The International Civil Aviation Organisation's Air Navigation Commission is to consider a draft strategy early next year setting out minimum requirements for a common international approach to integrating unmanned air vehicles in controlled airspace.
The strategy will propose adopting a performance-based regulatory environment, and recommend that future ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS) be based on existing work by organisations such as avionics performance specifications organisation Eurocae, Eurocontrol, and aviation standards body RTCA.
It will also stress the urgent need for international agreement on allocating appropriate bandwidth to allow for safe control of UAVs.
If endorsed for further development by ICAO, the strategy "will serve as the framework for our regulatory evolution", says Vince Galotti, chief of ICAO's air traffic management section. "We will use that document as our bible."
Speaking at the Unmanned Vehicle Systems Canada conference in Montebello, Quebec, Galotti said the draft strategy stood at 80 pages, with the final draft expected to be approved by the working group at the end of January. The draft represents "everything they can agree to, to this point", says Galotti. "I will present that to the Air Navigation Commission in February-March and get approvals for this whole approach."
Source: Flight International
