After two years of establishing the core capabilities of the Ship Motion Platform (SMP) at Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst, test engineer Rob Pellegrino said he and his team have expanded and integrated the site capabilities with the surrounding test sites to provide a multifaceted development tool for military and commercial customers.

Since its commissioning in 2020, the SMP has been used to develop and train Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for launch and recovery to and from ships at sea. The hulking metal structure, complete with hydraulic pumps and conex boxes mounted on top, allows the team to simulate the movement of both aircraft carriers and guided-missile destroyers in waves up to sea state 4 with wave heights of 4 to 8 feet. 

"When we talk about the Motion Platform, I always say it is quantifiable, repeatable and tailorable," Pellegrino said. "Now, the idea isn't just land to and from the Ship Motion Platform to mimic and teach landings but to execute multipurpose missions within Lakehurst. It's not just flying to and from the ship. If you want to figure out a ship-to-shore scenario, we can utilize our sites around the platform, and we can fly to different locations and create a mini mission within Lakehurst and execute that."

The SMP team’s latest work, resulting in an expanded Concept of Operation (CONOPS), aims to allow UAVs greater flexibility in and around the Lakehurst test sites for a wider variety of mission replication.

Pellegrino was one of the key people who brought the SMP from Aberdeen Proving Ground to Lakehurst. The goal was to provide a place to repeatedly and reliably test Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) to see how they would work on a ship at sea. The platform can replicate the pitch, roll and heave of a ship at sea and hold a static tilt as part of the testing, saving customers valuable time and money. 

After their initial UAV tests in 2022, the SMP team conducted internal reviews to analyze the site performance and identify areas where its mission and performance could be improved.

A year later, the team leveraged their partnership with the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (UX-24) and worked with mission safety and JB MDL air traffic control to develop and ultimately execute a plan to evaluate "Beyond-Visual Line of Sight" operations, flying a UAV to the limits of the Lakehurst airspace while being controlled from the SMP test site.

This progress expanded UAV operation into the larger test department airspace, including successfully landing a UAV launched from the SMP test site to Lakehurst’s Runway Arrested Landing Site (RALS) test runway.

Last year, the first UAV wind gust test was also conducted, combining the SMP, its UAV Superstructure and the Environmental Test Lab's Blowing Rain Test Apparatus to introduce a controlled wind gust to a flying UAV. While more work is needed to improve future wind tests, Pellegrino said the initial efforts met the needs of the customer's schedule and available budget and credits his Site-Engineering Technician, Harry Beals, for the unique solution to the customer's request.

"It's leveraging the idea that what Lakehurst lacks in physical airspace we make up for in configurability, and we can tailor the infrastructure of our site to replicate more than just shipboard landings and launches," Pellegrino said. "The end goal of the platform is to reach out to all of the UAV stakeholders, Navy and private industry and say 'look what I can do.' I can replicate a ship in a quantifiable and repeatable environment. I can give you your mini-mission. We can use our site with relatively minimal interference because I can carve out my airspace to execute the test to your needs."

Recently, a United States Marine Corps contingent conducted risk-mitigation testing at Lakehurst. Pellegrino described the testing as a "rousing success," demonstrating that small UAVs could land on small ships in a real-world scenario. The Marines' next step is to take their testing to a ship to confirm their findings from the Lakehurst exercises. The potential impact of the testing on the Marines' immediate operational posture made it a particularly significant moment for Pellegrino and his team, underlining the platform's relevance to military operations and industry stakeholders.

Pellegrino said six UAV models have used the platform in three years of testing, proving the site's significance in a relatively short period, with each test providing different lessons and capabilities to showcase now and in the future. In addition to their UAV work, the SMP team has also extended its outreach to other emergent arenas, participating in the first NAWCAD-led Shipboard Robotics Technical Exchange Meeting in Philadelphia, showcasing the capabilities and benefits of the platform.

“This isn't a one-time capability. We're here for the long haul," Pellegrino said. "We aim to harness the growing UAV interest and establish ourselves as a reliable and long-term testing site.”