Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems (CUAS) 2025 (Urban) Test Plan Template
CUAS 2025 (Urban) Test Plan Instructions
The purpose of the test plan is to ensure optimal use of the test time and resources made available to each participating company, and to align and coordinate the expectations and tasks between the participating company, the provided Red Team, range control, safety, etc.
It is used as a mandatory PASS/FAIL criterion to ensure that an applicant selected to attend the Sandbox has demonstrated the competency to build and propose a viable test plan to achieve optimal use of their time at the Sandbox.
Test Range Description:
- Four different styles of detector test locations are offered to represent the different urban infrastructure challenges and opportunities a detection system may have to contend with:
- Ground level
- Mid-level balcony on a high-rise building
- High-level balcony on a high-rise building
- Rooftop on a high-rise building
- Each location will have:
- The capacity for multiple companies to be concurrently testing at the same location but isolated from each other.
- A Red Team flying assorted drones and flight paths at that location, enabling all companies at that location to concurrently test against the same red team target drones.
- Red team flight selection during the test period will be flexibly adjusted and repeated as needed at each location. Flight profiles will be broadly categorized as follows:
- Targets approaching from above rooftop height
- Targets approaching from below rooftop height but within visual line of sight to the detector
- Targets approaching from below rooftop height but manoeuvring around buildings and not always within visual line of sight to the detector
- Using this test plan template, companies request which test location(s), flight profiles, and targets they wish to use for how long, permitting them to test in all four locations if desired.
Points to note in building and submitting a test plan:
- Using this test plan template, companies request which test location(s), flight profiles, and targets they wish to use for how long, permitting them to test in all four locations if desired.
- The test plan is to be built and submitted via the provided template. All sections must be completed as described.
- The submitted test plan will be evaluated as described below. If a viable plan is not evident a FAIL may be awarded and the applicant would not be selected.
- If portions of a proposed test plan are not acceptable to DND/CAF, the offer of acceptance to attend the Sandbox may impose changes to the test plan that the Participant must accept if they agree to attend the Sandbox.
- After an applicant is selected, there will be additional pre-Sandbox discussions to further refine the test plan and the Sandbox setup for each company.
- During the Sandbox, further adjustments to the test plan may also occur to account for such things as delays due to weather, target issues, equipment setup delays, changes based on previous test results, etc. The Sandbox is meant to be a learning and development opportunity. As the participants and trial staff learn throughout the event, the plan may be modified to explore interesting avenues or features of the CUAS system.
- Throughout, DND/CAF is the sole authority for final approval of the Participant’s test plans. If such final approval cannot be achieved, continuation in the Sandbox may be at risk.
- The Sandbox team will make all reasonable efforts to accommodate the desired test plan to the extent possible.
Instructions: Review and complete the template tables in the sections that follow.
Blue areas contain instructional details in each section and must not be changed. |
White areas are where you enter the details of your plan. |
Instructions: Provide a numbered short list of high-level test objectives that you intend to demonstrate/test the capabilities of the CUAS technology you are bringing to the Sandbox. When you create your daily test schedule in the subsequent sections, each daily test item scheduled must refer to one or more of your numbered objectives here. Example objectives (you need not use these):
PASS: The objectives make reasonable use of the Sandbox time and resources provided to the applicant and would demonstrate the capabilities of the system to Canada. FAIL: The objectives do not make reasonable use of the Sandbox time and resources provided to the applicant, or do not demonstrate the capabilities of the system to Canada. |
Table A: Test Objectives |
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Obj # |
Objective Description |
1 |
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2 |
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3 |
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4 |
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5 |
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6 |
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7 |
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8 |
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9 |
Instructions: Please read the details in the Applicant Guide in the section called “Can nighttime testing be done?” CUAS 2025 (Urban) will be conducted during daylight hours and that is the expectation with each company selected. Most likely it will be too difficult to conduct nighttime testing in the available urban space and this is the assumption that companies should apply with; however, once a company is selected we are open to considering portions of their Sandbox time at night within the post-selection process and considerations in the Applicant Guide. For the evaluating your test plan this is not a Pass/Fail item; however, to enable forward planning please indicate your level of requirement for nighttime testing below. |
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3.1 Is your company requesting any night testing? |
Yes or No? |
3.2 If yes, please substantiate why night testing is essential, as opposed to daytime testing only. Why can’t the results of daytime testing be inferred to how your system would perform at night? |
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3.3 If your request for night testing cannot be accommodated, will you still accept an invitation to the Sandbox and do your testing in the daytime only? |
Yes or No? |
For describing your proposed test plan on the provided template :
PASS: A realistic test plan that clearly includes the following considerations:
FAIL: The test plan is not considered viable to achieve as it fails one or more of the above PASS requirements and rectification with the applicant is not considered sufficiently viable. |
Test Point Descriptive Tables.
