Sagetech Avionics, an aerospace technology company providing industry-leading situational awareness solutions for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), and American Aerospace ISR (AA ISR) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to integrate Sagetech's Detect and Avoid (DAA) system into the AA ISR AiRanger unmanned aircraft.

The companies expect to have a certifiable prototype of the system ready for flight testing by the end of the year.

"Detect and Avoid systems are critical for beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) flight and critical to the mission of the long endurance AiRanger aircraft," said Tom Furey, CEO of Sagetech Avionics. "We are pleased to partner with the innovative AA ISR group to bring the world's first certifiable low-SWaP DAA solution to test flights."

"American Aerospace ISR is pleased to partner with Sagetech for the integration of a certifiable DAA solution on our aircraft," said Ali Etebari, General Manager of AA ISR. "We anticipate that this Detect and Avoid system will help facilitate Type Certification of our aircraft and enable our customers to fly commercial BVLOS missions safely in the National Airspace."

Sagetech's DAA system packages multiple core technologies into a single, low size, weight, and power (SWaP) DAA solution suitable for use on commercial unmanned aircraft as well as urban air mobility (UAM) platforms. Sagetech's DAA system is ACAS-based, featuring technologies including a transponder, an interrogator, an ACAS-based DAA computer, software package, and other essential components. It is compatible with many off-the-shelf low SWaP radar and other traffic sensors.

The AiRanger is an industry-leading fixed-wing unmanned aircraft with an endurance of over 17 hours (with payload). Powered by a fuel-injected gasoline engine, the AiRanger is designed for commercialized airborne applications in austere environments at large scale. Designed to be payload-capable, the fuselage can be configured to carry multiple airborne payloads including remote sensing, communication network, and emergency response systems. AA ISR will integrate Sagetech's DAA solution as part of the AiRanger Type Certification with the FAA.