Naval Unmanned Aircraft Systems Airworthiness

NATIPTONAPSNaval Unmanned Aircraft SystemsAirworthinessPete Heasley(301) 757-2415peter.heasley@navy.milPresented to:4.0P AIRWORTHINESSIFCNTSB UAS Conference30 April 2008FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY1

NATIPTONAPSUSN/USMC AirworthinessOffice Mission4.0P AIRWORTHINESSIFCThe Navy’s Airworthiness Office (AIR-4.0P) isresponsible for the independent engineeringassessment of all aircraft (manned andunmanned) and airborne weapon systems toensure these air vehicles can be operatedsafely within defined operating limits.FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY2

Origin of NAVAIR FlightClearance Authority U.S.C. Title X, Chapter 503, Section 5013, Secretaryof the Navy SECNAVINST 5400.15B CNO has delegated the authority to COMNAVAIRSYSCOM(AIR-00) to issue flight clearances for all Navy/MarineCorps Manned and Unmanned aircraft via the following:– For NATOPS: IAW OPNAVINST 3710.7T– For NATIP/TACMAN: IAW OPNAVINST 3510.15– For Interim Flight Clearances (IFC): IAW 3710.7T These Flight Clearances are issued IAW NAVAIRINST13034.1CFOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY3

The Wide Spectrum of NavyUAS Interim Flight Clearances Issued Since 2004, Over 240 UAS IFCs issuedCurrently supporting 24 Platforms (examples below)No reported flight-related injuries or damage to nonprogram propertyN-UCASreFutuCOSTScanEagleAquaPumaRQ-7 ShadowWaspSilver FoxRQ-15A NeptuneMQ-8 FireScoutMQ-9 ReaperRQ-1 Predator ANot to scaleWEIGHTFOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY4

USN/USMC Flight Clearances for UAS In general, a flight clearance is required for any Navy/USMC-owned or Navy/USMC-leasedUAS or aerial target IAW OPNAVINST 3710.7T UAS IFCs broken down into two major categories (Standard Airworthiness IFC and Safetyof Flight IFC). Engineering requirements are tailored based on system complexity, desired usage,expendability, etc. External mitigations (e.g., airspace restrictions) are typically added to theIFC to alleviate/limit risk to third parties Not all UAS have to be airworthy, but all must be safe for flight! (expendable UA may nothave to be airworthy to same threshold commonly associated with non-expendable UAS ormanned aircraft) If probability of loss is in line with expendability of the UAS, and the level of risk associatedwith personnel, property, equipment, and environment has been identified and accepted byappropriate authorities, a “safety of flight” (SOF) IFC can be grantedFOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY5

Definition: AirworthinessB-17The property of an air system configuration to:safely attain, sustain and terminate flightIAW approved usage limits.Usage limits include: flight limits, fatigue life, maintenance, etc.FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY6

Definition: Safety of FlightThe property of an airsystem configuration tosafely attain, sustainand terminate flightwithin:Prescribed andaccepted limits forinjury/death topersonnel and damageto equipment, propertyand/or environment.Safety of Flight identifies risks associated with use of aircraft systems and are normallyidentified by a Hazard Risk Analyses. These risks can be conveyed by NOTES, CAUTIONSand/or WARNINGS.FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY7

ACC/ARC/OWNERThe GRAMINITIATEDFLEETREQUIREMENTIDENTIFIEDINFORMED OFPROGRAMNOFLT IST andAGENDAPLANNING EQUIREMENTAGREEMENT PLAN13034.1CCLEARANCE REQUESTOWNERCONCURNODRAFT CLEARANCEYESFLIGHT CLEARANCEYES REQUIREMENTSMET?REQUESTASSIGNED ANDLOGGED INQUALITYASSURANCE &RISK ASSESSEDANALYSISTEST & EVALREVIEW OFCLEARANCE ANDSUPPORTING DATAREQUIREMENTSMET?NONOYESPROBABILITY OF LOSSFLIGHT CLEARANCEMODIFIEDCLEARANCEACCEPTABLEYESREVISED CLEARANCEINCREASEDPROGRAM RISKFOR OFFICIAL USE ONLYNOOPTBACK TOPlanningMeetingCLEARANCE DENIED8

ThermalSystem SafetyMaterialsAvionicsCore AvionicsSoftwareStore IntegrationStore SeparationHydraulicsWeight and BalanceMechanical SystemsFuel ContainmentAviation/Ship IntegrationNavyE3SystemsTarget ControlsEngineeringLoads and DynamicsReviewClass DeskLanding GearStrengthFlying Qualities/Stab & CntlPerformanceWiringInstrumentationAPU & Drive SystemsHuman SystemsFlight Controls Radar & Antenna SystemsElectrical PowerPropulsionSafe EscapeFOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY9

Example E/DRAP DatabaseSpreadsheet for each chapter in MIL-HDBK-516 associatedwith the requirements for each engineering disciplineFOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY10

STANAG 4671 – UAS Airworthiness Design StandardsA critical part of the Airspace Integration pictureInternational rules to integrate an aircraft in the airspaceArt 32Art 12Flight Crew LicensesOperationalRequirements“Rules of the air”Art 31Civil ilitary AG 4671, etc.)NATO/Military/FAA/EurocontrolRequirementsFOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY11

What Is STANAG 4671? Airworthiness Code intended for Fixed-Wing UAVs between330 lbs and 44,000 lbs Based on CS-23 Civil Airworthiness Standard– Adds content for UAV-unique components (e.g, C2 datalink) Sets minimum airworthiness requirements for UAV Systems foroperation outside of segregated airspace Recently ratified by the U.S.– Awaiting remainder of NATO nations to provide their ratification “status”before promulgation. Key standards component of MIL-HDBK-516 tailoring for UAVSystemsMIL-HDBK-516BSTANAG 4671FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY12

Linking DOD Airworthiness Processes(Improving how the DoD services work together)USNNAVAIRINST 13034.1C Flight ClearancePolicy for Air Vehicles and AircraftSystemsUSAFUSAAFPD 62-6 USAF worthinessCertificationCriteria 26 Sep 05andJoint Service MOA5 Feb 2007FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLYAR 70-62Airworthiness Qual ofU.S. Army AircraftSystems13

Key standards component of MIL-HDBK-516 tailoring for UAV Systems MIL-HDBK-516B STANAG 4671. FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY 13 Linking DOD Airworthiness Processes MIL-HDBK-516B Airworthiness C