DEFENCE INVESTMENT DIVISION
DIVISION INVESTISSEMENT DE DÉFENSE
Briefing by
NATO Degraded Visual Environment Research
30 September 2019NATO UNCLASSIFIED
Releasable to public1
Rhys Jones, UK Dstl, DVE IWG Chair
Rich Bratt, US Army DVE-M Programme Manager
DEFENCE INVESTMENT DIVISION
DIVISION INVESTISSEMENT DE DÉFENSE
NATO Definition of DVE
Degraded Visual Environment (DVE) is reduced visibility of potentially varying degree, wherein situational awareness (SA) and aircraft control cannot be maintained as comprehensively as they are in normal visual meteorological conditions (VMC) and can potentially be lost.
DVE can be caused by dust or sand (brownout), snow (whiteout), rain, fog, smoke, salt spray or any element that degrades the use of visual cues.
30 September 2019NATO UNCLASSIFIED
Releasable to public2
DVE is NOT just a Brownout/Whiteout problem
DEFENCE INVESTMENT DIVISION
DIVISION INVESTISSEMENT DE DÉFENSE
30 September 2019NATO UNCLASSIFIED
Releasable to public
3
Aircraft Induced DVE Aircraft Independent Degraded Visual Environments
Brownout
Whiteout
Smoke
Rain
Smog
Clouds
Fog
Snow
Flat Light
Sand / Dust
Night
3
DEFENCE INVESTMENT DIVISION
DIVISION INVESTISSEMENT DE DÉFENSE
Operations in DVE can result in
Loss of people
Loss of aircraft
Loss of missions and effectiveness
30 September 2019NATO UNCLASSIFIED
Releasable to public4
DVE Capability Imperative
In the future we must not be operationally constrained
by the environment. We must be able to freely act at
any time and place of our choosing.
DEFENCE INVESTMENT DIVISION
DIVISION INVESTISSEMENT DE DÉFENSE
NATO DVE Initiatives 2013 NATO Industry Advisory Group (NIAG) SG 167
Identified technologies required for DVE operations
Identified sufficient maturity for DVE technology demonstrations
2016 NATO SCI 206 Identified DVE operational considerations
Recommended DVE flight trials and demonstrations
2017 NATO NIAG SG 193 Established certification principles for a DVE system
Produced DVE manoeuvre tasks and key performance parameters for flight evaluation
Conducted successful flight trials and evaluations in United States and Europe
NATO DVE Informal Working Group (IWG) Mission is to assist nations in the development of an
interoperable DVE capability
30 September 2019NATO UNCLASSIFIED
Releasable to public5
Class 1 A/C controls, Platform
& User Interfaces
Class 2 Real-time
Situation Updating
Class 3 Operator
Interprets/Manipulates Data and Imagery
Class 4 Data Driven Only
No Sensor
Active SensingSynthetic Vision
Sensor Data Fusion Auto Flight Guidance
Synthetic Vision & Symbology
Active SensingPassive Sensing
Fused Synthetic-Enhanced Vision
Image & Data Blending
Passive Sensing
Synthetic Vision
DEFENCE INVESTMENT DIVISION
DIVISION INVESTISSEMENT DE DÉFENSE
NIAG SG 193 Events and Outcomes Highly successful collaboration between
multiple Nations, industry and academia
Four dissimilar air platform DVE systems
Three ground based sensor teams
Systems enabled VFR in IMC and accurate landings in range of DVE conditions
30 September 2019NATO UNCLASSIFIED
Releasable to public6
Furthered the common understanding of DVE capability
options. Defined DVE system evaluation methods and
considerations for airworthiness certification.
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
7
DEGRADED VISUAL ENVIRONMENT – MITIGATION (DVE-M) PROGRAM
• Multi-year S&T program with previous
demonstrations in 2016 (Yuma Proving
Ground) and 2017 (Europe)
• Program will demonstrate:
• 360 Degree Situational Awareness
• Level 1 Handling Qualities for Mission
Tasks
• Multi-modal, fused, sensor-driven guidance
and obstacle avoidance in all phases of
flight
DVE-M envisions a disruptive capability improvement
that increases survivability and operational effectiveness;
aircrews can deliberately conduct missions in DVEs
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
8
DVE-M OVERVIEW
3D Audio
Tactile
Cueing
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
9
2020 DEMONSTRATION OBJECTIVES
• Demonstrate pilotage and sensor-driven guidance in critical phases of flight enabled by an integrated DVE-M system
• Collect qualitative and quantitative data to determine which elements of the trade space have the greatest effect on task performance, operator workload, and situational awareness in DVE
• 2020 Demonstrations will occur in multiple environments:
– Complex terrain, fog, rain, snow (Camp Dawson, WV)
– Dust (Yuma Proving Ground, AZ)
– Fog, rain (Air Station Cape Cod, MA)
2017
2020
Landing Zone
Assessment
Dynamic Route
Planning
Pilotage & SA
Visualization
Sensor Aided
Navigation
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
10
MISSION ADAPTIVE AUTONOMY
DEFENCE INVESTMENT DIVISION
DIVISION INVESTISSEMENT DE DÉFENSE
NATO DVE IWG next steps
Work with industry to address the data management challenge of the DVE world model
Work collaboratively with industry and aviation certification authorities to realise a DVE capability
Identify DVE related STANAGS that require amendment
NATO Smart Defence Initiatives to implement DVE solutions on platforms through multinational cooperation
Drive a common understanding of future requirements and capabilities for the next generation of rotorcraft
30 September 2019NATO UNCLASSIFIED
Releasable to public11
