Jane Edwards
Lockheed Martin has introduced a traffic management platform designed to help operators of unmanned aerial systems share flight information with other pilots.
Lockheed is working with NASA and other institutions to develop additional functions for the UTM system under the Space Act data sharing agreement, the company said Monday.
“Our objective is an open, standards-based system that individual operators and other private UTM systems can use to interact seamlessly and securely with the NAS,†said Paul Engola, vice president of transportation and financial solutions business at Lockheed.
An online tool in the UTM system, dubbed Flight Service Pilot Web, is designed to supply flight plan data to the National Airspace System of the Federal Aviation Administration and be accessible via Lockheed’s Flight Service online portal.
“We look forward to partnering with UAS operators and manufacturers to help create a system that supports the safe coexistence of manned and unmanned flight,” Engola said.
Potential functions include software interfaces that aim to facilitate communication between UTM systems and land-based control stations for drones and tools that seek to notify air traffic controllers if an unmanned aircraft enters a restricted airspace.
