United States
The United States' UAS activities focus on the following areas:
Authorisations: LAANC (Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability)
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has developed a collaborative approach between government and industry to promote the sharing of information and data on airspace and directly support UAS integration. This has resulted in an automatisation of the request and approval processes for low-altitude airspace authorisations (below 400 ft) and the exchange of information on geographical flight restrictions for all users.
Click here for additional information about LAANC.
UAS Integration Pilot Program + BEYOND
The US has conducted numerous tests within its airspace to assess the integration of civil and public drone operations. Currently, the FAA is addressing the challenges for full integration of these aircraft through the new "BEYOND" program – challenges such as BVLOS operations, especially for infrastructure inspection or package delivery with drones – all with the objective of harnessing the social and economic benefits this industry can offer.
Further information about UAS Integration Pilot Program at:
https://www.faa.gov/uas/programs_partnerships/completed/integration_pilot_program/
Further information about BEYOND program at:
https://www.faa.gov/uas/programs_partnerships/beyond/
UTM Pilot Program
To achieve the necessary infrastructure to support the huge growth in drone operations, in recent years the FAA and NASA have been defining the services, abilities and technologies required for a safe and efficient drone traffic management.
Further information at:
https://www.faa.gov/uas/research_development/traffic_management/utm_pilot_program/
FAA International Research Round Table
Since November 2020, the FAA has been organising bimonthly international meetings with major authorities to exchange information on their UAS programmes and research tasks, aiming towards safe integration.
Authorities from five continents have joined these meetings: FAA, Australia, Canada, Israel, Brazil, Singapore, South Korea, United Kingdom, Japan, Switzerland and Spain, among others. In these meetings, the most relevant priorities and challenges of UAS integration identified by States are addressed, while information and experiences on implementation projects are shared to address these issues. Among the topics discussed are BVLOS operations, conflict detection and avoidance, new technologies, UTM-ATM interaction, regulations and certification, and urban air mobility.
