On Monday, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) announced that it and the Air Mobility Command (AMC), which provides aerial refueling and airlift services for U.S. forces worldwide, began testing a UAS traffic management (UTM) system at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.

The system, called CLUE, or Collaborative Low-Altitude Unmanned Aircraft System Integration Effort, is designed to integrate UAS flights next to crewed aircraft above and around Air Force installations. According to the AFRL, MacDill is the first base to use a UTM system in airspace overseen by Department of Defense air traffic controllers.

“This is a significant milestone for AMC, AFRL, and the CLUE program, as the MacDill Air Traffic Control Tower and Base Defense Operations Center are first in the Air Force to operationally assess UTM capabilities,” said Phil Zaleski, manager of the AFRL CLUE program.

CLUE was born out of the AFRL’s Information Directorate as a project meant to provide “air domain awareness, situational awareness, and UTM operational capabilities for UAS operators, air traffic control [ATC] personnel, Security Forces and other stakeholders.”

The system arrived at MacDill in 2022, where initial testing focused on airspace deconfliction, communication, and security. The goal was to enable drone flights beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the operator, which are heavily scrutinized and restricted by the FAA.

Since then, the UTM platform has been developed to give air traffic controllers a three-dimensional view of UAS activity and make it possible to grant flight permissions automatically.

“Equipping airspace managers and UAS operators with a 3D operational viewing capability and additional features designed to reduce lengthy manual and advanced planning procedures will be critical to achieving real-time flight planning and mission execution,” said James Layton, chief of plans and programs at MacDill.

The system is also sensor-agnostic, meaning it integrates with an array of different sensors designed to detect, track, and identify drones, including a counter UAS system being tested at MacDill.

The Air Force in May began formally testing CLUE’s capabilities on the base, opening it to the site’s ATC tower, Defense Operations Center, and airfield management team. Personnel so far have used the system to plan the intent of UAS flights or let operators know where they are approved to fly a drone, for example.

Operators ask CLUE for the all clear to fly, and their request is either approved or denied by the control tower. Once permission is granted, they can fly within a bounded area. CLUE feeds the operators information about the airspace and other nearby aircraft, helping them stay within the approved zone while avoiding other drones.

The UTM system has also been installed at Eglin AFB’s Duke Field (KEGI) in Florida, where the AFRL conducted a demonstration of its capabilities in 2023. There, CLUE will begin by integrating flights of small UAS (weighing less than 70 pounds) before moving to larger designs, including electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis such as Joby Aviation’s five-seat S4.

Joby, partnering with AFWERX, the Air Force’s innovation arm, earlier this year committed to deliver two air taxis to MacDill and has also shipped a prototype aircraft to Edwards AFB in California.

MacDill in May also hosted flights of a KC-135 Stratotanker equipped with an autonomous flight system from developer Merlin Labs, which is designed to one day enable fully remote flights. That technology, as well as systems from fellow AFWERX collaborators Xwing and Reliable Robotics, could one day be integrated into the CLUE UTM.

AFWERX and the AFRL are not the only government entities studying UTM systems. The Air Force is working with NASA to build a digital operations center for drones and electric air taxis nationwide and is collaborating with the FAA to integrate novel and uncrewed aircraft with air traffic control and other systems within the national airspace.

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The manufacturer describes the Wingman model as a “fighter-type drone” that could be commanded by the pilot of an existing combat aircraft, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Like a wingman in the traditional military aviation sense, it would support the mission lead with augmented capabilities. But unlike crewed fighter aircraft, it could take on high-risk missions that pose a threat to human personnel, receiving commands from a pilot that is shielded from exposure to risk.

“The German Air Force has expressed a clear need for an unmanned aircraft flying with and supporting missions of its manned fighter jets before the Future Combat Air System [FCAS] will be operational in 2040,” said Michael Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space. “We will further drive and fine-tune this innovation made in Germany so that ultimately we can offer the German Air Force an affordable solution with the performance it needs to maximize the effects and multiply the power of its fighter fleet for the 2030s.”

FCAS is a European defense and security initiative aiming to develop a “system of systems” that delivers all of the capabilities and functionality of its constituent subsystems. Airbus co-leads the program alongside Dassault Aviation and Spain’s Indra Sistemas.

At the core of FCAS will be a Next Generation Weapon System, in which uncrewed remote carriers work together with a New Generation Fighter (NGF): a sixth-generation fighter jet intended to replace Germany’s Typhoons, France’s Dassault Rafales, and Spain’s McDonnell-Douglas EF-18 Hornets by the 2040s.

Both the uncrewed aircraft and NGF will be connected to a “Combat Cloud” comprising sensor nodes in space, in the air, on the ground, at sea and in cyberspace.

“[Remote carriers] will fly in close cooperation with manned aircraft, supporting pilots in their tasks and missions,” Airbus explains on its website. “Military transport aircraft such as Airbus’ A400M will play an important role: as motherships, they will bring the Remote Carriers as close as possible to their areas of operation before releasing up to 50 small—or as many as 12 heavy—remote carriers.”

According to Airbus, Wingman is designed to carry weapons and “other effectors.” It would be able to perform a range of tasks, including reconnaissance, target jamming, and firing missiles. Pilots would always be in control and act as the final decision makers from the safety of a larger aircraft, allowing the uncrewed aircraft to do the work.

