Heron to fly in Aussie civil airspace
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Airservices Australia signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on 29 May for the operation of the Heron UAS in Australian civil airspace.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority will work with both parties to monitor the arrangements in terms of civil aviation safety.
The Heron is set to fly in Australian civil airspace in June as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2015, taking off from Rockhampton Airport. This will mark the first time the UAS will fly outside restricted military airspace in the country.
Air Commodore Chris Westwood, commander of surveillance and response group, RAAF, said: 'The purpose of the MoA is to set out procedures for Airservices Australia and air force to work within, and allows the Heron to be safely flown in civil airspace without any significant impact on civil air traffic.
'The MoA aids both Airservices and air force by facilitating the initial operation and integration of remotely piloted aircraft into civil airspace, based on air force’s mature and thorough airworthiness and aviation safety system.'
The RAAF currently operates two Heron UAS from its Woomera base in South Australia as part of work to ensure that RAAF pilots retain the skills required to operate UAS until the introduction of the MQ-4C Triton.
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