On Monday, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) announced that it and the Air Mobility Command (AMC), which provides aerial refueling and airlift services for U.S. forces worldwide, began testing a UAS traffic management (UTM) system at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.

The system, called CLUE, or Collaborative Low-Altitude Unmanned Aircraft System Integration Effort, is designed to integrate UAS flights next to crewed aircraft above and around Air Force installations. According to the AFRL, MacDill is the first base to use a UTM system in airspace overseen by Department of Defense air traffic controllers.

“This is a significant milestone for AMC, AFRL, and the CLUE program, as the MacDill Air Traffic Control Tower and Base Defense Operations Center are first in the Air Force to operationally assess UTM capabilities,” said Phil Zaleski, manager of the AFRL CLUE program.

CLUE was born out of the AFRL’s Information Directorate as a project meant to provide “air domain awareness, situational awareness, and UTM operational capabilities for UAS operators, air traffic control [ATC] personnel, Security Forces and other stakeholders.”

The system arrived at MacDill in 2022, where initial testing focused on airspace deconfliction, communication, and security. The goal was to enable drone flights beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the operator, which are heavily scrutinized and restricted by the FAA.

Since then, the UTM platform has been developed to give air traffic controllers a three-dimensional view of UAS activity and make it possible to grant flight permissions automatically.

“Equipping airspace managers and UAS operators with a 3D operational viewing capability and additional features designed to reduce lengthy manual and advanced planning procedures will be critical to achieving real-time flight planning and mission execution,” said James Layton, chief of plans and programs at MacDill.

The system is also sensor-agnostic, meaning it integrates with an array of different sensors designed to detect, track, and identify drones, including a counter UAS system being tested at MacDill.

The Air Force in May began formally testing CLUE’s capabilities on the base, opening it to the site’s ATC tower, Defense Operations Center, and airfield management team. Personnel so far have used the system to plan the intent of UAS flights or let operators know where they are approved to fly a drone, for example.

Operators ask CLUE for the all clear to fly, and their request is either approved or denied by the control tower. Once permission is granted, they can fly within a bounded area. CLUE feeds the operators information about the airspace and other nearby aircraft, helping them stay within the approved zone while avoiding other drones.

The UTM system has also been installed at Eglin AFB’s Duke Field (KEGI) in Florida, where the AFRL conducted a demonstration of its capabilities in 2023. There, CLUE will begin by integrating flights of small UAS (weighing less than 70 pounds) before moving to larger designs, including electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis such as Joby Aviation’s five-seat S4.

Joby, partnering with AFWERX, the Air Force’s innovation arm, earlier this year committed to deliver two air taxis to MacDill and has also shipped a prototype aircraft to Edwards AFB in California.

MacDill in May also hosted flights of a KC-135 Stratotanker equipped with an autonomous flight system from developer Merlin Labs, which is designed to one day enable fully remote flights. That technology, as well as systems from fellow AFWERX collaborators Xwing and Reliable Robotics, could one day be integrated into the CLUE UTM.

AFWERX and the AFRL are not the only government entities studying UTM systems. The Air Force is working with NASA to build a digital operations center for drones and electric air taxis nationwide and is collaborating with the FAA to integrate novel and uncrewed aircraft with air traffic control and other systems within the national airspace.

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The organization on Monday tapped Frequentis Australasia—a regional arm of global communications provider Frequentis—to develop a digital air traffic management (ATM) system that could safely integrate millions of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) into the nation’s airspace.

Airservices said the system—which will allow it to incorporate drones, air taxis, and other uncrewed aircraft alongside traditional models—“will be at the core of Australia’s UAS traffic management (UTM) ecosystem.”

Airservices selected Frequentis as a partner following a comprehensive process that included several other applicants. It said the company “has proven experience in the delivery of operational UTM systems around the world.”

Backing up that assertion is the fact that Frequentis technology is used by the FAA, NASA, and the European Space Agency (ESA). The company is also a key stakeholder in the Single European Sky, a European Commission initiative aiming to reform the continent’s ATC system through better integration of European airspace.