“An additional focus is on increasing the overall combat mass in an affordable manner so that air forces can match the number of opposing forces in peers or near-peers in conflicts,” Airbus said Monday.

The company said the 1:1 Wingman model on display at ILA Berlin will be akin to a “show car,” featuring various concepts and capabilities that may not make it onto the final design.

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Rotor Technologies has unveiled the first production uncrewed aircraft built on the Robinson Helicopter Company platform.

The manufacturer of autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft on Wednesday revealed the R550X helicopter to the public for the first time. The uncrewed aircraft, which is based on the design of Robinson’s R44 Raven II, was on display at Helicopter Association International’s (HAI) Heli-Expo in Anaheim, California, from February 27-29.

In December, Rotor said it expects the aircraft to fly commercially in the U.S. this year, followed by an international expansion. The partners claim that greater automation will drive safety, scalability, and expanded mission profiles for helicopters.

The R550X is the first production uncrewed aircraft to be built on the Robinson platform. Rotor first announced the design in December with plans to build two models, intended to be delivered to agricultural aircraft operators for crop spraying.

However, the helicopter is also designed for utility, maritime, and cargo operations—specifically, in situations where the pilot might be exposed to a hazardous environment or which are too difficult for lighter aircraft.

The experimental category aircraft has a 1,200-pound payload with no pilot, capable of flying for three hours at a top speed of 130 ktas. Its range extends beyond the vast majority of drones and eVTOL air taxis, the partners claim.

The R550X’s lidar system provides 360-degree situational awareness, which enables flights at night or in low visibility. Onboard software, meanwhile, helps avoid accidents such as inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions, loss of control, mast bumping, and controlled flight into terrain.

A static prototype of the design called the Spirit of New Hampshire—which completed its first live test flight in January before guest of honor Chris Sununu, the governor of New Hampshire—was on display at Heli-Expo alongside a Robinson police helicopter, implying at least one potential use case. Visitors could interact with the aircraft’s lidar systems, camera, and synthetic vision.

The R550X will continue its North American tour next month with a planned display at Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International’s (AUVSI) Xponential in San Diego, which begins April 22. The following month, the partners intend to take it to Vertical Flight Society’s (VFS) Forum 80 in Montréal, starting May 7.

Rotor CEO Hector Xu added that he and newly minted Robinson CEO David Smith are developing plans to begin low-rate manufacturing for the aircraft.

“David and I share a common product vision,” said Xu. “Our collaboration will combine Rotor’s technology with Robinson’s dynamic and scalable supply chain to deliver the world’s most capable commercial uncrewed VTOL.”

Heli-Expo marked a major leadership transition for Robinson, which has had just three chief executives across its 50-year history. Smith replaced Kurt Robinson, the son of Robinson founder and aviation pioneer Frank Robinson, as CEO in February. The company positioned Smith as a fresh face, emphasizing his commitment to innovation, expanded manufacturing capabilities, and the development of new product initiatives.

“I look forward to working with the more than 400 service centers and dealers and the more than 1,100 employees of [Robinson] as we pursue new products, markets, partnerships, and technologies,” said Smith.

Rotor is not the only company exploring automation with Robinson rotorcraft.

In 2022, an R66 single-engine helicopter completed the first Guinness World Records-certified automated autorotation procedure for an emergency landing. Skyryse, whose technology was installed on the aircraft, will sell a retrofit R66 called Skyryse One for about $2 million. But the model will not be capable of fully uncrewed flight.

Robinson competitor Sikorsky, owned by Lockheed Martin, is also exploring uncrewed prototypes. The manufacturer last year unveiled an autonomous, hybrid-electric VTOL concept called HEX, which it said will be the first in a family of self-flying VTOL models. Last month, it revealed that the aircraft will feature a unique tilt-wing design.

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Army Future Command’s Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing/Space (APNT/Space) Cross-Functional Team (CFT) launched the Zephyr 8 UAS on June 15 at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona to test the UAS’s energy storage capacity, battery longevity, station-keeping abilities, and solar panel efficiency as a means to boost intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.

During the 64-day trial, the drone ascended to more than 60,000 feet before it flew a course over the southern U.S., the Gulf of Mexico, and South America before returning to Yuma airspace. 

The flight was cut short, however, when it “encountered events” on August 18, around 9 p.m., according to Army officials.

“The events that led to Zephyr’s unexpected termination are currently under investigation. Further information will be released once the investigation is complete,” Army Futures Command spokesperson Madeline Winkler told FLYING.

Flight data indicated the Zephyr experienced a rapid descent at a rate of 4,544 fpm, Flight Global reported.

While officials did not provide further detail about the event, they said not all was lost. The Zephyr 8 flew more than 30,000 nm during the test and doubled a previous UAS endurance record of about 26 days. It amassed 1,500 flight hours, which also beat all known unmanned aircraft endurance records, the Army said.

Previous Endurance Record Smashed

“Despite this event, the Army and its partners have gleaned invaluable data and increased knowledge on the endurance, efficiency, and station keeping abilities of high-altitude UAS platforms,” Michael Monteleone, director of the APNT/Space CFT, said in a statement. “That knowledge will allow us to continue to advance requirements for reliable, modernized stratospheric capabilities to our soldiers.”

Airbus Defence did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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