WMO UAS Demonstration Campaign Description

Background

The WMO Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Demonstration Campaign (UAS-DC) will comprise a seven-month period of meteorological and hydrological observations made voluntarily by Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) operated by participant operators at their own cost. The demonstration will involve contributors from both the public, governmental sector and the private sector and will collaborate with researchers and developers in the field of UAS deployment and operation for meteorological and hydrological research and operational forecasting applications.

The UAS-DC will be planned, coordinated and undertaken under the auspices of the WMO Commission for Observation, Infrastructure and Information Systems (Infrastructure Commission - INFCOM). The INFCOM, Joint Expert Team on Aircraft-Based Observing Systems (JET-ABO) will have primary delegated responsibility for coordinating related planning and coordinating activities within the INFCOM.

The JET-ABO will coordinate the formation of a Scoping Planning and Organising Committee (SPOC) that will consist of Member and other experts from among the participants operators and WMO Application Areas, as well as from other key stakeholder groups and sectors. The SPOC will play a primary role before, during and after the UAS-DC including to:

Oversee the development and approval of the plan for the UAS-DC, including its scope and requirements of participants.
Develop a communications plan.
Coordinate required external approvals, e.g. with regulators, for the UAS-DC
Oversee and coordinate the UAS-DC before and during the campaign.

Aims

In particular, the UAS-DC will focus on the following aims:

To demonstrate current capabilities of a range of UAS and to measure their capacity to contribute to meeting operational requirements for upper-air observations and the filling of observational gaps of the WIGOS GBON and/or RBON;
To demonstrate the capacity of UAS and their data processing systems to provide data in an interoperable format ready for use by relevant applications and forecast systems;
To measure, analyse and report on the impacts of UAS observations on relevant WMO application areas and forecast systems;
To determine more generally and report on areas of development needed for UAS to adequately meet requirements to efficiently, economically and environmentally responsibly contribute operationally to WIGOS; and
To determine and make recommendations relating to regulatory conditions imposed on UAS that impact their ability to contribute to WIGOS.

Scope and Requirements for Participation

The UAS-DC is expected to commence at the start of March 2024 and continue through to the end of September 2024 so that the campaign will coincide with the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will take place over 26 July to 11 August 2024.

The campaign will also have Special Observing Periods (SOP) during which participants will be strongly encouraged to contribute a higher frequency and greater coverage of UAS observations. One of these SOPs will be expected to be timed to coincide with the 2024 Olympics.

The campaign will have the two primary participatory groups: 1) Participant UAS Operators and, 2) Participant Data Users. In addition, the campaign will require the input of a range of stakeholders and collaborators including representatives of regulatory authorities.

The UAS operated during the campaign will include autonomous and remote-piloted fixed wing and copter aircraft, operating from the surface to the upper troposphere. Airspace regulations may limit access above the planetary boundary layer through the atmospheric airspace used by piloted aircraft, however it is expected that the SPOC will work with regulators to obtain special permissions for airspace use in certain domains and locations. For this reason, it will be critical to collaborate with airspace regulators and operators at both the national and international levels.

As the campaign is aimed at demonstrating UAS capacity and capability to meet requirements for operational provision of observations in support of the Global Basic Observing Network (GBON), the campaign will focus on the near-real time provision of measurement of atmospheric variables required for assimilation in Numerical Weather Prediction Systems (NWP). Along with required observational and systems metadata, this will include, but not necessarily be limited to:

air temperature
air pressure
relative humidity
wind speed
wind direction
snow cover
snow depth
soil moisture
albedo
roughness length
aerosols or particulates
volcanic ash
turbulence

The campaign will have defined requirements for the quality and uncertainty of measured variables and for data representation for timely provision of observations. Standardised data representation formats will therefore be specially and specifically developed and defined for use during the campaign for participant operators to relay data to a central data repository from which data users will be able to access the data in near-real time.

