Australia to Report on Virtual UAV Operational Trial
Results from the modelling and simulation exercise to support the North West Shelf Unmanned Aerial System trial were presented by US aerospace company Northrop Grumman to the Department of Defence this week, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Senator Sandy Macdonald, announced today.
Senator Macdonald said the virtual trial was led by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and conducted by Northrop Grumman using its Cyber Warfare Integration Network (CWIN) in San Diego, California.
“The facility was used to simulate and model a Global Hawk unmanned aircraft flying surveillance missions over the North West Shelf and assess its ability to operate with the Royal Australian Navy’s Armidale Class Patrol Boats,” Senator Macdonald said.
“The CWIN exercise allowed Defence to fill in gaps in areas where it was not practical to use the Mariner Demonstrator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ( UAV) during the earlier trial in Australia,” Senator Macdonald said.
The CWIN facility is a high fidelity representation of the Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial System and ground station. It employs many of the real computer systems of the Global Hawk and was extended specifically to test advanced sensors.
The virtual trial was conducted over two weeks in October with DSTO researchers and RAAF personnel flying up to three simulated flights each day. It allowed communications and sensors to be tested on board the virtual Global Hawk and the Patrol Boat. The trial also tested operations in all weather conditions, at different altitudes and under various platform configurations.
The North West Shelf trial was the largest simulation exercise ever conducted in the Northrop Grumman CWIN facility.
“All the objectives of the modelling and simulation exercise were successfully met,” said DSTO’s Deputy Chief Defence Scientist, Dr Ian Sare.
Senator Macdonald said the government looked forward to receiving comprehensive reports on the outcomes of both the real-world and virtual phases of the North West Shelf Unmanned Aerial System trial. The findings from the trial will provide data to help define requirements for the acquisition of a UAV system under the first phase of project AIR 7000.
Dr Sare said the final report on the real-world phase of the trial will be presented to government by the end of the year.
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North West Shelf Virtual Trial Results Presented