“Frequentis is the only company worldwide to have successfully delivered UTM solutions to multiple Air Navigation Service Providers,” said Martin Rampl, managing director of Frequentis Australia. “This strategic partnership with Airservices Australia represents another important milestone in our mission to support the Australian airspace ecosystem with safe, efficient, and compliant integration of drones.”

Frequentis has been tasked with creating a Flight Information Management System (FIMS), which will be operated by Airservices and linked to the organization’s existing ATM system.

The FIMS will allow Airservices to share flight information between ATC, traditional aircraft, and uncrewed airspace users. According to the plan, drones, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis, and other new designs could all be flown alongside traditional aircraft.

“Drones are the biggest growth area in aviation, and our partnership with Frequentis to develop a FIMS will enable us to integrate traditional and new airspace users into increasingly busy airspace,” said Jason Harfield, CEO of Airservices. “With Frequentis, we will develop a FIMS that meets the needs of Australian airspace users and ensures we can safely integrate millions of drone flights with other users.”

An Airservices analysis published last month predicted that commercial drone flights in Australia will surge from around 1.5 million in 2023 to more than 60 million by 2043, assuming battery technology and propulsion systems advance incrementally and there is a permissive regulatory environment.

That represents an average increase in drone traffic of 20 percent per year. According to Airservices, new technologies will be needed to weather the coming storm.

Per the report, drones in Australia complete about 120,000 deliveries of food and goods every year. The country is the largest market of Wing, the drone delivery arm of Google parent Alphabet, but many drones come from homegrown companies such as Swoop Aero and even the nation’s postal service. At the same time, more recreational flyers are taking to the skies as Australia develops drone regulations.

“Most companies based in Australia are looking to invest and grow their drone fleets by two to five times over the next five years alone,” the report forecast.

The exponential growth predicted by the report is expected to be driven largely by the transportation and logistics industries, which are forecast to account for 77 percent of the anticipated drone traffic increase.

The report further predicts that Australian farmers will make 500,000 drone flights annually to monitor crops, while police will complete 300,000 flights to support frontline personnel. Another 1.5 million deliveries are expected to be made to Australian households, and about 100,000 patients could be transported to hospitals using air ambulances, such as the Vertiia design from Australia’s AMSL Aero.

Electric air taxis will also be in the mix—those models are expected to make one million flights by 2043. Airservices said several providers are targeting Australian launches coinciding with the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brisbane. Among them are AMSL and Boeing’s Wisk Aero.

The FAA has a similar plan, with launches expected to align with the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Before then, air taxis are expected to fly this summer at the 2024 Games in Paris.

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The House bill includes several provisions intended to prop up the growing drone, or uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), industry by pushing for greater permissions for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights. The problem, however, is that if eyes aren’t on the drones, something else will need to monitor them.

Enter uncrewed traffic management (UTM)—essentially, an air traffic control system for UAS. The highly automated, software-based technology is still under development and vulnerable to cyberattacks. But that’s where a company such as Unifly comes in.

The Belgium-based firm this month conducted FAA-approved trials of its Unified UTM Cybersecurity Model: a project that aims to create industrywide requirements and a unified certification pathway for similar systems. Partnering with engineering consultancy Rhea Group and the FAA’s New York UAS Test Site (NYUASTS), Unifly conducted more than 60 actual flights to test out its prototype.

“As drone use continues to rise, it’s vital to develop specific cybersecurity measures for UTM to ensure airspace safety and security,” said Andres Van Swalm, CEO of Unifly. “We take pride in our key role in this initiative.”

The FAA-backed project has implications not just for the broader UTM industry but also drone operators, regulators, the general public, and pilots. 

Just as ATC is essential for commercial and general aviation, so too will UTM be for drones. While early operations are limited and BVLOS flights are rare, the FAA is working to expand them to populated areas and complex airspace—including around airports.

For the safety of those on the ground and other aircraft in the sky, operators will need to know where their drones are at all times: hence the implementation of provisions such as the FAA’s remote ID rule. If they don’t, the buzzing aircraft can force entire airports to shut down. That’s exactly what happened, for example, at London Heathrow Airport (EGLL)—twice.

