UAVs Getting A LOT Of Attention In Congress

Having demonstrated their abilities in combat on the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan, it's little wonder why unmanned aerial vehicles are being looked at for a variety of roles over US soil. That could prove to be a blessing... or a curse, a House panel was told this week.

UAVs have been deployed in US airspace since 1997, mostly by the military ... but MSNBC reports that other government and private entities want to use the unmanned aircraft in roles ranging from police surveillance to crop-dusting.

"The development and use of unmanned aircraft is the next great step forward in the evolution of aviation," Nick Sabatini, the Federal Aviation Administration's associate administrator for aviation safety, told the House aviation subcommittee Wednesday.

As Aero-News has reported extensively, private pilots fear the UAVs will be rushed into service, however, without proof they can coexist safely with other, manned aircraft. Sabatini didn't disagree with that, either.

The FAA is especially concerned, Sabatini said, with the question of what happens if the operator on the ground loses contact with the unmanned aircraft they are controlling. The industry also needs technology that would enable a UAV to "see and avoid" other airplanes -- which, at the moment, doesn't exist in a practical form.

Despite those concerns, however, many in the military and private industry want to fly the pilotless planes in US airspace, said Embry-Riddle professor Robert Owen.

"Congress needs to encourage the FAA to streamline and energize its process for granting certificates of authorization for military and commercial operations under appropriate restrictions," Owen said.

The FAA's reluctance to do so "is probably the industry's No. 1 grievance," Owen added, a sentiment shared with those in the military.

"We want the Department of Defense to have the same access to the national airspace as commercial aviation," said Dyke Weatherington, deputy of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Planning Task Force for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense.

For the moment, however, UAVs will likely continue to be confined to operations areas away from heavily populated areas -- and will require an observer on the ground, or in a chase plane, to act as the UAV's "eyes." Or, the FAA will continue to restrict GA operations in areas where UAVs are operating, as is the case along the US-Mexico border.

The congressional panel is currently debating the government's authority to oversee the safety of unmanned aircraft in civilian airspace, and if those boundaries may be opened up.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.dod.mil, www.house.gov