Lockheed Martin has demonstrated that unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations can be integrated into the National Airspace System (NAS) using its prototype UAS Traffic Management (UTM) for fire fighting missions.
The integration will encourage safe UAS operations with the knowledge of air traffic controllers.
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During the demonstration, the Stalker UAS directed the unmanned K-MAX to locate a fire and dispense water drops at specific locations to put it out.
All UAS operations during the demonstration were being tracked by UTM, which provided real-time updates to Air Traffic Control.
With electro-optical and infrared camera equipped on K-MAX, the Stalker XE UAS offers assistance in conducting fire fighting operations.
The solid oxide fuel cell powered Stalker XE provides more than eight hours of flight duration.
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By GlobalDataLockheed Martin transportation and financial solutions vice-president Paul Engola said: "This demonstration represents the path forward for flying UAS in the NAS using Flight Service-based UTM capabilities to extend the technology and systems that air traffic controllers know and understand.
"We were able to successfully modify the existing K-MAX and Stalker XE ground control software to connect to the UTM services and conduct the firefighting mission."
Manned aircraft used to be designed for fire fighting missions during the daytime only. Unmanned aircraft such as K-MAX is capable of flying day and night in all weather conditions.
In 2011, Lockheed stated it developed a ruggedised version of its Stalker UAS called the Stalker eXtreme Endurance (XE) UAS.
The Stalker XE system features two aircraft, fuel cells, a command and control ground station, support equipment, and a small propane fuel storage tank.
Image: The Stalker UAS directs the unmanned K-MAX cargo helicopter to conduct water drops at a precise location to extinguish a fire. Photo: courtesy of Lockheed Martin.
