I delivered this for the Institute for the Future at Anne Arundel Community College, Maryland, USA as a campus-wide enrichment seminar.

1. The Future of Unmanned Air Systems
(F-UAS)
Mark Tempestilli
Captain, US Navy (Retired)
IF@AACC Brown Bag Seminar
2 May 2011
Top Left: Boeing Phantom Eye. Top Right: Northrop Grumman-Navy X-47B

2. What is an Unmanned System good for?
Jobs that are:
• Dull
– When attention and fatigue are issues
• e.g. long term/broad pattern monitoring
• Dirty
– Environments where humans can’t or won’t go
• e.g. Arctic & Desert zones, complex terrain/environment, sensitive ecosystems
• Dangerous
– Threatening to life or serious injury
• e.g. under military attack, near dangerous wildlife, radiation/chem/bio hazards

3. A Little History
• Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPVs)
– Firebee Series Target & Photorecon
– QF-4 Target
• Tactical Decoys
– Quail
– TALD/ITALD
• The first UAV
– Pioneer
Navy RQ-2 Pioneer UAV Battleship gunfire support - original video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE42jDFBlWE
TALDs being loaded on A-7 Corsair II, Firebee recon drones in Vietnam, Pioneer 2 detachment aboard USS Missouri in Desert Storm and on shipboard rocket-assisted takeoff (RATO) launcher

4. State of the Art
• Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk
• AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven
• General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper
• Northrop Grumman MQ-4 Fire Scout
Raven UAV at Forward Operating Base (FOB) ‘Gabe,’ Iraq - "home" video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElLzZg157_o
Reaper GMTI & Hellfire shot - General Atomics video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_cohZLn9jo
Fire Scout Scores First-Ever Drug Bust with McInerney:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcvprb_fire-scout-scores-first-ever-drug-b_news
Global Hawk Survey of Haiti earthquake damage, Raven UAV hand-launched, Reaper launching Hellfire, Fire Scout loads onto C-17 to Afghanistan in actual war-on-terror operations

5. Applications - Military
• Precision Airstrike; Mobile Target Hunter-Killer
• Remote Sensing; Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR)
• WMD Search & Tracking; WMD Hazard Detection
• SIGINT; Active Electronic Warfare (jamming); Cyberwarfare (data disruption)
• Airborne Early Warning; Defensive perimeter watch
• Persistent Long-Range/Wide-Area Search
• Submarine multi-purpose force multiplier
• Special Operations Forces direct support
• Communications and data relay
• Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR)
Navy RQ-2 Pioneer UAV* BB gunfire support - original
video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE42jDFBlWE
Raven UAV at FOB Gabe, Iraq - "home" video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElLzZg157_o
Reaper GMTI & Hellfire shot - General Atomics video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_cohZLn9jo
Lockheed Martin Hellfire Missile Test video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFGMBrCuyXI
*Pioneer UAV initially designed & produced by Pioneer UAV, Inc., Hunt Valley, MD
Pioneer UAV being recovered by barrier on deck of an amphibious ship, MQ-9 Reaper with 4 Hellfire missiles and 2 JDAM bombs, HALE UAS Wide Area Surveillance CONCPS

6. Applications - Civil
• Counterterror; Counterdrug
• Law Enforcement
• Customs & Border Patrol (CBP)
• WMD Hazard Detection
• Search and Rescue (SAR)
• Scientific Environmental Research
• Wildfire monitoring and management support
• Planetary Exploration: Survey & Scientific Research
CBP UAS Predator, NASA ARES demonstrator, ARES Mars concept, NASA Global Hawk, NASA Global Hawk in-flight refuelling concept, NASA Predator “Ikhana”, Ikhana thermal image of Lake Arrowhead wildfire

