Challenge
Testing new hardware subsystems on military aircraft is expensive, complicated and therefore generally restricted to later stages of development. Testing in the early stages can identify any issues which need to be rectified, and keep costs down. As flight equipment becomes more complex and needs to meet higher safety requirements, there is a demand to prove that new or upgraded systems will integrate seamlessly onto the platform. In addition, if there are issues with equipment, aircraft usually need to be grounded before changes can be made, adding additional costs and inconvenience.
Solution
QinetiQ have developed the Airborne Technical Demonstrator (ATD) to respond to the challenges outlined above. An RJ100 was converted to be a “flying test bed” through funding from the Long Term Partnering Agreement (LTPA). Seating was removed and replaced with six, two-screen consoles, mission racks and flight test equipment. The plane has wi-fi and aviation-standard connectivity installed, so users can log on and access test data in flight.
The ATD includes five Modular Cabin Racks and accommodates shelves or 19 inch rack equipment. The infrastructure is designed so that users can access all available power at any node throughout the cabin. The Modular Work Station includes a high performance computer, two touch screen monitors and four dzus rail panels. The Flight Test Instrumentation system is based on the proven solution installed to the ATD’s RJ70 sister ship, which is used extensively for training Flight Test Professionals at ETPS.
The ATD has also been modified with a Combat Aircraft Nose System. This enables the ATD to accommodate next generation Radar and Sensor systems to support future development programmes.
Benefits
Trials carried out on the ATD provide significant cost savings when compared to using a military aircraft. Recent use cases have included a test of Quantum navigation. It would have been impossible to gather actionable data if this had been conducted in a laboratory. By testing in flight, the customer obtained meaningful data to demonstrate the effectiveness of their solution.
Additionally, the ATD was used in recent demonstrations of crewed/ uncrewed teaming. While operating out of MOD Boscombe Down, the ATD successfully took control of a Banshee Jet 80 drone soon after its launch from the MOD Hebrides range. The modified drone, carrying QinetiQ’s Airborne Command and Control for Swarm Interoperable Missions (ACCSIOM) module, received its orders from the ATD and then developed and executed its own plans to fulfil the mission assignment.
As the aircraft is able to carry many Subject Matter Experts on-board to control and monitor the development activity, live tests can be carried out in the air with the use of advanced telemetry and equipment. Changes to software can be made in flight, accelerating agility in Test and Evaluation. This enables testing to take place further upstream during the pre-qualification phases accelerating the quality and pace of development. Many customer stakeholders have been flown, enabling them to demonstrate the technologies being tested.
Due to its modular design, the ATD has built in flexibility to accommodate a wide range of tests, trials and demonstrations. Current methods of Test & Evaluation are becoming overly expensive and unscalable; the ATD provides an unrivaled alternative.