Unifly has worked in the UTM space for years. Its customers include air navigation service providers (ANSPs) in eight different countries, including Canada’s Nav Canada and organizations in Spain, Germany, and Belgium. In August, Tokyo-based Terra Drone acquired a majority stake in the company.

According to Unifly, no comprehensive approach to system requirements—much less a unified certification program—exists for UTM cybersecurity, and current solutions only partially address the problem. So when the FAA made a call for proposals for research and development of emerging tech, the firm jumped at the opportunity.

Unifly interviewed representatives from the FAA Air Traffic Organization (ATO), NASA, Nav Canada, American operator DroneUp, and national security analysis nonprofit CNA. After presenting them with the UTM cybersecurity concept, the company recorded feedback and refined the model’s system requirements and security controls.

The updated prototype underwent a series of demonstrations with dozens of real flights at the NYUASTS. The drones relied on tracking facilities and Unifly’s Broadcast Location and Identification device (BLIP). Flights covered three key scenarios: operations in optimal conditions, under simulated attacks, and with the implementation of countermeasures against those attacks.

After research, testing, and data gathering, Unifly delivered several reports highlighting its findings and UTM cybersecurity best practices. The firm said these will serve as a baseline for the development of cybersecurity frameworks down the line.

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AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force, is collaborating with NASA to develop a digital operations center for AAM services, such as electric air taxis, nationwide. The project follows a partnership agreed on by AFWERX and the FAA in June to exchange flight test data and testing capabilities for emerging aircraft designs, such as electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL).

To establish the center, AFWERX and NASA have enlisted ResilienX, a producer of safety software for uncrewed aerial system (UAS) traffic management, or UTM. The company is an awardee of NASA’s Civilian Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program (CCRPP), which funds emerging technologies through Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer contracts as a way to speed commercialization.

“CCRPP is a true example of public-private partnership where government stakeholders and an industry consortium are working together on the airspace efforts,” said Darshan Divakaran, AFWERX Airspace Innovation and Prime Partnerships program manager.

So far, not much is known about the project’s inner workings. But according to this week’s announcement, the system is intended to improve base security, special forces efforts, emergency disaster response, and passenger and cargo transportation planning. Future developments will allow it to loop in “other technologies necessary for air domain awareness.”

ResilienX will lead an industry consortium tasked with designing the digital system. Its goal will be to integrate an AAM operations center that is both scalable and tactical, capable of verifying all of the systems and sensors that go into UAS, eVTOL, and other emerging aircraft designs.

Through the CCRPP, ResilienX received $4.8 million in funding for the program from AFWERX and NASA. It will be contracted through 2025.

“We are thrilled with the trust AFWERX has put in us to lead this consortium,” said Ryan Pleskach, CEO of ResilienX. “Through a dedicated systems engineering approach, we intend to develop a dual-use solution to the core digital infrastructure needed for AAM that is inherently scalable and extensible…We believe this solution will be turnkey and available to government and commercial markets in late 2024.”

The initial center will be built in partnership with New York’s Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR) organization at Syracuse Hancock International Airport (KSYR). The partners plan to test and transition it to other locations by 2025.

The first phase of development will require testing, integration of baseline technologies, detailed need and task assessment, and feature development through user interviews and observations. The second phase will comprise user testing, prototype testing, live system demonstrations, and safety development. AFWERX intends to bring in more industry partners to assist with the latter.

“[AFWERX] Agility Prime helped pave the way for government and industry to work together on aircraft certification,” said Divakaran. “The Airspace Innovation team is taking it a step forward with airspace integration, management and security efforts focused on emerging aviation technologies.”

AFWERX and NASA’s collaboration will be a welcome development for the emerging AAM industry, which has yet to take flight.

Initial air taxi services are currently targeted to launch as soon as 2025, while a handful of personal eVTOL companies expect to begin deliveries around that year—or sooner. But before that happens, the aircraft will need to be type certified (so far, only China’s EHang holds that distinction) and the infrastructure will need to be in place.

AFWERX and NASA have both made AAM a priority. Each works individually with industry players and other federal agencies to integrate new aviation technologies into the national airspace.

