UND proposing radar system for UAVs

Posted on: Jul. 3rd, 2006 || Source: grandforks.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

UND is working on a project to install a system of ground-based radars around Nekoma, N.D., to help finalize the bed-down of unmanned aerial vehicles in Grand Forks.

Nekoma is about 100 miles northwest of Grand Forks, in Cavalier County.

The initiative would lay the foundation for integrating unmanned aerial vehicles into the world of general aviation. Two UAV units are slated to replace four air refueling squadrons at Grand Forks Air Force Base that are scheduled to leave one at a time between 2007 and 2011, according to a preliminary report issued by a UAV site activation team that visited the base May 6.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., provided the Herald an unclassified version of the report, which maps out the mission through 2013.

The radar system would eliminate the need to equip general aviation airplanes with expensive sense-and-avoid systems before they could share airspace with UAVS.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the sophisticated sensor systems would help general aviation pilots detect approaching UAVs, but the systems are very expensive and are still under development.

Instead of installing sensors in every airplane that flies over North Dakota, UND proposes placing a network of three ground-based phase array radars in a triangular area that runs roughly from Nekoma to Devils Lake to Lakota, N.D., said a spokesman for Sen. Kent Conrad.

"The UND radar proposal is an example of how North Dakota ingenuity can help move the UAV project forward," Conrad's aide said.

The ground-based radar would provide a comprehensive picture of all objects flying inside the airfield, right down to small birds, he said.

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