DRONE SPEAK TRANSLATED

Counter-Unmanned Systems Terminology Basics

One of the ironies of “unmanned systems” speak is that although remotely piloted vehicles have no human pilots onboard, there are, in fact, typically significantly more humans involved in planning, preparing, controlling, and monitoring unmanned systems flights than is the case when human pilots are onboard an aircraft. Today, there are far more unmanned aerial systems pilots in training and on the job than there are military pilots of manned aircraft that historically performed aerial inspection, surveillance, and recon (ISR).

C-UAS drone technology has become quite sophisticated and often uses combined sensor arrays to increase the likelihood of detecting intruders.

For example, a radar sensor may trigger acoustic and optical sensors. The following terms and abbreviations are frequently used.

AGL Above ground level AI Artificial Intelligence, or AI for short, refers to the ability of a digital robotic computer to perform a set of tasks commonly performed by humans.

Simultaneous GNSS and RF jamming.

Electro-Optical (EO)

Sensing Drone detection based on visual signature

GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System, which refers to automated geospatial positioning data for GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou and similar geolocation systems.

Drone detection based on

heat signature.

JammingThe disruption of GNSS data flow to drones.

An application of AI that enables computer systems to autonomously learn without additional human programming.

MRO Drone maintenance, repair, and operations.

Spoofing Controlling a targeted drone by compromising its communications link. RF Radio Frequency.

ROV Remotely operated vehicle.

TCL Technical Capability Level, a term of art used by NASA and federal agencies to designate

drone authorization permissions; for example, to fly over populated areas in urban areas.

Drone-mounted counter measures for close-in airborne disruption.

UTC Coordinated Universal Time, used for synching drone operations.

UAM Urban Air Mobility, refers generally to safe air traffic operations in an urban area for both manned and unmanned systems.

UTM Unmanned Systems Traffic Management.