First Detect & Avoid Flight Testing

This paper contains the results from the first flight tests of a Detect and Avoid radar. The “Detect and Avoid” (DAA) function improves the flight safety for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which shall be integrated in non-segregated airspace. The DAA System includes sensors to detect other aircrafts and avoid logic to prevent collisions with other aircrafts. In recent years a DAA radar demonstrator was developed that is a key element of a DAA system. One of the key requirements on the radar demonstrator is the measurement accuracy of the angle and the angular rate. The angular rate can be used as an indication of a potential collision. The angular accuracy has been verified already in preliminary tests in an anechoic chamber. The first flight trails proof, that the performance in a more complex environment is sufficient to forecast collisions with other aircrafts. The flight trials took place at the German airport Braunschweig and were supported from the German Aerospace Center (“Deutsches Zentrum Für Luft- und Raumfahrt” DLR).