FAA to Test Counter UAS Technologies Next Week in Denver
Next week, the FAA will conduct tests of systems that can detect small, rogue UAS. The tests, which will take place at the Denver International Airport, are aimed at finding technologies capable of protecting airports from threatening unmanned aircraft.
According to FAA senior advisor on UAS integration Marke “Hoot” Gibson, a counter UAS system would serve as an additional layer of protection for airports, after the initial layer, which would require the registration and identification of drones through a UTM system.
“We’re looking to several techniques, radar being one of them, to detect and track small drones,” Gibson said via AIN Online.
Over the last year-plus, the FAA has tested a variety of counter UAS systems from different organizations, ranging from defense contractor CACI International, to a system that was tested with the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and other government, industry and university partners.
For Gibson, this latest batch of testing is just another step to hopefully find technologies that can protect the airspace.
“The thought is by this time next fall that we will have learned some minimum performance standards [and] we will have a useful conops on how to deploy these systems,” Gibson said. “Then we’ll begin the long debate [over] cost and how we might go about providing some level of protection in and around manned aviation.”
More tests are expected next spring, most likely at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
