Integration and Testing of a UAS Airspace Management System in the Wildland Firefighting Environment

Abstract

NASA’s Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project explores the use of technology to provide additional aerial support in the wildland firefighting environment by extending the use of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) into low-visibility conditions to support sustained operations. A key step in enabling extended UAS operations is the integration of an airspace management system into the wildland fire environment to support the planning, deconfliction, and situation awareness of UAS operations. During Spring 2025, ACERO conducted its first field evaluation with live UAS operations to test the prototype Portable Airspace Management System (PAMS), which allows UAS operators to digitally coordinate multiple UAS operations and share real-time information. PAMS is comprised of an airspace management system, derived from the UAS Traffic Management (UTM) system; an air-to-ground digital communications network; and a graphical user interface (GUI) to support situation awareness. In this paper, we present an overview of ACERO’s first field evaluation, including a description of the PAMS technology, UAS flight operations, and how participants used the GUI to build operational volumes. In the Results section, a summary of questionnaire findings is presented to assess how well the GUI supported situation awareness, usability, and ease of use. We also discuss challenges encountered during field testing and their impact on subjective ratings.

Keywords: Wildland firefighting, airspace management, Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS), Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Operations (ACERO)

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006941