FAA to evaluate UAV detection technology
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FAA will evaluate technology to detect unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) near airports under a Pathfinder program with developer CACI International.
Testifying before the House Subcommittee on Aviation Oct. 7, FAA deputy administrator Michael Whitaker said the technology will detect radio signals between the UAV and its operator within five miles of an airport.
So far, FAA has not released details of the technology or where it will be tested. “This is an existing technology. We have not announced the location and timeframe, but will shortly,” Whitaker said. “We will assess it in an operational environment without compromising safety.”
Locating the operators of UAVs flying without permission in airspace around airports “is the biggest challenge we face,” Whitaker said. “Pilot reports cannot tell us where the operators are, unlike a laser strike when the pilot knows where it is coming from.”
FAA is receiving more than 100 pilot reports of UAV sightings a month, a fivefold increase over 2014. While the agency acknowledges the majority of reports may not involve potentially hazardous near-misses, “the trend in the data is pretty obvious,” he said.
The CACI system “is one of several technologies we are looking at to detect drones,” Whitaker said. “We will assess this as well as geofencing and other technologies.” Geofencing involves programming UAVs with a GPS-based database of no-fly zones, such as Class B airspace around airports.
The partnership with CACI, which involves other agencies—the Homeland Security Department is responsible for security around airports—is part of the FAA Pathfinder program to explore the next steps in unmanned-aircraft operations beyond the Small UAS rule proposed in February.
Under the program the FAA is working with CNN on using UAVs for newsgathering in urban areas; PrecisionHawk on extended visual-line-of-sight operations in rural areas; and BNSF Railroad on beyond-line-of-sight flights to inspect railway infrastructure.