- Select the desired combinations from the four “Test Point Descriptive Tables” that best represent each test point you wish to demonstrate.
- Enter each test point into your Test Plan template, referencing your choices from these four tables in the corresponding columns of your plan.
You are NOT expected to use all possible combinations from these tables.
Note that in Table 1, these four types of test locations are anticipated but may be adjusted depending on the technologies selected to attend, as described in the section on safety and privacy in the Applicant Guide:
1. Test Location of the detector? | |
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A | Rooftop |
B | High level balcony (~10th floor or higher) |
C | Mid-level balcony (~5th floor) |
D | Ground level |
2. Flight Profile: Target approaches from? Visual Line Of Sight (VLOS) |
|
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A | Above rooftop, within VLOS |
B | Above the rooftop, not within VLOS |
C | Below rooftop, within VLOS |
D | Below the rooftop, not within VLOS, manoeuvring around buildings and often hidden from VLOS |
3. Target Maneuverability? | |
---|---|
A | Static hover(assumes a rotorcraft target type) |
B | Loitering in a small area in a fixed location |
C | Flying towards the detector. |
4. Target Type? (precise targets provided may change) |
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A | Mini Rotorcraft | DJI Mavic 3· Autel EVO II |
B | Micro Rotorcraft | DJI Mini 4 Pro |
C | Mini VTOL Fixed-Wing | Heewing Cruza T2 VTO |
D | Long-Endurance Mini Fixed-Wing | Chaos Choppers Hornet VTOL |
E | FPV | SpeedyBee Master 5 |
F | Swarm of assorted drones |
Complete the following for each day of your proposed Daily Schedule, on an assumption that you are given the number of test days you requested (a maximum of 5 days).
Test Day 1
Test Day | Test Serial Letter | Start | End | Detector Location (Table 1) | Flight Profile (Table 2) | Target Maneuverability (Table 3) | Target Type (Table 4) | Test Objective # (from Table A above) | Additional comments | |||
Sunrise is at 0720. Lunch and breaks/snacks provided on site to permit continuity of testing. | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | A | 0800 | 0900 | Insert your test location for the day here. | Location in-briefs, health and safety, unpack, setup, prepare for testing | |||||||
1 | B | 0900 | 1000 | |||||||||
1 | C | 1000 | 1100 | |||||||||
1 | D | 1100 | 1200 | |||||||||
1 | E | 1200 | 1300 | |||||||||
1 | F | 1300 | 1400 | |||||||||
1 | G | 1400 | 1500 | |||||||||
1 | H | 1500 | 1600 | |||||||||
1 | I | 1600 | 1700 | End of day debriefs, data storage, equipment pack up, and site daily closedown. | ||||||||
Sunset is at 1620 |
Test Day 2
Test Day | Test Serial Letter | Start | End | Detector Location (Table 1) | Flight Profile (Table 2) | Target Maneuverability (Table 3) | Target Type (Table 4) | Test Objective # (from Table A above) | Additional comments | |||
Sunrise is at 0720. Lunch and breaks/snacks provided on site to permit continuity of testing. | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | A | 0800 | 0900 | Insert your test location for the day here. | Location in-briefs, health and safety, unpack, setup, prepare for testing | |||||||
2 | B | 0900 | 1000 | |||||||||
2 | C | 1000 | 1100 | |||||||||
2 | D | 1100 | 1200 | |||||||||
2 | E | 1200 | 1300 | |||||||||
2 | F | 1300 | 1400 | |||||||||
2 | G | 1400 | 1500 | |||||||||
2 | H | 1500 | 1600 | |||||||||
2 | I | 1600 | 1700 | End of day debriefs, data storage, equipment pack up, and site daily closedown. | ||||||||
Sunset is at 1620 |
Test Day 3
Test Day | Test Serial Letter | Start | End | Detector Location (Table 1) | Flight Profile (Table 2) | Target Maneuverability (Table 3) | Target Type (Table 4) | Test Objective # (from Table A above) | Additional comments | |||
Sunrise is at 0720. Lunch and breaks/snacks provided on site to permit continuity of testing. | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | A | 0800 | 0900 | Insert your test location for the day here. | Location in-briefs, health and safety, unpack, setup, prepare for testing | |||||||
3 | B | 0900 | 1000 | |||||||||
3 | C | 1000 | 1100 | |||||||||
3 | D | 1100 | 1200 | |||||||||
3 | E | 1200 | 1300 | |||||||||