7. Applications - Commercial
• Aerial Survey
• Environmental & Natural resources exploration
• Agriculture & Aquaculture monitoring
• Population pattern monitoring
• Telecommunications relay
• Infrastructure monitoring:
– roads, railways, pipelines, power grids, etc
• ATC support
– wide area monitoring, high-density stationing, signals relay
• Freight/Cargo movement: hauling and monitoring
• Solar power collection
• Personal wayfinding and situation knowledge
Flight Tracking Statistics & Analysis - All Flights 'Movie':
http://flightaware.com/analysis/allflights_movie.rvt
Alternative (unofficial) airways view by YouTube user Aaron Koblin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ystkKXzt9Wk
Parrot AR Drone Flight Demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ejh--_56ic
iPhone-controlled Parrot AR Drone, Wildlife migration routes, North American air traffic over 24 hours, Sooty Shearwater seabird migration pattern

8. Near Future
Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS)
Avenger UCAV
Low-Manning Semi-autonomous Hybrids
More VTUAVs
More large-scale & micro-scale Unmanned Air Systems
More unmanned air transports
More ultra-high endurance systems
Integrated, Multiple Ground Control System (GCS)
Lighter/smaller weapons, greater weapon effects
Small Diameter Bombs, Current UAV Ground Control Station, Future Ground Control System, K-Max semiautonomous single-piloted helicopter UAS, Broad Area Maritime Surveillance UAS (Marinized Global Hawk)

9. Next Future
• Northrop Grumman-Navy UCAS (X-47B)REF
• Lockheed Martin Cormorant MPUAVREF
• Combined manned/unmanned task elements
• Micro- & Nano-UAVsREF1, REF2
– e.g. AeroVironment Nano Hummingbird
– Swarming, insect-biomimetic UAS
• Lighter than Air (LTA) UAS
– e.g. Sanswire SkySat , Millennium SkyFreighter
• Higher Altitude/Longer Endurance (HALE+)
– e.g. Boeing-DARPA Vulture/Solar Observer PDF
– AeroVironment Global Observer
• Hydrogen & Alternative Power PropulsionREF
– e.g. NRL Ion Tiger
– Boeing Phantom EyeREF
• Dassault nEUROn UCAVREF
• Increased UAS global proliferationREF
• More fully networked in for large scale uses
Northrop Grumman X-47B First Flight video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSHgu_WeBHo
Autonomous Solar SAS-51 Airship - Sanswire-TAO video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md7w84yqB9I
AeroVironment/DARPA Nano Hummingbird UAV:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8ZbtZqH6Io
Boeing unveils Phantom Eye UAV video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97lvvSrgkiY
nEUROn - Dassault Aviation video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl_GSprlz_0

10. Enabling Factors & Issues
• Information Technology advances
• Artificial Intelligence
• Sensor fusion: onboard & offboard
• Autonomous complex mission execution
• Aerodynamic design advances
• Defensive Measures
• Airspace/Air Traffic Management integration
• Ethics (e.g., ref-1, ref-2)
• Training
• Manning T-Hawk UAV enters Fukushima danger zone, returns with video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpN8VQ_UL4c
• Long range, flexible plans
Honeywell T-Hawk Small UAS in Army use, T-Hawk configuration, Image inside Fukushima plant taken by T-Hawk

11. Best References (1)
NASA-Langley Mars UAS ARES concept
News Sources
Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) http://www.auvsi.org/
sUAS (small UAS) News on all UAS http://www.suasnews.com/unmanned-aerial-systems-directory/
Aviation Week Unmanned Horizons http://www.aviationweek.com/unmanned
WIRED Danger Room blog on all UAS (All posts tagged “Drones“) http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/tag/drones/
Flightglobal.com UAV/UAS News
http://www.flightglobal.com/sectionhome/sectiondefault.aspx?NavigationID=196&CategoryID=10318&SlotID=22
UAV's, UCAV's & such - 5th Column forum thread
http://www.w54.biz/showthread.php?16-UAV-s-UCAV-s-and-other-such-matters
UAV blog – Australia Living Room blogs http://www.livingroom.org.au/uavblog/
UAV Forum http://www.uavforum.org/index.asp
UVOnline, from The Shephard Group http://www.shephard.co.uk/news/uvonline-com/c1/
TheUAV.com http://www.theuav.com/
UAVpilot.org http://uavpilot.org/
AirDroid News (UAVs, RPVs, UASs & Drones) http://airdroids.blogspot.com/
How the MQ-9 Reaper Works - How-Stuff-Works http://science.howstuffworks.com/reaper.htm
"The Year of the Drone" interactive map, from NewAmerica.net http://counterterrorism.newamerica.net/drones
“Why UAVs Have Become the Anti-Terror Weapon of Choice in the Afghan-Pak Border”
http://www.sldinfo.com/?p=12889
“The UK Approach to Unmanned Aircraft Systems,” UK MoD Joint Doctrine Note 2-11 (PDF format)
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DCDC/OurPublications/JDNP/Jdn211TheUkApproachToUnmannedAircraftSystems.htm
China Defense Mashup news http://www.china-defense-mashup.com/
Russian Aviation news http://www.ruaviation.com/
Asian Defence News http://asian-defence.blogspot.com/

