SOLVING THE BVLOS CHALLENGE
in July 2024, a coalition led by the US Chamber of Commerce that included national energy, trans- portation, and media organizations urged the FAA to “expeditiously issue and finalize rules to enable routine BVLOS operations to unleash innovation and the numerous benefits stemming from this type of operation.” A report from Grand View Research estimates
that the US commercial UAS market, which was $4.79 billion in 2022, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.1% from 2023 to 2030. The McKinsey & Co. consulting firm predicts that US commercial UASs will contrib- ute $31 billion to $46 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2026. While those numbers are estimates, the lower figure is equiv- alent to the combined annual revenues of heli- copter manufacturers Airbus, Bell, Leonardo, and Sikorsky, according to data released by the parent companies of those OEMs.
Safety in a BVLOS-Enabled Airspace Safely integrating BVLOS operations into the NAS poses enormous challenges. Some proposed solutions would change foundational assumptions
In 2019, NASA conducted
successful UAS
traffic management test flights in
downtown Reno,
Nevada, with a suite of technologies expected to
enable safe BVLOS operations. (NASA/ Dominic Hart Photo)
about NAS operations, including each aircraft’s duty to see/sense/detect and avoid other aircraft. In a 2022 statement, Viola expressed concerns
about the BVLOS ARC report, saying, “We are grateful to have been part of the ARC’s efforts but are ultimately unable to support the rec- ommendations of the report, as they will greatly increase risk to current airspace operators.” VAI’s main objections to the ARC recommen-
dations center around the inability of most UASs to detect and avoid other aircraft. A proposal in the ARC’s final report transfers that right-of-way responsibility solely to manned aircraft, a dra- matic departure from current FAA regulations. “Altering the right-of-way hierarchy is not, and never should be, a mitigation for an unmanned system’s inability to detect other aircraft in the airspace,” Viola noted. VAI’s Martino says the ARC’s recommen-
dations for right-of-way and shielded areas, if implemented, would create safety hazards in the low-altitude airspace. Aircraft working critical mis- sions such as air medical, aerial firefighting, and utility maintenance and patrol would all be placed at unnecessary risk. “The safety of the NAS only
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POWER UP DEC 2024
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