Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap 2005-2030 - Federation of ...

UAS ROADMAP 2005
APPENDIX B: SENSORS
OVERVIEW
Sensors now represent one of the single largest cost items in an unmanned aircraft; for example, the MTS-
A EO/IR sensor, currently being retrofitted to the MQ-1 Predator aircraft, costs nearly as much as the
aircraft alone. In a similar fashion, today Global Hawk’s RQ-4 Block 10 Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS)
represents over 33 percent of the aircraft’s total cost; with the integration of a multi-int sensor package
into the RQ-4 Block 20 model of Global Hawk, the estimated percentage rises to 54 percent. More
demanding operational information needs, such as identifying an individual from standoff distances or
detecting subtle, man-made environmental changes that indicate recent enemy activity, demand a higher
level of performance than that provided by the current generation of fielded UA sensors. At the same
time the demands placed on UA sensors increase, with commensurate cost increase, UA are also being
employed in those exact situations where UA should be used – where there is significant risk for loss of
the sensor. As the demand for sensor performance continues to grow, coupled with operational risk to the
platform, the need to take steps to control cost growth, as well as to efficiently plan future sensor payloads
that take advantage of commonality wherever possible, becomes a “must” for UA acquisition.
Ideally, wherever possible, different UA should use the same sensor systems for similar mission
requirements. When actual system commonality is not possible, perhaps due to size, weight, or power
considerations, commonality at the high valued subcomponent level, such as focal arrays, optics,
apertures (antennas) or receive/transmit elements for radar systems, can reduce overall sensor costs by
increasing the quantity buys of these critical, often high cost items.
Regardless of sensor or subcomponent commonality, it is imperative that sensors produce data and
relevant metadata in a common, published, accepted format, in compliance with DoD’s Network Centric
Data Strategy, to maximize the utility of the products from UA. OSD is keenly interested that the
Services take steps to bring existing UA systems into compliance with existing data standards to enable
the application of net-centric operational concepts. An emphasis on system commonality and compliance
with data standards will maximize the return on investment that new generation sensors represent.
While improved sensor technology provides new mission capabilities, such as the rapid, accurate
mapping of terrain from UA-borne Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radars (IFSAR) or detection of
recent human activity from stand off ranges using video-based object level change detection or radarbased
coherent change detection, the value of this new data is enhanced by integrating or fusing it with
other information sources, demanding a need to share product over potentially large geographic distances.
Similarly, both OEF and OIF have demonstrated the operational benefits of performing missions using
“reachback’; that is, launching the UA in theater, but actually flying the mission and retrieving the
sensor’s data from back in CONUS. As DoD’s Global Information Grid (GIG) initially provides the
transport layer communications resources in support of this operational concept (see Appendix C),
sensors need to be developed with the idea in mind to combine sensor products together in innovative,
novel, and perhaps currently unanticipated ways to perform the more demanding mission facing DoD
forces today. With the continuing advances in on-board processing capabilities, it will become necessary
to ensure that data from UA sensors are posted at the appropriate phases of processing to the GIG to
enable other users to take advantage of the collected product and not restrict them to only using the
processed product. It is the intent of OSD to work with the Services to help integrate UA data and data
processing capabilities into the GIG, as it matures, while keeping sensor costs in check through
coordinated development and acquisition plus adherence to common standards.
This appendix first reviews and defines the attributes associated with UA sensor systems, and then
considers sensor technologies that will mature over the next 25 years and offer promise for UA
applications. It also accounts for enabling technologies that will allow UA to fully exploit current and
emerging sensor capabilities.
APPENDIX B – SENSORS
Page B-1