With drone warfare becoming a reality as seen in Ukraine, the US is finally taking research projects about drone situational awareness to operational use. The “Collaborative Low-Altitude Uncrewed Aircraft System Integration Effort,” or CLUE, with the Uncrewed Traffic Management system, fuses data from radars, counter-UAS systems and other sensors to create a 3-D real-time picture that visualizes what sophisticated UAS defense systems would see. Classical air traffic management provides 2-D dots on a map with approximate altitudes, while a 3-D time-varying visualization is a powerful situational awareness tool. Discussed in a Defense News article and a DIU posting , the prime integrator AX Enterprize has been funded by AFRL’s Information Directorate and AFWERX to build a system that allows for deconfliction of a heavily congested air space with both friendly and unknown aerial systems. The system is critical for drone battlefield engagements but can also be used to enhance air safety around airports and critical infrastructure sites.
