Nasa’s remotely piloted Ikhana aircraft, based at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, is flown in preparation for its first mission in public airspace without a safety chase aircraft. Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas.

Nasa’s remotely piloted Ikhana aircraft has successfully completed its first test flight without using a safety chase aircraft.

The aircraft took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California, US and after travelling through a controlled air space, returned to its base in Nasa’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

Prepared by the aircraft maintenance crews at the Armstrong centre,the flight was conducted to confirm that key technologies and operations required for the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) approval to fly Ikhana in the public airspace without a safety chase aircraft were being used.

Operations of large unmanned aircraft such as Ikhana usually require a safety chase aircraft to follow the vehicle as it flies through the same airspace used by commercial aircraft.

Ikhana can be used in various applications, including monitoring and fighting forest fires and providing new emergency search and rescue operations.

“The flight is the first remotely piloted aircraft to use airborne detect and avoid technology to meet FAA’s ‘see and avoid’ rules.”

It also features technology that could be scaled down for use in other general aviation aircraft.

During the latest test, Ikhana flew following FAA’s Technical Standard Order 211, Detect and Avoid Systems, and Technical Standard Order 212, Air-to-Air Radar for Traffic Surveillance.

The test was based on a special permission granted by FAA to Nasa under a Certificate of Waiver or Authorisation, which allowed Ikhana’s pilot to use new detect and avoid technology to enable the remote pilot on the ground to see and avoid other aircraft during the flight.

The technology was developed by Nasa in collaboration with its industry partners and meets FAA’s Technical Standard Orders requirements.

During the flight, Ikhana employed an airborne radar developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, a Honeywell Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System, an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast capability and other detect and avoid technologies.

The flight is the first remotely piloted aircraft to use airborne detect and avoid technology to meet FAA’s ‘see and avoid’ rules.