The San Diego Union-Tribune June 5, 2001
Military drones catch civilian flak
BY Bruce V. Bigelow; STAFF WRITERRobotic surveillance aircraft flying into Kosovo, Macedonia and other Balkan hot spots have stirred concerns in Europe about the hazards posed by such military drones in civilian-controlled airspace.
Known as UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, the planes sent into war zones by NATO forces have caused a number of "serious air traffic problems" in adjacent civilian airspace said Philip Butterworth-Hayes of Jane's Airport Review, a London-based periodical.
Such concerns could affect the fate of the RQ-1 Predator, made in San Diego by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. U.S. forces began operating Predators over Bosnia in 1995, and the remote-controlled spy planes have flown missions throughout the region ever since.
The issue could be further complicated as a new generation of ultra-long range UAVs begins traversing the globe, ascending and descending through airspace used by commercial jetliners.
For example, the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk, an autonomous-flight jet developed in San Diego, made a 22-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean on April 22.
A Northrop Grumman spokesman said the Global Hawk's military flights are coordinated through the Federal Aviation Administration, and the surveillance jet typically cruises above 60,000 feet. That's far higher than altitudes used by commercial passenger jets.
For the time being, civil air traffic controllers seem to be more worried about smaller flying robots used by the military in Europe's crowded airspace.
It's easy to imagine that civil authorities would be worried about UAVs that are large enough to crash a passenger plane in a collision, but too small to show up on civil radar, said John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense research group based in Alexandria, Va.
The propeller-driven Predator, with a wingspan of 48.7 feet, is operated by a pilot who "flies" the aircraft from a ground control station to altitudes that range from 3,000 to 25,000 feet. Cameras and radar housed in the Predator's spoon-shaped nose transmit images, which can be relayed by satellite to U.S. military analysts around the world.
Tom Cassidy, president of GA Aeronautical Systems, said yesterday he was unfamiliar with any hazards posed by UAVs flying in Europe's civilian airspace -- especially none involving the Predator.
"We've had Predators flying all over the Balkans, sequenced between commercial air traffic and military air traffic," Cassidy said. "We comply with all the rules and regulations, just like a manned airplane."
The U.S. Air Force pilots who operate the Predator communicate from their ground control station "cockpits" by a voice link aboard the plane with air traffic controllers. Predators have even made instrument-only landing approaches at a U.S. military base in Hungary.
"We've also been flying down in Kuwait and that sort of thing," Cassidy said. "We've been flying in a lot of places and routinely, they just treat us like any other military aircraft."
The U.S. Air Force has acknowledged the loss of 11 UAVs to anti-aircraft fire and accidents during Operation Allied Force-21, including those flown by other NATO members. Those losses were not all Predators, however.
"There must've been 15 different types of UAVs over there," said Cyndi Wegerbauer of GA Aeronautical Systems. But the Air Force has not disclosed how many Predators have been lost, Wegerbauer added.
Likewise, military agencies have not advertised the details of snafus involving UAVs.
For example, a French journalist learned at a May 22 conference for intelligence experts at France's Higher Institute of Defense Studies that a French UAV, a CL-289, was inadvertently thrown off course during the Kosovo conflict.
A French officer used the same radio frequency on which the UAV was operating, breaking the connection between the aircraft and its ground control station. According to Intelligence Newsletter, the drone ended up in the hands of Serb forces.
"The UAV folks obviously have an interest in avoiding collisions," said Pike. "But the civil ATC (air traffic control) folks obviously have more at stake, and it is easier for the UAV operators to avoid civil traffic than it is for them to convince the ATC folks that in fact they are doing so."
In Europe, Butterworth-Hayes reports that an association of UAV companies and institutions has begun drawing up recommendations for operating all types of UAVs in civilian-controlled airspace.
One problem the group hopes to address is the inaccuracy of on-board sensors used to measure altitude.
"If you get within 50 meters, you're lucky," Butterworth-Hayes said. "From the European view, you have to be much more precise."
The group also hopes to establish standards for UAV communications gear, as well as for sensors to detect and avoid collisions. Yet the Europeans also recognize that setting standards could be futile without American involvement.
"The idea is to create a joint U.S.-European strategy on developing common sets of standards -- including common equipment -- for UAVs flying in controlled airspace," said Butterworth-Hayes. "The problem is the USA and Europe have different ideas about what is required."
Bruce Bigelow's e-mail address is bruce.bigelow@uniontrib.com. His phone number is (619) 293-1314.
Copyright 2001 The San Diego Union-Tribune
