During the opening plenary session at next week’s UAS Conference in Paris, Ron van de Leijgraaf, JARUS Chairman (CAA, The Netherlands) and Leader of the EUROCAE Small RPA Expert Group, will present an Activity Update on Small Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Harmonisation.
In April 2011, the European Commission, DG ENTR and DG MOVE, announced a new UAS initiative in lieu of the earlier announced High Level Group on UAS. This new initiative is meant to provide the EC with the necessary expertise and input to develop a strategy for the future of UAS in the European Union, and to identify the most pressing issues which today hinder the emergence of a UAS market.
In order to collect the necessary information and input, the European Commission announced the setting up of a process involving relevant experts from aviation rulemaking bodies and industry, and is inviting them to share their knowledge on the subject of UAS insertion into civil managed airspace. For this purpose the EC is organising a launch meeting, five workshops spread over a rather short period of time ending in December 2011, and a wrap-up meeting in January 2012.
The work to be undertaken in the workshops will cover the following five topic focus areas:
- Examination of the airworthiness, safety and environmental certification requirements for manned aircraft and their application to UAS, taking into account the specific characteristics of UAS. Assess the need for a regulatory framework for UAS with a MTOM of less than 150 kg (July 2011).
- Analysis of the need for a new regulatory framework for accommodating UAS for operations at aerodromes and in the Single European Sky. Examine the need and steps required to achieve global rules and standards for UAS and crew licensing at international level (September 2011).
- Discussion of liability, security and privacy protection issues, which are important for society (October 2011).
- Identification of technology gaps, which currently prevent UAS from airspace insertion (November 2011).
- Identification of measures to ensure the coordination and transfer of knowledge concerning UAS-related technology and airspace integration between the military and civil UAS stakeholders. Clarification of issues such as data links, control systems and radio frequencies for UAS (December 2011).
Each workshop is to result in a report on the workshop topic.
Further information and full background reading about the Small RPA Expert Group is available from UVS International here.