supported by 22,000 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. To this end, the group's civil and military businesses develop in parallel and share a common base of technologies to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. The group builds its growth on its unique multi-domestic strategy based on trusted partnerships with national customers and market players, while leveraging its global expertise to support local technology and industrial development. Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with 2007 revenues in excess of £8.3 bn.

Thales UK employs 9,000 staff based at more than 50 locations. In 2007 Thales UK's revenues were over £1.2 bn.

Press contact:
Thales UK
Kathryn Bell
Mob: +44 7813 903274