
First phase of the test will evaluate if an unmanned aerial vehicle can transmit communications to several control towers and the test’s second part will assess data exchange between a single tower and multiple UAVs, Rockwell Collins said Monday.
NASA’s S-3 Viking jet and the University of Iowa’s Bonanza aircraft will serve as UAV surrogates during the airspace integration testing activity.
Rockwell Collins and NASA are slated to hold a media event on Wednesday from 10:45 a.m. at the company’s hangar at the Eastern Iowa Airport.
The company has built a data link waveform technology with the goal of helping industry and the Federal Aviation Administration integrate civil drones safely into airspace.