Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (AUTO GCAS)

Currently, all collision avoidance systems on fighter aircraft depend on the pilot taking action whenever a warning is issued by the manual system. Any future substantial reductions in mishap rates require extending the collision avoidance technology to systems that not only warn the pilot but also take control and fly the aircraft out of danger before returning control to the pilot. This paper will discuss the requirements, design methods, and testing of Auto GCAS. It will show why a nuisance warning is considered a higher priority than the aircraft recovery and how an automatic system can be designed to basically eliminate nuisances. It will discuss how the design of a modular automatic collision avoidance system can be transitioned to any number of air vehicles with minimum changes to the basic design. Integrity management will be discussed. The process of testing an automatic system including both simulation and flight test will also be discussed. Discussions on flight test activities including both current and past experience in Auto GCAS is included..