The Draft US National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Initiative Act: A Blueprint for Europe?

A legislative draft aimed at providing thrust to the development of unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility is making its way through the United States Congress. On March 23, 2023, the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology held a hearing, questioning expert witnesses from Oklahoma State University, NASA, and from industry alliances.

In his opening statement, the Chairman of the Committee (Representative Frank Lucas, a Republican from Oklahoma), explained that

?Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are going to be a significant area of focus for this Committee this year because of the tremendous potential these technologies hold. […] The demand for UAS is growing exponentially. In 2018, the drone services market was worth less than $5 billion. [...] The market for Advanced Air Mobility is expected to increase to $115 billion by 2035, creating more than 280,000 new jobs. It is an economic imperative that we expand this industry in the United States so we can benefit from future market growth. That’s the idea behind the National Drone and Advance[d] Air Mobility Initiative Act, a bill I introduced last Congress and plan to reintroduce. […] [T]there is still more critical R&D that must be done for the United States to lead in next-generation drones and AAM technologies. [...]“

The Draft US National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Initiative Act

For discussion purposes, the Committee published a draft of the Bill that, if enacted into law, could become the United States of America’s National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Initiative Act. This draft Act is made up of nine titles, starting with the title on the US National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Initiative and including eight further titles, each directing a specific administration entity such as NASA to undertake certain steps to further the draft act’s purposes, and providing each of these entities with funds to accomplish their mission.

The draft Act provides justification for its contents through nine findings, including a finding that there are national and homeland security threats posed by unmanned aircraft systems. Maybe most noteworthy, however, are the two findings that

?[u]nmanned aircraft systems have the potential to change and transform sectors of the United States economy [and] [t]he United States needs to invest in domestic manufacturing and secure supply chains of unmanned aircraft systems to meet the demand by the Government and the commercial sectors, to reduce reliance on foreign-made systems.“

Accordingly, Section 4 of Title I of the draft Act states that

?[t]he purpose of this Act is to ensure United States leadership in unmanned aircraft sytems by (1) supporting research, development, demonstration, and testing of unmanned aircraft systems […] (5) supporting development of an advanced air mobility ecosystem in the United States.“

Essentially, the draft Act aims at growing research and development as well as manufacturing within the United States of America. Obviously, the European Union and its member states will be curious as to how their friends on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean are going to go about this, and ask themselves whether it is an example to be followed.

A New US Initiative and Funding for R&D

Under the draft US ?National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Initiative Act“, the term ?advanced air mobility“ means air transportation systems that transport individuals and property between points in the United States using aircraft, such as remotely piloted, autonomous, or vertical take-off and landing aircraft, including those powered by electric or hybrid driven propulsions, in both controlled and uncontrolled airspace, while the term ?unmanned aircraft systems“ means an unmanned aircraft (which is an aircraft that is operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the aircraft) and associated elements (including communication links and the components that control the unmanned aircraft) that are required for the operator to operate safely and efficiently in the national airspace system (cf. Section 3 of the draft Act with reference to 49 U.S.C. § 44801). Since the draft Act is also concerned with national and homeland security, the term ?counter-UAS system“ is defined to mean a system or device capable of lawfully and safely disabling, disrupting, or seizing control of an unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft system (cf. Section 3 of the draft Act with reference to 49 U.S.C. § 44801).

Under Title I of the draft Act, the President of the United States of America shall establish and implement an initiative to be known as the ?National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Initiative, and shall, acting through the Initiative Office and the Interagency Committee, carry out activities that, amongst others, include

?[the] [s]ustained, consistent, and coordinated support for next generation unmanned aircraft systems and counter-UAS systems research, development, and demonstration through grants, cooperative agreements, and testbeds.“

As regards funding, the draft Act requires an estimate of the funds necessary to carry out the activities of the Initiative to be submitted to Congress each fiscal year (cf. Section 102(c) of the draft Act). Title I of the draft Act also describes the organizational setup of the Initiative Office, the Interagency Committee (which includes NIST, NASA, the FAA, and other agencies as well as any other Federal agency considered appropriate by the US President) and of the Inititative Advisory Committee (which may include members from industry, the scientific community, the defense community and other appropriate organizations). The Advisory Committee is tasked to give advice concerning, amongst others,

?the current state of United States competitiveness and leadership in unmanned aircraft systems, including the scope and scale of United States investments in unmanned aircraft systems research and development; […] [and] whether the strategic plan developed or updated by the Interagency Committee […] is helping to maintain United States leadership in unmanned aircraft systems.“

Very obviously, the draft Act aims at pushing and speeding up the development of an unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility sector within the economy of the United States of America. Again, European counterparts may wonder whether a renewed initiative of this kind is called for on this side of the Atlantic, too.

Further Funding for other US Agencies

The draft US ?National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Initiative Act“ as currently published provides for funding for each of the eight US agencies specifically addressed by the Act, directing each of them to conduct specific activities to support research and development. In particular, Title II of the draft Act directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (this is NASA) to establish a program to award financial assistance for the planning, establishment and support of a ?network of Institutes“, which may extend to partnerships between public and private organizations, and for each fiscal year through to 2028 appropriates 5,000,000 US dollars for these purposes. In Titles III to IX, the draft Act covers the National Institute of Standards and Technology Activities (NIST), the National Science Foundation, NASA (again), the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Federal Aviation Administration. For fiscal year 2024, these agencies are appropriated the total sum of more than 185,000,000 US dollars, with similar sums for the following fiscal years through 2028.

The FAA is directed Not to Regulate

With a view to furthering research and development of unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility, the draft US ?National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Initiative Act“ mandates the US agencies to provide assistance and funding, calling on them to facilitate specific issues within their purview. However, with regard to the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States’ national civil aviation authority, the draft Act stipulates in its Section 903 that the FAA

?may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding the operation of an unmanned aircraft system—

(1) that is flown strictly for research and development use;

(2) that is operated less than 400 feet above the ground and in Class G airspace;

(3) that is operated in a manner that does not interfere with and gives way to any manned aircraft; and

(4) with respect to which, in any case in which the unmanned aircraft system is flown within 5 miles of an airport, the operator of the aircraft provides the airport operator and the airport air traffic control tower (when an air traffic facility is located at the airport) with prior notice of the operation, including by establishing a mutually agreed upon operrating procedure in cases where such unmanned aircraft system is flown from a permanent location within 5 miles of an airport.“

Apparently, the United States of America have a fundamental understanding of the fact that, apart from funding and further research and development, it is very often the absence of regulation that fosters innovation. Some will say that for European counterparts, this idea may well be the most valuable lesson to be learned.