Citation[]
Federal Aviation Administration, Joint Planning and Development Office, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Comprehensive Plan: A Report on the Nation's UAS Path Forward (Sept. 2013) (full-text).
Overview[]
The Federal Aviation Administration's Joint Planning and Development Office developed this plan under the guidance of the Next-Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) Senior Policy Committee, and in coordination with NextGen partner representatives. The Plan outlines the safe acceleration of the integration of civil UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS).
The UAS Comprehensive Plan includes UAS National Goals and Objectives that reflect the NextGen partner agencies' UAS mission needs. The work accomplished by the multi-agency teams in Fiscal Year 2012 provides the foundation for embarking on the path towards safe integration of UAS in the NAS. The completed work provides a common framework for evolving interagency coordination and planning and is a testament to the collaboration among representatives from the partner agencies and the UAS community.
The plan identifies six high-level strategic goals for integrating UAS into the national airspace, including routine public operation and routine civil operations. The Plan provides a phased-in approach for achieving these goals, which will initially focus on public UAS operations, but ultimately will provide a framework for civil UAS operations. According to the plan, each partner agency will work to achieve these national goals and may develop agency-specific plans that are aligned to the national goals and objectives.
The DOD's Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap FY2011-2036 and the FAA's UAS Integration Roadmap are examples of such plans