Overview
- NAWCAD demonstrated that a tactical drone can complete mission tasks and autonomously land on a pitching ship using only its onboard cameras, motion sensors and guidance software with GPS unavailable.
- The software runs on commercial-grade cameras and electronics and is designed to integrate with most drone flight computers so it can be added by a software upgrade rather than by costly ship modifications.
- Engineers paired mission cameras with guidance, navigation and control algorithms that visually identify a ship’s shape and predict deck motion so the aircraft can time a safe touchdown.
- Work was funded by the Naval Innovative Science and Engineering Program and the Office of Naval Research, and NAWCAD is coordinating transitions into the Navy’s Small Tactical UAS office, the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program and DARPA’s EVADE effort for operational testing.
- Historically shipboard recoveries relied on ship‑mounted radar and deck gear, so moving recovery into aircraft software could speed scaling to larger drones and reduce the need for months‑long ship alterations.