A key activity of the FAA is to develop regulations, policy, procedures, guidance material, and training requirements to support safe and efficient UAS operations in the NAS, while coordinating with relevant departments and agencies to address related key policy areas of concern such as privacy and national security. Today, UAS are typically given access to airspace through the issuance of Certificates of Waiver or Authorization (COA) to public operators and special airworthiness certificates in the experimental category for civil applicants. Accommodating UAS operations by the use of COAs and special airworthiness certificates will transition to more routine integration processes when new or revised operating rules and procedures are in place and UAS are capable of complying with them. The FAA has a proven certification process in place for aircraft that includes establishing special conditions when new and unique technologies are involved. This process will be used to evaluate items unique to UAS. In those parts of the NAS that have demanding communications, navigation, and surveillance performance requirements, successful demonstration of UAS to meet these requirements will be necessary.
The process of developing regulations, policy, procedures, guidance material, and training requirements, is resourceintensive. This roadmap will illustrate the significant undertaking it is to build the basis for the NAS to transition from UAS accommodation to UAS integration. Government and industry stakeholders must work collaboratively and apply the necessary resources to bring this transition to fruition while supporting evolving UAS operations in the NAS.
The purpose of this roadmap is to outline, within a broad timeline, the tasks and considerations needed to enable UAS integration into the NAS for the planning purposes of the broader UAS community. The roadmap also aligns proposed Agency actions with the Congressional mandate in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Pub. L. 112-95. As this is the first publication of this annual document, the FAA will incorporate lessons learned and related findings in subsequent publications, which will include further refined goals, metrics, and target dates.
The FAA is committed to the safe and efficient integration of UAS into the NAS, thus enabling this emerging technology to safely achieve its full potential.