Through various contracts and agreements, AFWERX works with some of the eVTOL industry’s biggest players to test and mature their aircraft. Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation, Beta Technologies, Pipistrel, and Jump Aero are just a few of the firms under contract. Already, two of them, Joby and Beta, have delivered their first eVOL aircraft to military bases. NASA is involved in a few AFWERX projects as well.

Separately, the space regulator works with manufacturers such as Overair, Electra.aero, and Hyundai’s Supernal through projects such as the AAM National Campaign, which seeks to leverage partnerships to speed safe integration. NASA also leads other AAM initiatives, such as the Pathfinders Project or AAM Playbook.

Additionally, both NASA and AFWERX are part of the Department of Transportation’s AAM Interagency Working Group (AAMIWG), which was established in May to coordinate federal integration efforts.

The agencies’ new collaboration comes just over a month after AFWERX agreed to join forces with the FAA on AAM testing and safe integration. They’ll share data and expertise to prepare airports, pilots, policies, and other aircraft for the emergence of electric air taxis and other advanced aircraft. According to the partners, the arrangement is geared toward the development of U.S.-made aircraft, in particular.

AFWERX, NASA, the FAA, and other agencies are working under a 2028 deadline established by the FAA’s Innovate28 plan for AAM operations at scale. The plan sets targets and priorities for the first wave of AAM services, but it does not establish any permanent rules or regulations.

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Israel-based startup Air is one of a handful of firms manufacturing the helicopter-like vehicles for private use. The company has been quiet for a few months. But on Monday, it announced a partnership with another Israeli firm, High Lander, to provide unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) traffic management (UTM) services for its two-seater Air One personal eVTOL.

As the air taxi industry works to establish standards for certification and safe flight, personal eVTOL aircraft like the Air One will likely encounter the same challenges—only amplified.

“We expect Air One to become the flagship of a new age of personal transportation, and therefore we consider safety and compliance to be of the utmost importance,” said Rani Plaut, CEO and co-founder of Air. “By taking advantage of the scalable and comprehensive air traffic coverage of High Lander’s tried-and-tested UTM system, we feel confident that Air One will overcome its last regulatory hurdles and begin to show people around the world that piloting a personal aerial vehicle is as safe and reliable as it is easy and exciting.”

First revealed in 2021, Air’s flagship design is smaller and less powerful than a typical air taxi, with a 550-pound payload, 100-mile range, and one-hour flight time. But unlike Joby or Archer’s aircraft, Air One will likely fly outside of dedicated air taxi routes, such as the one Archer and United are planning in Chicago. In fact, per Air’s website, the company envisions Air One being stored and launched directly from users’ homes.

That presents a unique predicament. Departing FAA head Billy Nolen has said early eVTOL operations will rely on existing air traffic management infrastructure and dedicated advanced air mobility (AAM) corridors. The FAA’s blueprint supports the vision of Archer, Joby, and other manufacturers who plan to start flying to and from the airport. But it leaves out firms like Air, which envisions freewheeling flights that take off and land from places like driveways and backyards.

That’s where High Lander comes in. Air will use the company’s Universal UTM system to autonomously provide flight plan approvals and modifications, real-time flight monitoring, and in-flight conflict warnings, helping pilots abide by aviation regulations. According to Air, the companies in May successfully flew an Air One integrated with High Lander’s UTM through the Israel National Drone Initiative.

“Air One is an impressive feat of engineering and stands to have a dramatic effect on the way people travel. This brings with it regulatory and safety challenges that must be overcome before this new market can take off,” said Alon Abelson, CEO and co-founder of High Lander. “All of these challenges can be overcome with Universal UTM, and we’re proud to be providing the safety network for this groundbreaking product and a whole new generation of pilots.”

Air has accepted more than 300 preorder deposits for Air One at a price tag of $150,000, with plans to begin deliveries in late 2024. But the firm must first navigate the gauntlet of FAA approvals necessary to mass-produce the aircraft in the U.S., its first target market.

At present, it’s working toward a G-1 certification basis with the FAA: the same approval that set forth airworthiness standards required for type certification for Joby, Archer, and other eVTOL manufacturers. 

