The Federal Aviation Administration's William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, NJ, has established a cooperative research and development agreement with Insitu, Bingen, WA, and the New Jersey Air National Guard to study unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and to address their integration into the national airspace system (NAS).

The agreement was signed on June 8 at the Technical Center, followed by a UAS flight demonstration at the New Jersey ANG's Warren Grove Range.

Insitu, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boeing, will provide two ScanEagle unmanned aircraft and related support hardware and data to the FAA. The U.S. aviation agency will conduct research to guide development of recommendations for integrating unmanned aircraft systems into the NAS.

The two-year agreement will enable FAA researchers to study and better understand UAS design, construction and functionality. Also, researchers will look at the differences in how an air traffic controller would manage an unmanned aircraft versus a manned aircraft, by integrating the ScanEagle system into Technical Center air traffic control simulations and studies.

Insitu will train FAA pilots and support staff to fly and maintain the system, and will supply documentation related to the ScanEagle system. The flight tests will take place over the Warren Grove Range, 20 miles north of the Technical Center.

UAS now fly within the national airspace system under certificates of authorization (COA) or FAA waivers. The waiver process is issued for public entities and determined on a case-by-case basis, with most UAS operations segregated from other air traffic.

Since July 2005, the FAA has issued 71 experimental certificates for 17 different aircraft types, 14 of which are currently active.

More than 1,500 types of UASs are in production worldwide, so it is important to establish the parameters to enable them to operate within the NAS, safely and efficiently.

UAS are free to fly in restricted airspace, including the military airspace at Warren Grove Range.

The ScanEagle is about five-foot long, weighs 44 pounds, and has a ten-foot wingspan. The $100,000 tactical-class drone can fly nonstop for up to 28 hours. The ScanEagle has flown 320,000 combat hours in Iraq , Afghanistan, and off U.S. Navy warships.

It has also been used in many civil applications, including search and rescue operations, fire and flood monitoring and evacuation efforts conducted in hazardous weather.

Unmanned Aerial Systems, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, remotely operated aircraft/vehicle or just unmanned aircraft, come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and serve diverse purposes. They may have a wingspan as large as a Boeing 737 or smaller than a radio-controlled model airplane. UAS operations always have a pilot in command who is flying the aircraft.

Until recently, UASs mainly supported military and security operations, but that is rapidly changing. Unmanned aircraft promise new ways for government agencies to increase efficiency, save money, enhance safety and even save lives. Interest is growing in a broad range of uses such as aerial photography, surveying land and crops, monitoring forest fires and environmental conditions, and protecting borders and ports against intruders.

UAS numbers and mission uses are growing dramatically. In the United States alone, approximately 50 companies, universities, and government organizations are developing and producing some 155 unmanned aircraft designs.

The FAA's main concern about UAS operations in the NAS is safety. It is critical that these aircraft do not endanger other users of the NAS or compromise the safety of persons or property on the ground.

To address the increasing civil market and the desire by civilian operators to fly UASs just like any other aircraft, the FAA is developing new policies, procedures, and approval processes. The FAA created the Unmanned Aircraft Program Office (UAPO) and the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) UAS office to integrate UASs safely and efficiently into the NAS.

The introduction of UASs to the NAS is challenging for the FAA and the aviation community. While UAS proponents have a growing interest in expediting access to the NAS, the FAA is focused on keeping safety the top priority.