Eye tests in the sky

By Andrew Stackpool
Volume 48, No. 18, October 05, 2006

NOW LOOK HERE: An American Mariner Demonstrator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle flies off the Adelaide coast during a trial over the North-West Shelf of Australia. Photo by CPL Pete Gammie

Chief Defence Scientist, Dr Roger Lough, centre left, and guests watch 92WG crew at work in the UAV mission control building at RAAF Base Edinburgh. Photo courtesy of DSTO

THE skies around RAAF Base Edinburgh and over the North-West Shelf (NWS) of Australia recently resonated to the sound of an unfamiliar aero engine.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) conducted surveillance and compatibility trials with an Armidale class patrol boat.

Two 92WG crews (pilots, navigators and air engineers) and supporting personnel from HQ Air Command, Edinburgh and RAAF Base Learmonth were involved in the trials.

Air Force trials director GPCAPT Bill Spears said that Edinburgh was the primary mission control site while the UAV was airborne, with the NWS Australian Ground Environment (NWSAGE) buildings and infrastructure being contained in demountable buildings situated near the air traffic control tower. It was also used for the successful testing of the UAV during the Function Test Flight and the Functional Demonstration and Acceptance Test Flights flown from Edinburgh during the first week of the trial.

“About 30 [Air Force] personnel have participated in the trials, but many more were involved in making it a success,” GPCAPT Spears said.

“Also, 92WG is gaining experience and knowledge in UAV procedures and practices.”

The NWS Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) trial aims to assess the maritime surveillance potential of UAVs operating with patrol boats to provide enhanced security for the north-western region of Australia.

The UAV is capable of providing sustained surveillance over extensive areas like the north-west while being operated remotely from a land-based control centre, which coordinates appropriate responses to suspicious activities.

DSTO is leading the trial and used an American Mariner Demonstrator UAV for the first part of the trial.

Configured with a satellite data link system, the Mariner has an endurance of 30 hours and is equipped with two colour video cameras, a forward-looking infrared camera, maritime radar and a communications and data link suite.

For the majority of the time and, including take-off and landing at Edinburgh, it was controlled from the NWSAGE facilities. At the remote site, take-off and landing was controlled from RAAF Base Learmonth.

The program included 14 flying days. These started with two test flights out of Edinburgh, followed by five mission flights out of Learmonth from September 8-19.

Each flight was planned according to a specific operational scenario, with individual sorties varying in duration from two to three hours, to more than 22 hours.

The Mariner Demonstrator undertook a range of surveillance missions and collected data on vessels operating in or passing through Australia’s NWS maritime approaches. The data was transmitted to the NWSAGE for analysis and exchanged with the patrol boat and the Pilbara Regiment, which were equipped to receive data directly from it. Also, the data was immediately shared with other Defence and government agencies for analysis and review.

The crew at Edinburgh coordinated the UAV operations with the patrol boat to assess their ability to provide an effective maritime surveillance capability together.

GPCAPT Spears said the tests have been very successful.

“As should be expected at the commencement of any trial where a large number of contractors and Defence personnel come together, there were initial teething problems,” he said.

“But they were quickly ironed out.”

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