The process is long and cumbersome. But Air received a lift when it completed prototype hover tests in June 2022, following that up in January with its first transition-to-cruise flight—the first of thousands of FAA-required flight hours. Shortly after, the company moved the bulk of its operations to the U.S., where it will conduct further flight testing and development.

More recently, Air partnered with the charitable yachting organization International SeaKeepers Society to support ship-to-shore transport, resupply missions, and shuttling of passengers and cargo.

• READ MORE: AIR to Deploy eVTOLS as Air Taxis for Yachts

“In addition to helping improve yacht logistics, this partnership enables yachters to add an extra layer of sky-high adventure to sea excursions and is a significant step in our mission to advance air mobility adoption around the world,” Plaut said of the collaboration.

What’s next for Air is anyone’s guess. So far, the company has been marketing Air One to non-pilots and GA pilots alike. But right now, there isn’t a single person on Earth who has been certified to fly an eVTOL, and for good reason—the technology is still in its infancy and likely several years away from safe, routine flights.

That could soon change as a new bipartisan bill calling for an AAM pilot certification process makes its way through Congress. Until it does, though, Air will need to find a way to certify its users and ensure they fly safely within crowded airspace. In short, Air will still have hurdles to clear after Air One certification.

The post Private eVTOL Startup Air Signs UAS Traffic Management Deal appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In some areas, like rules surrounding unmanned traffic management (UTM), the two regulatory bodies are quite similar. But they diverge on issues like safety, for example, where the FAA’s hands-off approach clashes with EASA’s more heavy-handed policies. 

To be clear, the agencies are not enemies—they’ll meet in Germany in less than two months to discuss safety regulations and other rulemaking strategies, as they have for nearly two decades. But when two of the world’s most prominent aviation regulators disagree, who should other nations look to?

India on Thursday made its answer clear.

At this week’s EU-India Aviation Summit in New Delhi, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and EASA signed letters of intent for a collaboration that will see the two sides work together to establish new regulations for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and UTM, answering calls from several regional ACI [Airports Council International] groups.

The agreement builds on a working arrangement between the two agencies, first established in 2021, to promote the sharing of safety information and rulemaking best practices. It also follows a historic deal that saw Air India, the country’s largest airline, purchase close to 500 jets from Airbus, Boeing, and other U.S. and E.U. manufacturers.

Together, EASA and DGCA will develop standards for drones and other urban air mobility solutions, like electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) systems. As part of the collaboration, the Airports Authority of India will also work with the EU’s Eurocontrol to manage increasingly congested air traffic. The two will exchange data on flight plans and profiles.

“Connectivity and innovation are two themes that we share with the European Union,” Rajiv Bansal, India’s civil aviation secretary, told Business Standard India. “We have shared ambitions and aligned objectives. I do believe there are several opportunities for win-win solutions between India and the EU in areas of air traffic management, infrastructure growth and host of innovation areas such as drones, eVTOL devices, hydrogen-powered vehicles.”

But what will those solutions look like? Taking a look at India and the E.U.’s current policies might be a good place to start.

In India, regulations are fairly stringent. Similar to the FAA’s remote identification rules, most drones—in this case, those weighing over 0.55 pounds—must have a Unique Identification Number and be type-certified. But unlike U.S. laws, Indian regulations forbid all flights where a drone goes beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the operator. 

The country also has a “No Permission, No Takeoff” policy, wherein drone pilots, through a digital platform, must submit a request to take off before every flight. Under that rule, each drone must include specific hardware, such as a real-time tracking beacon that communicates location data.

The E.U. is a bit more lax. EASA organizes drones into three categories—open, specific, and certified—each with its own set of rules. 

Drones in the “open” category must weigh less than 55 pounds (with the exclusion of those purchased before Jan. 1, 2023) and cannot operate near people or above an altitude of 400 feet—nor can they carry “dangerous goods” like blood transfusions or medical samples. These flights must also stay within the pilot’s line of sight.

The “specific” category has a few more hoops to jump through. These drones require a standard scenario approval from EASA or an operational authorization from a National Aviation Authority where operations will take place—and sometimes both. However, this category permits BVLOS flights and flights at higher altitudes. It also allows drones to drop cargo when making deliveries.

