http://www.dsti.net/Information/News/60220
無人機逐步進入民用航空空域
2010-07-01

【據英國《飛行國際》網站2010年6月28日報導】   在堅定進入軍用作戰使用之後，無人機（UAV）開始逐漸找尋進入民用航空空域的道路。泰雷茲集團表示，經過9個國家23家公司長達1年的研究之後，已經確定了4種可能途徑，將民航所需的無線電頻譜集成到軍用無人機系統（UAS）中。關於UAS軍用頻譜分配給通用航空（SIGAT）的研究，其研究目的是，明確和提出未來軍用UAS融入歐洲民用航空領域所需的指揮和控制無線電的適當頻率。

泰雷茲集團負責防禦任務系統的高級副總裁Pierre-Eric Pommellet說：“目前UAS發展的主要核心就是將這些飛行器融入民用航空空域。我們需要在現有的航空運輸中劃出合適的空域，同時為所有空域使用者提供國際民航標準的安全水準。”

在強調SIGAT報告具有“決定性”意義以及作為“歐洲國防部門的主要貢獻”的同時，關於在同一空域操作有人機和無人機所需考慮的技術和調整因素，在報告中並沒有透露更多細節。如何在歐洲以最佳方式將無人機和通用航空融合的技術問題，將在2012年下一屆全球無線電通訊會議上進行討論。

美國也僅僅在考慮如何將有人和無人系統融入民用航空。美國聯邦航空管理局（FAA）和美國的Insitu公司計畫未來兩年內，對UAV融入民用航空進行大量工作。Insitu作為波音公司的下屬機構，將為FAA提供2架“掃描鷹”飛行平臺、2套地面控制系統、一套發射裝置、“天鉤”回收裝置和訓練材料，總共價值160萬美元，還包括整個協定週期內的必要培訓和支持。FAA希望在2011年第一季度能發佈UAS融入規則草案。該機構已經採納Insitu的建議，定義25千克（55磅）或者更輕的UAS為“小型UAS”。

儘管看上去該專案進展緩慢，但是進行這項融入研究是FAA的重大舉措，因為該專案的成功將是無人機進入民用航空領域的重要支撐。

根據美國海關和邊界警衛隊的消息，當FAA宣佈首架UAV在德克薩斯州和墨西哥邊界執行安全任務之後，一架“捕食者”B由於操作員操作失誤致使與其失去聯繫，這一事件使得FAA加大了研究力度。考慮到邊界巡邏人員的“額外任務”，FAA和邊界巡邏暫停了UAV飛行長達6天，之後UAV又開始在邊界上空飛行。（中國航空工業發展研究中心  謝文嬌）

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/06/28/343585/unmanned-vehicles-move-on-civil-airspace-one-step-at-a.html
DATE:28/06/10
SOURCE:Flight International
Unmanned vehicles move on civil airspace, one step at a time
By Gayle Putrich
 
Having been firmly entrenched in modern military concepts of operations, unmanned air vehicles are slowly finding their way into civil airspace.

After a year-long study in collaboration with a consortium of 23 companies representing nine countries, Thales says it has identified four possible paths for addressing frequency spectrum needs and concerns for as part of the integration of military unmanned air systems with civilian air traffic.

The SIGAT study, or "Study on military frequency spectrum allocations for the Insertion into General Air Traffic of UAS", was aimed at defining and promoting a common European position for command and control radio frequencies for future military UAS integration in the European civil airspace.

"One of the major issues at the heart of UAS development today is the integration of these vehicles into civil airspace. We need to ensure proper segregation of existing air traffic and maintain a high level of safety for all airspace users to the standards of international civil aviation," says Pierre-Eric Pommellet, Thales senior vice-president in charge of defence mission systems.

While calling the SIGAT findings "decisive" and "a major outcome for European defence ministries" considering the technical and regulatory aspects of operating manned and unmanned aircraft in the same airspace, no details on the findings were released.

The technical aspects of how to best bring unmanned aircraft and general air traffic together over Europe is expected to be discusses at the next World Radiocommunication Conference in 2012.

The USA is only just embarking on its considerations of how to bring manned and unmanned systems together in civil airspace. The US Federal Aviation Administration and UAS-maker Insitu have struck a deal to study UAVs in civil airspace for the next two years.

Insitu, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing, will provide the FAA with two ScanEagle vehicles, two ground control systems, a launcher, SkyHook retrieval system and training materials worth around $1.6 million, plus the necessary training and support over the life of the agreement.

The FAA is expected to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking on UAS integrations in the first quarter of 2011. The agency has already accepted Insitu's recommendation of defining a "small UAS" as 25kg (55lb) or lighter, says Paul McDuffee, Insitu's vice-president of commercial business development.

While it looks like slow progress to some, the move to study integration is a major one for the FAA, which has long been reluctant to bring unmanned aircraft into civil airspace.

Fuel was added to the fire when, days after the FAA-Insitu announcement, the first UAV flying on a Texas-Mexico border security mission, a Predator B, lost communications with its pilot "which resulted in pilot deviation", according to US Customs and Border Protection.

The FAA and border patrol stopped UAV flights for six days for "additional training" of border patrol personnel. UAV flights over the border have since resumed.