Flight Testing of an Unmanned Aircraft System - A Research Perspective

Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) are becoming more widely used by NATO in the major conflict areas around the world. Besides being used for ISR purposes, they are also employed for weaponized attacks, suppression of enemy air defence and as decoys for denial and deception purposes. Different classes of UAS, ranging from very small micro systems, to very large High Altitude and Long Endurance (HALE) systems, are used for different purposes and applications. Many of the NATO Nations are involved in developing UAS for their own purposes and with major new UAS development programs underway in most of the NATO Nations. The Flight Test Technology Team (FT3) of the SCI Panel produced an AGARDograph on UAS flight testing (300 Series, Volume 27) that outlined specific aspects of UAS flight testing. FT3 organized a Symposium on “Flight Testing of Unmanned Aerial Systems” to further address this emergent subject. The objective of this Symposium was to share and disseminate the experience and the lessons learned from flight testing of UAVs among the NATO Nations. This will help all the Nations to improve, shorten and reduce the time and the risks involved in flight testing of their own UAS