The ASTRANEA aerospace program has completed a major demonstration of autonomous aircraft technology at ParcAberporth in west Wales.

ASTRAEA is a consortium of major aerospace companies, including BAE Systems, EADS, Cobham, Qinetiq, Rolls-Royce, and Thales. The companies are working with Agent Oriented Software to launch an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) into non-segregated airspace by 2012. This demo involved two simulator missions supervised by a human mission commander and UAV pilot who controlled the level of autonomy given to the aircraft. The first mission simulated a UAV search and rescue flight from ParcAberporth to Anglesey, while the second demonstrated UAV’s avoidance of other aircraft by simulating a flight through existing airways. The team focused on the technological aspects of ground planning, autonomy, capability and communications. They also used the simulator to assess the technologies response to challenging scenarios such as bird strikes or running short of fuel.