Commercial Use Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): Surveying The Regulatory Landscape

Introduction
The enormous untapped economic potential for commercial (civil) and public (government) use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the United States is rapidly developing widespread recognition. Proponents envision regular unmanned flights for small vehicles weighing only ounces (with wingspans as short as 6 inches) to large cargo and passenger vehicles used to ferry people and products safely through an increasingly crowded National Airspace System (NAS).

Civil UAV spending for airframes, payloads, systems, and services has the potential to equal Department of Defense (DoD) UAV spending within 15 years. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been under mounting pressure from vendors and end users to open the NAS and fast-track regulations governing UAVs for commercial flight. In 2004, the FAA responded -- in close cooperation with Eurocontrol, the European Joint Aviation Authority (JAA), the European Aerospace Safety Agency (EASA), and the United Kingdom -- by creating a headquarters strategic task force to study the requirements and promulgate regulations. The U.S. Congress, in the 2004 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) appropriations bill, allocated funding to create Access 5, a consortium of government agencies with NASA as the lead. Access 5 joined forces with the UAV National Industry Team (UNITE), a coalition of major aerospace UAV stakeholders, to implement a four-step, five-year plan to safely open the NAS for high altitude long endurance (HALE) UAVs above flight level 180 (18,000 feet). Until very recently, Access 5 was expected to receive Congressional funding through fiscal 2007.

This paper will explore in greater detail the major players, the organizational structure, the progress to date, and the projected timetable for final regulations that open the U.S. NAS to unrestricted "file and fly" access for UAVs in a manner that protects the safety of both manned aircraft and the general public.