Executive Summary
In May 2023, QinetiQ delivered a successful live fly trial of small Uncrewed Airborne Systems (sUAS). Taking place at MOD Boscombe Down, the trial evidenced Crewed Uncrewed-Teaming development activity and demonstrated the potentially significant military benefit of operating a swarm of low-cost SUAS collaboratively with crewed platforms. This took place as part of Dstl's Hydra Integrated Concept Evaluation (ICE) project.
Underpinned by autonomous behaviours, these sUAS allow low numbers of operators at Ground Control Stations (GCS) or in crewed platforms to manage multiple collaborating UAS' as a swarm. It is the first time that a fixed wing Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) sub 25kg sUAS platform operating at MOD Boscombe Down was tasked and operated by the crew in a rotary platform, whilst both platforms were airborne. QinetiQ provided the H125 helicopter for the demonstration, adding realism and additional valuable learnings for this Dstl collaborative project.
The trial
The trial featured a live H125 helicopter and one virtual helicopter station operating alongside a live/virtual UAS swarm. The swarm included simulated Radio Frequency (RF) sensing with live Electro-optical (EO) capabilities on the airborne sUAS. The teaming activity was co-ordinated through the QinetiQ-developed Airborne Command & Control for Swarm Interoperable Missions (ACCSIOM) payload flying on the live sUAS.
Meanwhile, primary aircrew interfacing with the ACCSIOM was provided by QinetiQ's Collaborative Airborne Planning Task Evaluation & Authorisation Manager (CAPTEAM) software. NATO standard messages were data-linked from CAPTEAM to ACCSIOM, which converted these into instructions the UAS swarm mission system. Individual platform behaviours for the virtual members of the swarm were generated by Blue Bear Systems Research (BBSR), demonstrating the capability to integrate ACCSIOM with third party autonomy systems.
Outcomes and benefits
This work has generated increasing interest from the Front Line Command (FLC) user community and the wider Science & Technology portfolio in operational concepts, based on the technologies used in the trial.
With stakeholder representation from Dstl, Multi-Domain Integrated Swarming (MDIS), Air Command, UK and QinetiQ Australia, the Use Case demonstration criteria were successfully met. The demonstration provided a platform for the de-risking of key technical capability elements ahead of the principal ICE5 trial, which took place at RAF Spadeadam in August 2023. In addition to our provision of expertise, technical capability was delivered by Barnard Microsystems Limited, BBSR and IQHQ Ltd.
The success of this trial was made possible by the hard work, focus on safety and customer focus by all of the team involved and by Dstl's investment into the research of swarming UAS.