Saab to lead large UAV co-operation

Saab is coordinator for a major European project which will develop a system for unmanned aircraft systems to fly securely among regular, manned aircraft in so called non-segregated airspace.

6/18/2009 |

Before unmanned aircraft systems can be allowed to fly in non-segregated airspace, there is a need for a system that can see and avoid any potential collision threats. The European MidCAS project aims at contributing to find such a solution.

Contract from the European Defence Agency

 The MidCAS consortium consists of 13 leading aviation industries from five countries, Sweden, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Sweden has been appointed the lead nation and has coordination responsibility for the entire project. For Saab's part, the order is valued at SEK 105 million.

"The project includes the main businesses in our industry. With this contract from the EDA (European Defence Agency) we can now combine our strengths and unite various initiatives. Together, we will find the best way forward to resolve the "sense and avoid" problem for unmanned aircraft," says Lennart Sindahl, Saab Executive Vice President.

Image: When the contract was signed on Wednesday, a ceremony was held at the Thales chalet at Paris Air Show, where all countries and industries were represented. Alexander Weis, EDA Chief Executive, Doctor Gunnar Hult, Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV) and Lennart Sindahl, Saab Executive Vice President, spoke. Photo Lasse Jansson, Saab.

Demonstrating a sense & avoid system

MidCAS stands for Mid Air Collision Avoidance System and the project's main objective is to develop and demonstrate a sense & avoid system for unmanned aerial vehicles that meet the requirements set for flights in civil airspace. This also includes fulfilling the requirements for "mid-air collision". In addition, the MidCAS project, in cooperation with European aviation organisations will develop technical studies that will lead to establishing a standard in the field of "sense and avoid".

 

Industries included in the MIDCAS consortium 

The industry consortium composed by thirteen companies of the five participating nations is composed by the following companies: 

  • For Sweden: Saab (coordinator of the consortium) 
  • For Germany: Diehl BGT Defence GmbH & Co. KG, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., EADS Deutschland GmbH, ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH 
  • For Italy: Alenia Aeronautica S.p.A, Galileo Avionica S.p.A., Italian Aerospace Research Centre CIRA S.c.p.A., SELEX Communications S.p.A, SELEX Sistemi Integrati S.p.A. 
  • For France: Sagem Défense Sécurité, THALES Systèmes Aéroportés S.A. 
  • For Spain: Indra Sistemas S.A.