Drones/ Challenges of operating UAVs 

Unmanned aerial vehicles, as important as they are in ISR and other applications, have some weaknesses. One of the big ones is the need for a pilot to control each UAV. According to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, most UAV systems also require a dedicated sensor operator and a team of analysts.

DARPA's Collaborative Operations in Denied Environment (CODE) program is an attempt to change that. The program, which will begin with meetings in March, is an attempt to develop a system that would let a single pilot control a team of unmanned craft.

"Just as wolves hunt in coordinated packs with minimal communication, multiple CODE-enabled unmanned aircraft would collaborate to find, track, identify and engage targets, all under the command of a single human mission supervisor," said Jean-Charles Ledé, DARPA program manager. "Further, CODE aims to decrease the reliance of these systems on high-bandwidth communication and deep crew bench while expanding the potential spectrum of missions through combinations of assets—all at lower overall costs of operation. These capabilities would greatly enhance survivability and effectiveness of existing air platforms in denied environments."

DARPAproject to develop UAV teaming system