'Game of Drones’ highlights Edwards Air Force Base

'Game of Drones' highlights Edwards Air Force Base

By Jason Kaneshiro Operational Business Center Public Affairs

The War Department is rapidly testing small unmanned aerial systems and counter-sUAS in support of U.S. Military Drone Dominance.

The Defense Contract Management Agency-sponsored "Game of Drones" event, which was held July 15-17, highlighted the capabilities that Edwards Air Force Base offers as a mission partner.

The event brought together vendors, DCMA's Blue List team, and other stakeholders to assess emerging drone capabilities.

"Testing sUAS and C-sUAS systems is a huge challenge that requires many outstanding ranges, test experts, policymakers, operators and acquisition professionals to meet the need," said Air Force Maj. Christopher Vorgert, Experimental Test Force at Edwards AFB. "The ETF is excited to bring as many pieces of the puzzle together as we can through 'Game of Drones,' and sprint toward drone dominance alongside many other outstanding teams."

Edwards AFB offers a unique variety of range capabilities, such as the lakebed sUAS work area, relevant technical expertise, and an agile safety construct together under a test wing with Cooperative Research and Development Agreement authority to streamline partnerships with industry.

According to Vorgert, collaboration across the joint force and all phases of acquisition is essential to mission success.

"'Game of Drones' brings together teams in charge of manufacturing, policy, procurement, test, and employment of these systems all in one space," Vorgert said. "It's helping to innovate how we do test, how we break through information stovepipes, and how we accept and empower small, joint, or industry partners in the sUAS and C-sUAS domain."

Edwards AFB is the site of many achievements in aviation history, including the first U.S. jet flight, the breaking of the sound barrier and the successful landing of the first space shuttle.

"We're proud to continue that tradition in our own small way," Vorgert said. "It also highlights that we're pushing the envelope of what is possible in a rapidly innovating field."

"Game of Drones" is helping to innovate how testing is done, to expand communication channels, and to accept and empower small, joint, or industry partners in the sUAS and C-sUAS domain, Vorgert said.

As DCMA expands its complimentary role in the nation's drone development, agency leaders believe it's critical to accelerate development and testing.

Small, inexpensive unmanned systems built largely from commercial technology cannot be evaluated exactly like traditional military systems, said Air Force Col. Dustin Thomas, commander of DCMA Unmanned Systems Experimental contract management office.

"'Game of Drones' is intended to collect operational test data," Thomas said. "It is intended to collect user feedback, performance data, and have it become a part of a common knowledge base. Eventually this should become much larger than 'Game of Drones' itself. The vision is to crowdsource operational testing and operational learning across government, industry and warfighters."

Innovative and adaptive warfare depends on reliable tests, and "Game of Drones" is being used to determine how testing should work in the new paradigm of drone warfare.

The DCMA Blue List team developed and sponsored the event, which was run in cooperation with other agencies including the Air Force ETF and the Griffiss Institute, a not-for-profit organization which serves as an intermediary to federal service laboratories and American industry.

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