Strategic and Tactical Avoidance for Congested Airspace through Learning and Mapping (STACALM)

The cornerstone of safe airspace management and collision avoidance systems has traditionally been experienced operators and pilots. These operators and pilots are trained to assess and manage complex, four-dimensional spaces through procedures and protocols that are designed to maintain safe distances between manned aircraft. However, as airspaces are becoming more populated with increasingly autonomous unmanned aerial systems (UAS), questions arise as to what modifications should, and need, to happen in airspace management to handle these changes. Aircraft carriers/carrier groups and associated airspace present additional challenges to tactical collision avoidance (TCA) and airspace management due to combat and mission specific constraints placed on the air fleet. Particularly, missions like a Tanker Hawk operation require precision maneuvers to maintain safe flight. The Strategic and Tactical Avoidance for Congested Airspace through Learning and Mapping (STACALM) framework is set to investigate this complex problem by researching three features of safe airspace management: airspace mapping, strategic aircraft routing, and TCA. The goal of STACALM Phase I is to understand how these three features need to function in order to aid operators and autonomously maneuver UAS for safe operations within carrier-controlled airspace so that prototype algorithms can be implemented and tested for the Navy.