Participant UAS operators will be invited to contribute observations from a relatively unlimited range of geographical domains with a key requirement to submit them on a routine, ongoing basis throughout the campaign. Operators will be required to contribute at least one month of observations to the campaign but will be encouraged to commit to providing observations throughout the entire campaign and especially during the Special Observing Periods.

Participant Data Users will be engaged to make use of the data, both during and after the campaign, within operational and test applications so as to be able to assess the impact of UAS data and assist in analysing and improving the operational aspects of the UAS systems and the quality of the data produced.

Of critical importance to the campaign and its desired outputs and outcomes, will be the compilation and provision by the campaign participants of reports both during and after the campaign observing period. Such participant reports will be used to:

Adjust and improve the campaign parameters and requirements during the campaign as necessary and in the interests of improving observational outputs and data use.
Measure, assess and report on the impact of UAS observations by data users.
Contribute to the final reports to be produced by the WMO INFCOM after the campaign is complete.
Analyse the capabilities of UAS to contribute observations to WIGOS and the GBON and make related recommendations for future actions.

Expected Outcomes

The UAS Demonstration Campaign will be expected to deliver or contribute to the following outcomes:

Assessment of the capabilities of UAS to contribute to WIGOS and GBON as a component operational observing system.
Understanding of the technical and operational developmental improvements required of UAS to meet standards for transition to operations under WIGOS.
Improved understanding of the impact that operational UAS have on NWP and other forecast systems and products.
Improved understanding of the impact of the limitations imposed by airspace regulations on UAS operations in support of meteorology, hydrology and climate.

Stakeholders, Participants & Roles

The demonstration will involve contributors from both the public, government and private sectors and seeks to collaborate with researchers and developers in the field of UAS deployment and operation for meteorological and hydrological research and operational forecasting applications.

Stakeholder/Participant	Role	Entry	Communications
Scoping Planning & Organising Committee	Organisation and coordination of the UAS-DC	Appointed by the INFCOM/SCs under the management of the JET-ABO and its Subgroup on UAS.
WMO INFCOM, Executive, Standing Committees and work groups and teams See the WMO Community Platform	Provision of expert input to plan formulation and implementation; Coordination with participant communities; Approvals and Recommendations to CBs;	UAS-DC sponsoring body.	The SPOC, SG-UAS and JET-ABO will facilitate interactions and coordination with the INFCOM and its various bodies as required.
Member UAS operator	Participant UAS Operator	Written agreement to participate provided to WMO (SPOC)	Members to be invited to participate through letter to Permanent Representatives with WMO; Possible formalized response through a survey form.
Research UAS operator	Participant UAS Operator	Written agreement to participate provided to WMO (SPOC), possibly formalized with an MoU.	Members to be requested to communicate with their national research agencies; WMO WRP to be consulted regarding communications processes from WMO; Possible formalized initial response through a survey form.
Private UAS operator	Participant UAS Operator	Written agreement to participate provided to WMO (SPOC), possibly formalized with an MoU.	Initial advice of the DC to be made with HMEI. Obtain an initial indication of intention to participate via an online survey form.
Member NWP Data User (World Meteorological Centres of GDPFS)	Participant Data User	Invited to participate and make use of UAS data within NWP applications. Written agreement to participate provided to WMO (SPOC)	Initial less formal communications by email to WMC contacts; To be formally invited to participate through letter to PRs with WMO.
Member Data User	Participant Data User	Invited to participate and make use of UAS data generated for forecast applications.	To be formally invited to participate through letter to PRs with WMO based on feedback from a survey.
Research Data User	Participant Data User	Invited to participate and make use of UAS data generated for forecast applications. Agreement to participate with WMO (SPOC), possibly formalized with an MoU.	Obtain an initial indication of intention to participate via an online survey form.
ICAO	Regulations Adviser & Facilitator	Invited to collaborate as member of or adviser to the SPOC.	Processes and strategies to be developed in the Pre-Campaign Phase.
National Civil Aviation Authority	Regulations Adviser & Facilitator	Invited to participate as members of or collaborators with the SPOC.	WMO and WMO experts to initiate contacts and participation as required.