12. Best References (2)
Major UAS Providers
Parrot SA’s AR.Drone controlled via iPhone app
Flightglobal UAV Directory
http://www.flightglobal.com/directory/search.aspx?navigationid=372&aircraftcategory=uav&
manufacturertype=uav
Northrop Grumman Unmanned Systems
http://www.as.northropgrumman.com/by_capability/unmannedsystems/index.html
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems - Products & Services
http://www.ga-asi.com/products/index.php
Boeing Missiles and Unmanned Airborne Systems
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/unmanned/index.html
Lockheed Martin Products A-Z List
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/A-Z/index.html
AeroVironment Inc. UAS
http://www.avinc.com/uas/
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) UAS
http://www.iai.co.il/18892-en/BusinessAreas_UnmannedAirSystems.aspx
Elbit Systems UAS
http://www.elbitsystems.com/elbitmain/
Tupolev (RU) Unmanned aerial vehicles
http://www.tupolev.ru/english/Show.asp?SectionID=66
Raytheon UAS Common Ground Control System
http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/products/cgcs/index.html
BAE Unmanned and Autonomous Systems/Air Products
http://www.baesystems.com/ProductsServices/ss_atc_autonomy.html
http://www.baesystems.com/ProductsServices/index.htm#index-Air

13. Best References (3)
Top Level U.S. Armed Service/ Federal Plans & Programs
DOD/DARPA UAS Roadmap 2005-2030 (PDF download)
http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/uav_roadmap2005.pdf AeroVironment-DARPA Nano Hummingbird Micro-UAS
Air Force UAS Flight Plan 2009-2047 (PDF)
http://www.defense.gov/dodcmsshare/briefingslide/339/090723-D-6570C-001.pdf
NAVAIRSYSCOM Unmanned Air Systems
http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.uas
FAA Unmanned Aircraft (UAS) Program http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/uas/
Major Reference Resources
Greg Goebel's "Public Domain" on UAVs http://www.vectorsite.net/twuav.html
Air University Unmanned Systems Bibliography
http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/bibs/unmannedsys.htm
Air-Attack.com UAVs http://www.air-attack.com/aircraft/military-aircraft.html
Popular Science Gallery: The Complete UAV Field Guide
http://www.popsci.com/technology/gallery/2010-02/gallery-future-drones
Wikipedia: List of unmanned aerial vehicles (sub-linked to most)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unmanned_aerial_vehicles
UAV MarketSpace http://www.uavm.com/
Joint Publication 1-02, “DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms,” 15 April 2011 (PDF)
http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf
World Defence Network http://www.worlddefencenetwork.com/?p=10

