FAA Tests Echodyne Ground-Based Radar for Drone Traffic Mgmt Pilot Program

The Federal Aviation Administration used an Echodyne-built ground-based radar system to conduct an airspace traffic management pilot program at Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft System Test Site in North Dakota.

Echodyne said Thursday it incorporated Echoguard radar systems into Simulyze’s situational awareness tools to support beyond visual line-of-sight operations and enable airspace management capabilities in the area.

According to the company, the drone systems utilized Echoguard to clear airspace traffic through verification and UTM messaging functions.

“As an official FAA program, we sought to integrate high quality sensors and technologies in order to demonstrate the viability of UTM in an operational system,” said Chris Theisen, director of research and development at NPUASTS. “The Echodyne radars were great sensors to have in the project and performed well in all scenarios.”