Long-Duration, Eye-in-the-Sky Monitoring for Airfield Threat Detection

As demonstrated by recent world events regarding the Global War on Terror, there is an increasing demand for automated persistent monitoring of remote airfields to protect against enemy combatants. The ability to scout around an airfield in a manner that is transparent to the both the user and the threat, would significantly reduce the risk of threats and intrusions from small enemy forces with portable weapons. A UAV that is remotely launched and that can stay aloft for long periods of time with little or no user intervention is a key force multiplier. This capability can allow security forces to focus on regular entry/exit points with quick reaction teams being deployed to perimeter threats identified by the Long-Duration, Eye-in-the-Sky (LDES) Airfield Threat Detection System (ATDS). The primary objective of our proposed Phase I effort is to establish the concept feasibility for the Long-duration, Eye-in-the-Sky monitoring system. The system conceptual design will optimize the design constraints: low cost, flight duration, simplicity of operation and maintenance, and mission requirements. The design will encompass the following subsystems: airframe, sensor, exploitation algorithms, operator interface, and communication links.