14. UAS Abbreviated Glossary
Acronyms & Terms (1) [Red is very common usage.]
Join us: IF@AACC, FIG@AACC, The Journal of Futures Studies
Shown: covers of Refs 1, 2 and 3
• Drone – an early term for RPVs and UAVs which still has frequent and expansive use; first adopted from other lexicons to represent the steady, low frequency
hum of its engines and/or the stingless trait of a male honeybee.
• RPV – Remotely Piloted Vehicle; typically used for low capability or early UAVs , as in Firebees, but implying there is a human operator in remote control.
• UAV – Unmanned Air (or Aerial) Vehicle; typically replaces “Drone” or “RPV” as primary terminology for somewhat more advanced unmanned, but otherwise
guided, aircraft; not to include cruise missiles, as in Global Hawk
• UCAV – Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle; an armed combat-capable UAV; E.g. Reaper (a.k.a. Predator B) , which is typically armed with Hellfire Air-to-Surface
missiles.
• UAS – Unmanned Air System: an umbrella term encompassing all the above, plus taking a systems view, including offboard systems such as command & control,
communications via relay(s), and fused sensing with other systems. Also happens to be the single term adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
• F-UAS – my own acronym for Future UAS.
• UCAS – Unmanned Combat Air System; a specific type of UAS, so labeled to distinguish it as armed and combat-capable; as UCAV is to UAV.
• TALD – Tactical Air-Launched Decoy, developed to fly a pre-programmed flight profile and designed specifically to confuse enemy air defenses.
• STUAS – Small Tactical UAS, e.g. Raven
• MPUAV – Multi-Purpose UAV., e.g. Cormorant (in concept & development phase)
• VTUAS – VTOL (Vertical Takeoff & Landing) Tactical UASREF
• HALE UAS – High Altitude, Long Endurance UAS; also HAE UAS – High Altitude Endurance UAS. e.g. Global Hawk or Solar Eagle/Vulture II PDF
• Micro-UAS – very small UAS, as in AeroVironment’s Nano Hummingbird, which is not a true Nano-UAV.
• Nano-UAS – extremely small UAS, e.g. insect-sized or smaller, frequently bearing micro-electromechanical machines (MEMS) or mini remote and/or recording
sensorsREF. Examples include the Smart Dust project . Micro-UAS and Nano-UAS can be confusing terms, frequently indistinguishable in actual use, especially in
marketing-driven business use where crossover of vehicles is attempted for adapting existing applications & platforms to emerging needs.
• Military UAS “Tier system “ – an older, but still frequently referenced convention of typing UAV/UAS.
– Tier I: Low altitude, long endurance.
– Tier II: Medium altitude, long endurance (MALE).
– Tier II+ : High altitude, long endurance conventional UAS (or HALE UAS).
– Tier III- : High altitude, long endurance low-observable UAS.
– Tier III: Medium Range Tactical UAS.
• Aerospace terminology, refer to NASA’s Dictionary of Technical Aerospace Terms.2 For Meteorological Terms, refer to: the Northwest Weathernet Glossary.
• Nautical and/or Maritime terminology, refer to Termisti Institut online nautical dictionaries in English.
• Naming conventions (military vehicles), refer to the Wikipedia category, and/or specific to air vehicles, refer to Aerospaceweb.org ’s Designation System guide
for Rocket s & Missiles and for Aircraft , and/or Designation-Systems.net for U.S. Military Aviation Designation Systems1 , Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and
Missiles , and Non-U.S. Military Aircraft and Missile Designation Systems.
• General military terminology, refer to the free Google eBook: DoD Dictionary of Military Terms , the Joint DoD Dictionary of Military Terms and Associated Terms
(PDF)3, the Wikipedia entry, and/or this MSNBC article.

