Autonomous aircraft initiative study

The results of a consulting effort to aid NASA Ames-Dryden in defining a new initiative in aircraft automation are described. The initiative described is a multi-year, multi-center technology development and flight demonstration program. The initiative features the further development of technologies in aircraft automation already being pursued at multiple NASA centers and Department of Defense (DoD) research and Development (R and D) facilities. The proposed initiative involves the development of technologies in intelligent systems, guidance, control, software development, airborne computing, navigation, communications, sensors, unmanned vehicles, and air traffic control. It involves the integration and implementation of these technologies to the extent necessary to conduct selected and incremental flight demonstrations

Full-scale Transport Controlled Impact Demonstration Program

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA conducted a full-scale air-to-surface impact-survivable impact demonstration with a remotely piloted transport aircraft on 1 December 1984, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The test article consisted of experiments, special equipment, and supporting systems, such as antimisting kerosene (AMK), crashworthiness structural/restraint, analytical modeling, cabin fire safety, flight data recorders, post-impact investigation, instrumentation/data acquisition systems, remotely piloted vehicle/flight control systems, range and flight safety provisions, etc. This report describes the aircraft, experiments, systems, activities, and events which lead up to the Controlled Impact Demonstration (CID). An overview of the final unmanned remote control flight and sequence of impact events are delineated. Preliminary post CID observations are presented

An analysis of manpower requirements for the United States Marine Corps Tiers II & III unmanned aerial systems family of systems program

This research was conducted to examine the quantitative and qualitative component requirements for the Tier II and Tier III of the United States Marine Corps Unmanned Aerial Systems Program. The main objective of this research is to develop a proposed manpower structure for a composite squadron in order to improve current UAS capabilities while minimizing manpower requirements. This was accomplished by conducting an independent assessment of manpower requirements of the different strategies being considered under the Unmanned Aerial Systems Family of Systems (UAS FoS) for the Marine Corps for the Tier II and III. In the final analysis, the research recommends the consolidation of the Tiers II and III to form a composite UAV squadron, reduce the logistics footprint by relegating the support mission to the MWSS and the MALS, and combining operational and maintenance billets within the current VMU structure to consolidate manpower requirements and optimize UAS force structures.http://archive.org/details/annalysisofmanpo109453465US Marine Corps (USMC) author.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Aeronautical engineering, a continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 197)

This bibliography lists 488 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in January 1986

Perception is Everything: Repairing the Image of American Drone Warfare

This thesis will trace the United States’ development of unmanned warfare from its initial use in the World Wars through the Cold War to its final maturation in the War on Terror. The examination will provide a summary of unmanned warfare’s history, its gradual adoption, and concerns regarding the proliferation of drones use to understand the emphasis on unmanned weapons in the American Military. In each phase of development, a single program will be focused on to highlight special areas of interest in the modern day. Finally, the modern era of unmanned systems will focus on the growing integration of new weapon systems which no longer fulfill niche roles in the armory but act as fully vetted frontline combatants. Brought together, this examination will show drones have earned their place as integral tools in the American military inventory as faithful defenders of democracy

Aeronautical Engineering: A continuing bibliography, supplement 124

This bibliography, lists 450 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in June 1980

A Look at the Fourth Amendment Implications of Drone Surveillance by Law Enforcement Today

This paper will examine the current state of drone technology and its increasing prevalence in private and public settings. As police agencies seek to incorporate this new technology into their crime-fighting arsenal, serious Fourth Amendment privacy considerations arise. Although a national debate rages in this country about the impact of modern technology on privacy rights, Congress, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), and the Supreme Court have yet to weigh in on the Fourth Amendment implications of warrantless drone surveillance by law enforcement. Furthermore, while some states have attempted to step into the breach by passing legislation which limits the use of drone technology by law enforcement under certain circumstances, legal waters surrounding the use of this technology by police are murky at best. Simply put, the Fourth Amendment implications of drone use by law enforcement is woefully uncertain and this uncertainty gives privacy advocates, as well as police agencies who are eager to employ this new technology reason to be concerne

Preventing Armageddon I: Enhancing America's Border & Port Security After 9/11; Strategic Insights, v. 3 issue 11 (November 2004)

This article appeared in Strategic Insights, v.3 issue 11 (November 2004)Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

The New Privacy Battle: How the Expanding Use of Drones Continues to Erode Our Concept of Privacy and Privacy Rights

The exciting, thriving and developing technology that everybody has been talking about recently is drones. Due to recent technological developments, which make drones an affordable and universal tool, drones have expanded out of military use and into domestic applications. The enactment of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act in 2012 further pushed for the development and expansion of drone use in the United States’ airspace, by requiring the FAA to license over 30,000 drone operators. While drone use has an unlimited potential for beneficial use within society, drone technology is not without risks. For example, drone use in domestic airspace raises the significant and undeniable risk of individual privacy invasions through the use of drones by both public entities and third parties. This article argues current common law and legislative protections of potential privacy invasions resulting from drone use are drastically insufficient as neither affords strong protection of an individual’s privacy from such sophisticated technology’s potential. The article concludes by recommending a federal baseline consumer protection act that would establish a reasonable level of protection for an individual’s privacy by ensuring drone use was being monitored from a privacy protection standpoint and limiting the use of drones in a way that would invade an individual’s privacy expectations