International Consortium of Aeronautical Test Sites

Marc Moffatt, Executive Director

RPAS Situation • In most nations a simple definition of a UAS is a remotely piloted aircraft

operated for purposes other than recreational • International industry interest in using UAS for commercial purposes has

grown rapidly and has now overwhelmed the capacity of various regulatory bodies

• Without timely implementation of regulation, business will be unable to operate effectively as commercial commitments cannot be made resulting in businesses moving elsewhere or shutting down

• The growth of the UAS Industry is in jeopardy – urgent attention is needed

• UAS regulations are being defined by various regulatory bodies with minimum coordination

• Until these regulations are legally established, regulatory bodies will allows UAS operations with very restrictive guidelines or regulations

• There is a risk of a stovepipe approach regarding system’s certification & operability beyond borders 2

• Providing a structured & safe environment, guidance and close support to new and experienced operators

• Close collaboration & support from various regulatory & management bodies (FAA, CAA, DGAC, Transport Canada, Nav Canada, etc.)

• Respectives sites provide ideal test bed for newly developed regulations • Each instances meet regulations and standards / civil aviation

requirements (licensed pilot, medical, communications, etc.) • Guidance and support for operational certificate request (COA, SFOC, etc.) • Use of corridors and restricted airspace (VLOS & BVLOS) • Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) & Emergency plans in place • Trained, experienced and committed personnel;

– Airspace management – Communication requirements – Knowledge & expertise of various systems & payloads

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Test sites – common approach

• Founding members – MOU signed (May 2014) • Need for collaboration amongst various test sites to support the industry • Sharing of data & information on various aspects which can in turn be

made available to respective regulating bodies; Training

Airspace structure

Flight profile

Systems development (Payload, navigation & communication)

• Consortium is complementary to various association (AUVSI, Unmanned Systems Canada, UVS France, etc.)

• Facilitate commercial initiatives, experiences and exchanges

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ICATS Initiatives

• The aim of the consortium is to support the industry by enabling the development, test and ultimate certification of RPS to allow for their use in non-segregated airspace.

• This will be achieved by:

The sharing of information on operational safety, flight regulations and when allowed to do so, actual operational experiences

Encouraging the industry to demonstrate and prove sub system technology that will enable the necessary international standard for future RPS construction to be created

Working with their respective regulatory bodies to safely push the existing boundaries whilst continuing the operational confidence building process

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ICATS Aim

• CAT UAV (Spain)

• ATLAS (Spain)

• North Dakota (U.S.)

• Oklahoma (U.S.)

• UAS Centre of Excellence (Can)

• National Aeronautical Centre (U.K.)

• CESA (Bordeaux, France)

ICATS members

• Mission

Lead, coordinate, and facilitate efforts to enable cooperation among nations towards the advancement of unmanned systems testing and integration into our nations’ national airspace systems.

• Vision

Unite a collection of international unmanned systems test sites to advance UAS/RPAS testing, evaluation, integration and operations into the national airspaces of respective nations.

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ICATS Mission & Vision

• Continue outreach to various test sites;

– discussions on-going with several sites

• Continue establishing interface with respective regulating bodies

• Gather & compare systems certification process – national comparison

• Gather & compare standardization process across all sites

• Develop services & method of cooperation

• Structure & admin;

– Develop & Establish Charter

– Establish operation budget and membership fees

– Communication aspects; website, logo

– Event participation; Le Bourget, UAV Show Bordeaux, Unmanned Syst Canada Conf. etc.

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ICATS Future Steps

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CESA – France CESA Drones, the first French civilian Unmanned Aerial System flight test area. Result of the colaboration between the Regional Council of Aquitaine, the French civil aviation authority (DGAC) and the ministry of Defense. Managed and operated by Bordeaux Technowest, CESA Drones allows the certification and qualification of autonomous systems of 150kg or less. Three different available flight test areas including Souge test centre (main and permanent flight test area, at 9mi from Bordeaux), secondary test areas on demand: Herm (near Dax) and Montalivet (on the Atlantic coastline)

16km2 reserved airspace / 2 000 feet above mean sea level / 800m paved runway With CESA TRUCK CONTROL CENTER the « Multi-purpose mobile station » to manage your tests campaigns (Weather-station, Air-ground radio, Photographic device-type APS, GPS-hand Telemetry & Camera, Real time tracking)

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NAC – U.K. The National Aeronautical Centre

The National Aeronautical Centre (NAC) is not a company or a group or an organisation but a focus on an area that encompasses all who are actively associated to West Wales Airport and the airspace that surrounds it

It is a unique location in the UK that enables the development, testing and demonstration of systems and technologies associated to the aeronautical industry. Its key feature is the world's first area of restricted airspace designed specifically for military and civilian unmanned systems operations.

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OSU-UML – U.S.

Ponca City

Stillwater

Chilocco

Tulsa

OKC

Lawton -Fort Sill

Burns Flat Camp Gruber

UML UAS Flight Center (OTC-US) - Restricted

Airspace

Clinton-Sherman UAS Flight Test and

Research

UML Urban UAS, RF & C5ISR Test and Training Center

UML Sensor Laboratory

OKNG-UML UAS Flight Training-Test Center

UAS Development Center, OSU-UML

OSU UML EMC Test Chambers

OSU Graduate Eng. Degree Program &

UAS Training Airport

OU Advanced UAS Radar &

Weather Research

Norman

OKNG Muldrow Heliport UAS

Center

OU Kessler Atmospheric and Ecological Field

Station

University of Tulsa Information Security

Institute

TBIP Unmanned Systems Innovation

Center

Midwest City

Tinker Air Force Base: UAS MRO

(Map does not include Private Sector locations)

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OSU-UML – U.S.

• Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety; HS-ARPA • Oklahoma selected as DHS’s test site for

this program • Support for First Responders, Emergency

Services and Law Enforcement • Small UAS program (<25lb initially) • Testing at OTC-US; possible expansion later • First test - December, 2012 • Multiple year program; currently funded through FY15

DHS RAPS Program; sUAS for Public Safety

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UAS CE Alma – Canada

New facilities

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Northern Plains UAS Test Site

MISSION Collaborate with FAA, ICAO and industry partners to develop equipment, systems, rules, and procedures to safely integrate unmanned aircraft into the NAS without negatively impacting existing general or commercial aviation.

International Consortium of Aeronautical Test Sites

http://icatestsites.org