Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
AUVSI Urges Movement on UAS Test Site Selection
AUVSI steps up pressure on the FAA

The U.S. trade organization representing the unmanned systems industry stepped up pressure on the FAA to select six test ranges for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) as required by the FAA reauthorization act signed into law in February. The designation of test sites has been held up over the issue of privacy arising from the surveillance capabilities of UAS. “We request the FAA to immediately announce its UAS test site selection process in order to move UAS integration forward without further delay,” the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) states in a release issued on November 28.

The reauthorization legislation directed the FAA to establish a UAS pilot program at the ranges within six months of its enactment, or by August 12. The agency initiated the effort in March with a request for comments that attracted 226 responses, but it has yet to name the test sites.

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