Texas A&M Lone Star Center of Excellence in UAS Orders a DeTect HARRIER BVLOS, mobile radar tower to support drone operations beyond visual line of sight.

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BVLOS flight is critical to scaling industrial drone operations.  While a BVLOS rule has yet to be published, the FAA has indicated that they are committed to issuing BVLOS waivers that will help to inform future rulemaking.  Early waivers allowed drone flight beyond the visual line of sight of the pilot, but required a daisy chain of visual observers along the flight path, limiting the feasibility of long distance operations.  Now, the FAA is expanding permissions to allow flight without human visual observers with appropriate systems in place to detect air traffic and ensure safety.

How can operators ensure that they avoid collisions with both cooperative traffic – aircraft with ADS-B or other means of notification – and noncooperative traffic that is not broadcasting and may not show up on existing systems?