Finally, heavier drones or those completing high-risk trips fall under the “certified” category. As the name implies, these aircraft require airworthiness certification from EASA and the relevant national regulator. Pilots must obtain a special license to fly these drones, which are typically larger, operate in controlled airspace or carry “high-risk” payloads, like vaccines.

By and large, the FAA sees eye-to-eye with EASA when it comes to topics like remote identification—both regulators require most drones to be trackable. But there are some key policy discrepancies.

For one, the FAA does not have regulations addressing the operation of drones heavier than 55 pounds, which are covered under EASA’s certified category. And while there are restrictions in place for UAS below that weight, the FAA frequently grants waivers that skirt some of those rules, signaling a need for updated regulations.

That leniency is also evident in the agency’s policy on operations over people, which allows any certified drone to fly over people, and in certain circumstances at night, without an individual approval or waiver. Contrast that with EASA’s rule, which calls for special authorizations when operating over people.

Interestingly, though, the FAA has taken a slower approach to BVLOS regulations. As the agency works toward a firm rule on long-range trips that extend beyond the pilot’s view, it can only facilitate those operations—like cargo drone deliveries—through waivers.

In the E.U., it’s a different story. 

EASA’s U-Space regulation, which took effect at the start of January, gave member countries a new framework for BVLOS flights by designating airspace for complex operations to take place. These “U-Space” regions will be managed by air traffic services and certified providers, which will share data and coordinate with drone operators.

U-Space will be a massive undertaking, and it will need work to enable BVLOS flights without approval. But the ball is rolling – fast.

That brings us back to India. As things stand, the country’s drone regulations resemble those in the U.S. – heavily limited BVLOS flights, strict remote identification rules, and standardized type-certification requirements.

But in a few years, India’s airspace may look a lot like the E.U.’s.

“We have a comprehensive policy and regulatory framework to ensure that drones and drone operations are safe, secure, and green,” Adina-Ioana Vălean, the E.U.’s commissioner for transport, told Business Standard. “We also have a U-Space regulation, which we updated recently, to ensure that drones are integrated safely within air space management. And earlier this year, we adopted the Drones Strategy 2.0, which proposes concrete actions to support the deployment of a drone ecosystem by 2030.”

If Vălean’s comments are any indication, we could soon see an Indian version of U-Space or EASA’s three categories of UAS. That gives us an idea of how the country’s drone industry will shake out in the coming years. In the E.U., commercial operations are limited due to EASA’s stringent policies around safety—the case will likely be the same in India.

That stands in stark contrast to the FAA, which has encouraged commercial drone operations in the short term through individual waivers and approvals. But only time will tell which approach—hands-on or hands-off—yields greater success in the years to come.

The post India To Collaborate With EU on New Drone, AAM Regulations appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The Crosscutting Operations Strategy and Technical Assessment (COSTA) project is spearheaded by the Federal Aviation Administration and also has support from NASA.

Xwing’s partnership with the FAA’s COSTA program is a logical step in bringing his company’s vision for autonomy to life, Marc Piette, Xwing’s founder and CEO, told FLYING. That’s because outside of structured flying operations in and out of airports, operators also use aircraft for things like aerial firefighting, he said. Operators also have to deal with scenarios, such as pop-up TFRs, which means deploying all-around autonomy like Xwing plans to do, which is much more challenging than it seems.

“The challenge of integrating unmanned aircraft in the airspace is so much more than the automation itself,” Piette said. “It’s to ensure that we integrate seamlessly with all the participants of that airspace and follow the rules and can handle the various situations that get thrown at that unmanned aircraft.”

Fighting Wildfires

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), more than 5,000 wildfires occur in California each year.

To help combat this, Xwing says it is essential that U.S. agencies “determine how to leverage new technologies and services to best address and manage natural disasters.” While existing dynamic operations feature manually-operated airplanes, helicopters, and various-sized drones to drop water or fire suppression in a small area, there is room for improvement.

NASA is working with the FAA and other disaster response agencies to figure out how to integrate unmanned aerial systems and deploy an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) to improve disaster response efficiency.

