FAA expands authorization tests for low-altitude drones
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The Federal Aviation Administration will soon roll out tests of its near-real-time authorization processing system for drones and will add more mapping providers to the effort.
Starting at the end of April, the Federal Aviation Administration will roll out tests of its near-real-time authorization processing system for unmanned aerial systems and will add more mapping providers to the effort.
At the agency's 3rd Annual UAS Symposium, Acting Administrator Dan Elwell told a gathering of unmanned aircraft operators that the FAA will expand its Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) into a nationwide beta test.
The test at 300 air traffic control centers across the country, which serve 500 airports, will evaluate how the automated processing system data sharing functions will work. The test begins April 30. FAA regulations require unmanned system operators flying aircraft at lower altitudes in airspace controlled by an agency air traffic control facility to get formal permission before such operations.With the explosion of commercial drone technology and applications, the agency has been buried under a backlog of thousands of commercial applications. The LAANC effort fully automates that authorization process in near real-time, according to the FAA, which the agency said will "dramatically" decrease wait times compared to the manual process. Additionally, air traffic controllers would be able to actually see where drones have planned operations.
LAANC data exchange services are currently provided by four vendors -- AirMap, Project Wing, Rockwell Collins and Skyward -- but the FAA said it will consider agreements with additional entities starting April 16.
The FAA launched a prototype low-altitude test last fall at eight regional air traffic control facilities, as it accelerated plans to integrate drones into the national airspace.
In an Oct. 23 memo, President Donald Trump called for an UAS Integration Pilot Program to go live in 90 days to set test zones and build regulatory framework to get commercial drones, such as those that deliver medicine, inspect critical infrastructure, monitor emergencies and other applications into the U.S. airspace more effectively.
This article was first posted on FCW, a sibling site to GCN.
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