15. UAS Abbreviated Glossary
Lockheed Martin Hellfire II laser-guided missile Acronyms & Terms (2) Raytheon-Boeing JAGM entry first firing test
• GCS – Ground Control System, various types and configurations.
• JDAM – Joint Direct Attack Munition: a bomb modified with a precision guidance system, e.g. a Global Positioning System link (GPS).
• Hellfire missile (AGM-114) – a family of air-to-ground missiles manufactured & licensed by Raytheon, carried and fired by many air platforms, including helicopters, attack
& patrol aircraft, and MQ-1 Predator & MQ-9 Reaper; soon to be replaced by the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM)
• C4ISR – Command, Control, Communications, and Computers & Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance. Includes functions, and/or systems; may be characterized
and planned by use of an “architecture.”
• Command & Control (C2) – the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the
mission.
• WMD – Weapon(s) of Mass Destruction: typically chemical, biological, radiological (non-fissile), and/or nuclear with the potential to harm thousands or millions of people.
• SIGINT – Signals Intelligence, anything exploited across the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum for intelligence purposes; Includes a wide variety of subfunctions, e.g. IMINT,
ELINT, COMINT, MASINT (see linked reference); Does not include exploitation of the EM spectrum for other purposes like a targeting radar or jamming.
• Data link - the means of connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving information, usually digital
• “Offboard” – existing off of the vehicle itself; can be based in any dimension (ground, sea, other aircraft, space, or cyberspace); opposite of “onboard.” Rooted in nautical
terminology, literally, for “off the ship.” Also , in a broader sense ( as rooted in bioscience) “non-organic,” meaning not belonging to the unit or organization.
• “On station” – on patrol; in assigned position; or similar. Opposite of “off station.“
• “Strike” – a powerful attack on surface targets; can be delivered by air, a.k.a “air strike” or “airstrike”, or any other surface target weapon. Also “Strike warfare.”
• Network Centric Warfare (NCW) and Network Centric Operations (NCO) – the most current concept and doctrine for joint warfighting, adopted by DoD circa year 2000
• NAVAIR (or NAVAIRSYSCOM) – Naval Air Systems Command; the US Navy organization in charge of the development, test, and delivery of all aircraft including UAS. Other
services have similar organizations. In addition, though the US Coast Guard is within the Department of Homeland Security, it frequently works with US Navy and other
DoD elements in law enforcement-type operations. USCG operates current and future UAS, and there is a lot of cross-adoption of systems & technologies.
• PEO – Program Executive Office/Officer, in charge of a mission-type sector or sectors of NAVAIR systems. Named for the mission-type, e.g. PEO Unmanned Aviation &
Strike Weapons
• PMA – Program Management Agent,/Office, in charge of a specific air vehicle or set of vehicles (aircraft, helicopters, UAS, and airborne weapons); works for the PEO, e.g.,
the Persistent Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program (PMA-262).
• DARPA – Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; reports directly to the Secretary of Defense; defines, solicits and selects the Defense Department’s advanced
research to exploit for the armed services. All the individual services have similar organizations that report to their respective Secretaries (Army, Navy, Air Force). Also,
IARPA – the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency; reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence; defines, solicits and selects advanced research to
exploit for all the US intelligence service. Both are focused on higher risk, high payoff investments, with a somewhat longer or unknown time horizon.
• “System” - a set of interacting or interdependent system components forming an integrated whole; esp. a way of thinking or conceptualizing.
• Deployment – an overseas temporary tour of duty, most frequently associated with real operations or major exercises and involving an entire military unit, usually of 6-9
months
• Detachment – (a.k.a. “det”) similar to a deployment, but usually for specific specialized support using only a portion of a larger unit, and often of shorter duration
• Operations - defined both as major military functioning in pursuit of task force mission assignments, and the level of warfare associated with large, heavy logistics-
supported maneuvers. The U.S. has developed this level of warfare, first based on Napoleonic approaches, to its epitome, from World War II through its triumphant use
in Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm and after.
• “Ops“– abbreviated term for operations, usually at a task-force level, but used somewhat loosely. As in “The task force was conducting ops in the mission area.”

16. The Future of Unmanned Air Systems
(F-UAS)
Mark Tempestilli
Captain, US Navy (Retired)
marktempestilli@aol.com
Predator Strike raw video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjOUA6YxvpU
NRL’s FINDER SUAS as parasites on MQ-1 Predator; USAF F-15E Strike Eagles with UCAS cohort on combined mission; MQ-9 Reaper loads Hellfire & JDAM, taxis with full load, and fires a Hellfire

17. The Future of Unmanned Air Systems (F-UAS)
IF@AACC Brown Bag Seminar
2 May 2011
Questions ?
Mark Tempestilli
Captain, US Navy (Retired)
marktempestilli@aol.com