3 | F | 1300 | 1400 | |||||||||
3 | G | 1400 | 1500 | |||||||||
3 | H | 1500 | 1600 | |||||||||
3 | I | 1600 | 1700 | End of day debriefs, data storage, equipment pack up, and site daily closedown. | ||||||||
Sunset is at 1620 |
Test Day 4
Test Day | Test Serial Letter | Start | End | Detector Location (Table 1) | Flight Profile (Table 2) | Target Maneuverability (Table 3) | Target Type (Table 4) | Test Objective # (from Table A above) | Additional comments | |||
Sunrise is at 0720. Lunch and breaks/snacks provided on site to permit continuity of testing. | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | A | 0800 | 0900 | Insert your test location for the day here. | Location in-briefs, health and safety, unpack, setup, prepare for testing | |||||||
4 | B | 0900 | 1000 | |||||||||
4 | C | 1000 | 1100 | |||||||||
4 | D | 1100 | 1200 | |||||||||
4 | E | 1200 | 1300 | |||||||||
4 | F | 1300 | 1400 | |||||||||
4 | G | 1400 | 1500 | |||||||||
4 | H | 1500 | 1600 | |||||||||
4 | I | 1600 | 1700 | End of day debriefs, data storage, equipment pack up, and site daily closedown. | ||||||||
Sunset is at 1620 |
Test Day 5
Test Day | Test Serial Letter | Start | End | Detector Location (Table 1) | Flight Profile (Table 2) | Target Maneuverability (Table 3) | Target Type (Table 4) | Test Objective # (from Table A above) | Additional comments | |||
Sunrise is at 0720. Lunch and breaks/snacks provided on site to permit continuity of testing. | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | A | 0800 | 0900 | Insert your test location for the day here. | Location in-briefs, health and safety, unpack, setup, prepare for testing | |||||||
5 | B | 0900 | 1000 | |||||||||
5 | C | 1000 | 1100 | |||||||||
5 | D | 1100 | 1200 | |||||||||
5 | E | 1200 | 1300 | |||||||||
5 | F | 1300 | 1400 | |||||||||
5 | G | 1400 | 1500 | |||||||||
5 | H | 1500 | 1600 | |||||||||
5 | I | 1600 | 1700 | End of day debriefs, data storage, equipment pack up, and site daily closedown. | ||||||||
Sunset is at 1620 |
Annex A – Example Day 1 Schedule
Table A: Test Objectives |
|
Obj # |
Objective Description |
1 |
Initialize and calibrate CUAS system. |
2 |
Characterize range of sensor X against micro rotorcraft drone |
3 |
Characterize tracking accuracy of sensor X |
4 |
Establish vulnerability of system to rapidly manoeuvring drones |
5 |
Identify operator workload and situational awareness during multiple-drone attack |
Test Day | Test Serial Letter | Start | End | Detector Location (Table 1) | Flight Profile (Table 2) | Target Maneuverability (Table 3) | Target Type (Table 4) | Test Objective # (from Table A above) | Additional comments | |||
Sunrise is at 0720. Lunch and breaks/snacks provided on site to permit continuity of testing. | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | A | 0800 | 0900 | A. Rooftop | Location in-briefs, health and safety, unpack, setup, prepare for testing | |||||||
1 | B | 0900 | 1000 | A | Above rooftop, within VLOS | A | Static hover (assumes a rotorcraft target type) | A | Mini Rotorcraft | 1, 2, 5 | ||
1 | C | 1000 | 1100 | B | Above the rooftop, not within VLOS | A | Static hover (assumes a rotorcraft target type) | B | Micro Rotorcraft | 1, 2, 5 | ||
1 | D | 1100 | 1200 | B | Above the rooftop, not within VLOS | A | Static hover (assumes a rotorcraft target type) | C | Mini VTOL Fixed-Wing | 1, 2, 5 | ||
1 | E | 1200 | 1300 | C | Below rooftop, within VLOS | B | Loitering in a small area in a fixed location | D | Long-Endurance Mini Fixed-Wing | 1, 2, 3, 5 | ||
1 | F | 1300 | 1400 | C | Below rooftop, within VLOS | B | Loitering in a small area in a fixed location | E | FPV | 1, 2, 3, 5 | ||
1 | G | 1400 | 1500 | D | Below the rooftop, not within VLOS, manoeuvring around buildings and often hidden from VLOS | C | Flying towards the detector. | F | Swarm of assorted drones | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | ||
1 | H | 1500 | 1600 | D | Below the rooftop, not within VLOS, manoeuvring around buildings and often hidden from VLOS | C | Flying towards the detector. | F | Swarm of assorted drones | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | ||
1 | I | 1600 | 1700 | End of day debriefs, data storage, equipment pack up, and site daily closedown. | ||||||||
Sunset is at 1620 |