Canadian UAVs, exhibiting at Xponential Booth 3015, have confirmed recent approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the use of Sparrowhawk™ Radar as a Ground-Based Detect and Alert System (GBDAA).
Installed in Irving, Texas, Sparrowhawk is the sole detect-and-alert system enabling Irving P.D. to operate its Drone as a First Responder (DFR) program throughout the city.
Sparrowhawk is centrally installed within the city and provides airspace detection coverage up to 5,000 feet, with a maximum range of 12 nautical miles (23 km). Within this airspace, police first responders are operating ‘drones-in-a-box’ provided by Unmanned Vehicle Technologies (UVT) of Arkansas. These drone boxes are situated throughout the city and can be activated immediately.
Irving, Texas is located between Dallas and Fort Worth, adjacent to the third-busiest airport in the world. With Sparrowhawk Radar tracking exceeding 95%, it was deemed by the FAA to provide adequate situational awareness and manned aircraft tracking to allow the police to operate their drones up to 400 feet.
Sparrowhawk is a purpose-built DAA radar. Development began in 2016, with initial beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) approval granted in Canada in October 2020. Since that time, Canadian UAVs and other operators have conducted hundreds of BVLOS missions.
Sparrowhawk has been sold in 4 countries, having received BVLOS approval in both Canada and the United States. Testing is ongoing with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the United Kingdom as part of the Airspace Strategy Modernisation Fund’s Project Dragon’s Eye, with the aim of achieving similar approvals.
John Molberg, VP Innovation, Canadian UAVs, commented, “One of the major advantages to Sparrowhawk is that it can run 24 hours a day, in any weather, and enables an unlimited number of drones. By determining an airspace ‘fingerprint’ over time AND monitoring real-time activity, operators can react immediately and become airborne within seconds using the closest drone to the incident.
“DFR has decreased police response times by 300% within the city. We are thrilled to be working with both our partners at UVT, and the Irving P.D. This year we anticipate to be flying over 50,000 missions beyond visual of line of sight with Sparrowhawk.”
Sparrowhawk is currently being displayed at the 2025 AUVSI Xponential Tradeshow at Booth 3015.
