LESSONS LEARNED DURING DEVELOPMENTOF A HANDS-ON UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLEFLIGHT TEST AND EVALUATION TRAINING COURSE

摘要

The outstanding performance of U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in recent campaigns has beenrnfront page news all over the world. Because of these UAV successes, Pentagon officials expect to triplernspending on unmanned aircraft over the next 7 years, using them to perform what it calls “dangerous,rndirty and just plain dull missions.” Those tasks include attacking enemy radar and missile sites, as wellrnas conducting surveillance missions that last for many hours—missions that human crews would findrntedious. A Department of Defense (DOD) report released recently stated the Pentagon plans to investrn$10 billion by the end of the decade in unmanned aircraft capable of a variety of combat missions,rnincreasing the total number of UAVs under development and in operational use significantly. All ofrnthese new UAVs will require flight test and evaluation to determine their mission readiness before beingrnfielded to the warfighter.rnThe Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC), Edwards AFB, California, while best known for its testing ofrnmanned aircraft such as the F-16 Falcon, the F-15 Eagle, the F/A-22 Raptor, and the X-35 Joint StrikernFighter, also has a rich history and extensive experience testing remotely piloted drones, cruisernmissiles, and UAVs.