ICE-T Success Quenches Need for Advanced Unmanned Capability

  • Published
  • By Holly Jordon
  • Air Vehicles
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  As part of the Intelligent Control and Evaluation of Teams, or ICE-T, project, Air Force Research Laboratory researchers recently demonstrated the integrated use of coordinated unmanned air vehicles, an unmanned ground vehicle and a ground control station and thereby made substantial headway in the advancement of UAV technology development. The specific intent of the demonstration, which took place at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, was to showcase integrated unmanned technologies to organizations that could potentially benefit from this research. Unmanned technologies represent a potential game-changing tool for the modern warfighter. Unmanned air and ground vehicles can perform many vital tasks, not the least of which involve intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and payload delivery. The capacity to use UAVs cooperatively--sharing tasks and coordinating activities--expands their range of capabilities. Taking the technology a step further and using these coordinated UAVs in conjunction with UGVs broadens the utility of unmanned vehicles in area and perimeter security operations.

During the demonstration, two small BAT-3 [battlefield air targeting] UAVs, a slightly smaller Unicorn UAV, and a UGV system received taskings to perform three different scenarios. As the UAVs performed coordinated overhead surveillance, the Vigilant Spirit Control Station controlled the UAVs; exchanged target locations between the UAVs and the UGV; and displayed video data gathered by the UAVs, the UGV, and a security camera. The UGV moved throughout the area to interrogate and engage simulated threats. The interacting technologies completed all tasks successfully, with data successfully gathered, video displayed, and unmanned vehicles working successfully in coordination with one another. These ICE-T program technologies could foreseeably undergo transition for use in a variety of applications requiring layered ISR via unmanned assets.