Page 33 - GCN, June/July 2018

Drone missions move forward
Pilot programs are pushing the integration of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace, but significant control and safety concerns remain
The march to integrate drones into U.S. airspace and various government mis- sions took a significant step forward in May when the Federal Aviation Administration announced the 10 projects selected for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pi- lot Program. The winners were selected from 149 applications and named six months after President Donald Trump signed a memo creat- ing the program to accelerate the integration of UAS into the national airspace.
The winners and their commercial partners will work with the FAA to develop UAS testing zones and build a regulatory framework for un- manned systems operation. They will receive special permission to test drone applications that are currently banned or require a difficult- to-attain waiver, such as flying unmanned systems over people, beyond line of sight or at night.
The program will also study the integration of
drones into existing airspace operations, includ- ing counter-UAS capabilities, data exchanges between drones and other hardware, and UAS traffic management.
Mark Blanks, director of the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, said this is just the beginning for drone implementation and the projects will help ensure that drone de- velopment is done right. The organization will manage the project’s day-to-day operations in Virginia.
“The days aren’t far off when millions of drones will be flying in the airspace,” Blanks said. “When you’re looking at an expansion of that scale, it’s critical to make sure it’s being handled carefully and safely.”
UAS initiatives in government extend far beyond the FAA’s pilot program, as do the chal- lenges that must still be addressed. But as this special report shows, the drones are definitely coming. •
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