• READ MORE: NASA Awards Xwing Contract to Develop Autonomous Flight Safety Management System

The FAA’s UTM is a “traffic management ecosystem” for uncontrolled operations that is separate from but complementary to the FAA’s Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. 

According to the FAA, “UTM development will ultimately identify services, roles and responsibilities, information architecture, data exchange protocols, software functions, infrastructure, and performance requirements for enabling the management of low-altitude uncontrolled drone operations.”

Xwing will work with the FAA, the University of Alaska, and the Alaska Test Center for UAS Integration to evaluate information-centric approaches to improve traffic management in fire traffic areas (FTAs).

“This project will provide us with a more holistic view on how best to integrate large UAS in the existing National Airspace System,” Piette said. “Leveraging UAS, we have the potential to make everything from wildfire fighting to oceanic operations more efficient and safer. We believe the data that we collect from these operations will be essential to helping the FAA and NASA bring unmanned flights to more types of operations in the aviation industry.”

• READ MORE: Wildfires Leave Seattle Area Pilots Smoked Out

Checking the Boxes

The program, which is already underway, is set to run through April 2023. Xwing will run the flight operations for the project in Northern California, using Xwing’s autonomous flight technology on its Cessna Caravan aircraft. The flights will have a safety pilot on board.

Additional partners in the project include AirSpace Integration and ATA LLC, which will support flight data management, integrations with other FAA systems, and supporting operational flight trails.

Jesse Kallman, vice president of commercialization and strategy at Xwing, told FLYING that the data that Xwing collects will be used for various reasons. Those include analyzing the response times between air traffic control (ATC) and an autonomous aircraft, how UASs function when nearby other manned operations, and how remote operators use information-centric services to fly in challenging, high-stake operating environments.

• READ MORE: The Thrush 510G Switchback is a Potent Weapon Against Wildfires

“The process is pretty straightforward,” Kalman said. “We’re creating a series of trials, and we’re going to simulate different things. The FAA will control that local area, and we’ll figure out how you give commands to a very large unmanned system operating in and near other aircraft in that area.”

Kallman said the operation would also focus on figuring out how its autonomous technology manages things like pop-up TFRs, and unplanned route changes while interacting with existing air traffic in these sorts of environments.

Ultimately, this will give the FAA the data it needs to develop rules and procedures for its UTM framework. That could mean an evolution of the national airspace, communication procedures, or even right-of-way rules.

For Xwing, the project will help the company with its goals of integrating into the airspace.

“It’s a part of ensuring that we’re checking all the boxes as we are looking to certify this [autonomous flight] tech stack,” Piette said.

The post Xwing Joins FAA Study of Unmanned Systems Traffic Integration appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) field test, which is set to launch in the spring and continue into 2023, is expected to lead to new policies and the development of updated industry standards for drones operating beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS), according to the agency.

• READ MORE: FAA Drone Pilot Numbers Hit Milestone

The UTM field tests will include multiple drone flights in realistic scenarios with the goal of learning more about drone traffic management in varying flight environments.

The drones tested will be fixed-wing and multirotor aircraft under 55 pounds, the FAA told FLYING. 

UTM is a traffic management ecosystem for small unmanned aircraft that enables multiple beyond visual line-of-sight drone operations at low altitudes under 400 feet above ground level in airspace without FAA air traffic services. While separate from the FAA’s Air Traffic Management System, UTM is complementary to it, the agency said.

• READ MORE: The Real-Life Evolution of the Drone

With the proliferation of drone use comes a stout list of unmanned aircraft sightings, which “have increased dramatically over the past two years,” according to the FAA. 

In the last two months of 2021, the FAA received nearly 500 UAS reports. In late December, for example, a large white UAS orbiting at 200 feet at Seaworld Amusement Park in San Diego prompted all northwest departures to deviate around it, according to the FAA’s log of reported incidents.

“After completion of the UTM Field Test, the FAA will use lessons learned to continue to support the development of new policies, industry standards, and inform future rules to allow drones to routinely fly beyond visual line of sight of the operators,” a FAA spokesperson said.

The post FAA To Field Test Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management Capabilities appeared first on FLYING Magazine.