De acordo com o artigo do Phys.org NASA voa grandes aeronaves não tripuladas no espaço aéreo público sem plano de perseguição pela primeira vez:
Flights of large craft like Ikhana, have traditionally required a safety chase aircraft to follow the unmanned aircraft as it travels through the same airspace used by commercial aircraft. The Ikhana flew in accordance with the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Technical Standard Order 211—Detect and Avoid Systems—and Technical Standard Order 212—Air-to-Air Radar for Traffic Surveillance.
[...] The Ikhana aircraft was equipped with detect and avoid technologies, including an airborne radar developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., a Honeywell Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System, a Detect and Avoid Fusion Tracker, and an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast capability – a surveillance technology where the aircraft determines its position via satellite navigation and periodically broadcasts this information so other aircraft can track it.
The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California and entered controlled air space almost immediately. Ikhana flew into the Class-A airspace, where commercial airliners fly, just west of Edwards at an altitude of about 20,000 feet. The aircraft then turned north toward Fresno, requiring air traffic control to be transferred from the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center to the Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center. On the return trip, the pilot headed south toward Victorville, California, requiring communication control to be transferred back to Los Angeles.
During the return flight, the pilot began a gentle descent over the city of Tehachapi, California, into Class E airspace—about 10,000 feet—where general aviation pilots fly. The pilot initiated an approach into Victorville airport at 5,000 feet, coordinating in real time with air traffic controllers at the airport. After successfully executing all of these milestones, the aircraft exited the public airspace and returned to its base at Armstrong.
"We are flying with a suite of sophisticated technology that greatly enhances the safety capabilities of pilots flying large unmanned aircraft in the National Airspace System," said Scott Howe, Armstrong test pilot. "We took the time to mitigate the risks and to ensure that we, as a program, were prepared for this flight."
Tuesday's flight was the first remotely-piloted aircraft to use airborne detect and avoid technology to meet the intent of the FAA's "see and avoid" rules, with all test objectives successfully accomplished.
No final do artigo:
More information: For more information on NASA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System project, visit go.nasa.gov/2sx9VCn.
Questão: Embora essa tenha sido a "... primeira aeronave pilotada remotamente a usar a detecção aérea e evitar a tecnologia para atender às intenções das regras de 'ver e evitar' das FAA, com todos os objetivos de teste realizados com sucesso", (sem um plano de perseguição?) É raro que aeronaves pilotadas remotamente voem pelo espaço aéreo dos EUA, onde a aviação comercial ou geral também voa sem todas essas qualificações extras? Isso aconteceu várias vezes, várias centenas, diariamente? É ainda mais pouco frequente sem um avião de caça?
Clique nas imagens para ampliá-las.
acima à esquerda: "As equipes de manutenção de aeronaves no Armstrong Flight Research Center da NASA preparam a aeronave Ikhana remotamente pilotada para um voo de teste em junho 12, 2018. O voo de teste foi realizado para validar as principais tecnologias e operações necessárias para a aprovação da Administração Federal de Aviação para pilotar a aeronave no espaço aéreo público sem uma aeronave de perseguição de segurança ". Crédito: NASA / Ken Ulbrich
direito: "A aeronave Ikhana da NASA, pilotada remotamente, com base no Armstrong Flight Research Center da agência, é levada em preparação para sua primeira missão no espaço aéreo público sem uma aeronave de segurança." Crédito: NASA / Carla Thomas
