Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Service Demand 2015 - 2035 Literature Review & Projections of Future Usage Technical Report, Version 1.0 — February 2014 DOT-VNTSC-DoD-13-01 Prepared for: United States Air Force Aerospace Management Systems Division, Air Traffic Systems Branch (AFLCMC/HBAG) Hanscom AFB, Bedford, MA Notice This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Defense in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the objective of this report. 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FUNDING NUMBERS Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Service Demand 2015-2035: Literature Review and Projections of VHD2 Future Usage, Version 1.0 6. AUTHOR(S) 5b. CONTRACT NUMBER MIPR #F2BDDL2100G001 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) REPORT NUMBER U.S. Department of Transportation John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center DOT-VNTSC-DoD-13-01 55 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02142 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING U.S. Air Force AGENCY REPORT NUMBER Aerospace Management Systems Division, Air Traffic Systems Branch (AFLCMC/HBAG) Hanscom AFB 1641 Barksdale Rd. Bedford, MA 01730 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Volpe Program Manager: Jason Glaneuski 12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) This report assesses opportunities, risks, and challenges attendant to future development and deployment of UAS within the National Airspace System (NAS) affecting UAS forecast growth from 2015 to 2035. Analysis of four key areas is performed: technology, mission needs, economics, and existing or anticipated challenges to routine use in NAS operations. Forecast effects of emerging technologies as well as anticipating new technological innovations in areas of airframes, powerplants, sensors, communication, command and control systems, and information technology and processing are evaluated. Anticipated mission needs include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), as well as new areas such as stores delivery, cargo transport, search and rescue, and pilot augmentation; example business case models are developed for each of these areas. Challenges to routine UAS usage in the NAS include: absence of legislation and regulations for safe flight in integrated airspace; pilot training and certification; regulatory, policy, and procedural issues; social issues, such as privacy and nuisance concerns; environmental issues, such as noise and emissions; and safety. Provided these challenges are largely mitigated, the following are projections of UAS fleet size by user in 2035: Department of Defense ~14,000, with additional ~5,000 having optional pilot augmentation (Air Force ~3,500; Navy + Marines ~2,500; Army ~10,000); Public Agencies (Federal, State, & Local) ~70,000. Total UAS vehicles will approach ~250,000 by 2035, of which ~175,000 will be in the commercial marketplace. UAS operations are expected to surpass manned aircraft operations, for both military and commercial domains, by 2035. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPV), 138 Ground Based Sense and Avoid (GBSAA), Airborne Sense and Avoid (ABSAA), Communications, Command, 3 and Control (C ), Sensors, Information Technology, Airframes, Powerplants, Mission Needs, Economic 16. PRICE CODE Barriers, Market Development, Commercial Markets, Business Models, Regulations, Policies, Procedures 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT Unlimited Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 298-102 SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH in inches 25.4 millimeters mm ft feet 0.305 meters m yd yards 0.914 meters m mi miles 1.61 kilometers km AREA in2 square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2 ft2 square feet 0.093 square meters m2 yd2 square yard 0.836 square meters m2 ac acres 0.405 hectares ha mi2 square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2 VOLUME fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters mL gal gallons 3.785 liters L ft3 cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m3 yd3 cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m3 NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3 MASS oz ounces 28.35 grams g lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg T short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams (or "metric ton") Mg (or "t") oz ounces 28.35 grams g TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) oF Fahrenheit 5 (F-32)/9 Celsius oC or (F-32)/1.8 ILLUMINATION fc foot-candles 10.76 lux lx fl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2 FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS lbf poundforce 4.45 newtons N lbf/in2 poundforce per square inch 6.89 kilopascals kPa APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH mm millimeters 0.039 inches in m meters 3.28 feet ft m meters 1.09 yards yd km kilometers 0.621 miles mi AREA mm2 square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in2 m2 square meters 10.764 square feet ft2 m2 square meters 1.195 square yards yd2 ha hectares 2.47 acres ac km2 square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi2 VOLUME mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz L liters 0.264 gallons gal m3 cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet ft3 m3 cubic meters 1.307 cubic yards yd3 mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz MASS g grams 0.035 ounces oz kg kilograms 2.202 pounds lb Mg (or "t") megagrams (or "metric ton") 1.103 short tons (2000 lb) T g grams 0.035 ounces oz TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) oC Celsius 1.8C+32 Fahrenheit oF ILLUMINATION lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc cd/m2 candela/m2 0.2919 foot-Lamberts fl FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS N newtons 0.225 poundforce lbf kPa Kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per square inch lbf/in2 *SI = International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380. (Revised March 2003) Acknowledgments This report was produced for the United States Air Force (USAF) Aerospace Management Systems Division, Air Traffic Systems Branch (AFLCMC/HBAG) by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) under Military Interdepartmental Purchase Request (MIPR) agreement #F2BDDL2100G001. The intent of this report is to provide the USAF AFLCMC/HBAG with an initial comprehensive industry literature review and survey in support of (1) developing informed projections of future UAS service domains and demand, and (2) recommending opportunities for future UAS research and exploration. Generation and refinement of this report’s contents was a joint government-industry effort, drawing on UAS subject-matter expertise from personnel at the Volpe Center, Mosaic ATM, Inc., and Aviation Management Associates, Inc. The Volpe Center greatly appreciates comments and feedback submitted in response to Version 0.1 of this report. The report has been updated where appropriate to incorporate this input, and Version 1.0 of the report reflects these changes. The Volpe Center wishes to thank the USAF AFLCMC/HBAG for their continued support towards mission-critical UAS research and analysis. Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. iv List of Abbreviations .....................................................................................................................v Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................1 1. Background ...........................................................................................................................11 1.1 Problem Statement .................................................................................................................... 11 1.2 Historical Perspective ............................................................................................................... 11 1.3 Early Development ................................................................................................................... 11 1.4 Modern Era Development ........................................................................................................