I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4489 

To provide for Federal Aviation Administration research and development, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 8, 2016 

Mr. KNIGHT (for himself, Mr. BABIN, and Mr. SMITH of Texas) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, 

and Technology 

A BILL 

To provide for Federal Aviation Administration research and 

development, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

6 ‘‘FAA Leadership in Groundbreaking High-Tech Research 

7 and Development Act’’ or the ‘‘FLIGHT R&D Act’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

9 this Act is as follows: 

TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE II—FAA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION 

Sec. 11. Associate Administrator for Research and Development. 

Sec. 12. Research advisory committee. 

Sec. 13. Plan to determine research and development responsibility. 

TITLE III—UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS 

Sec. 21. Unmanned aircraft systems research and development roadmap. 

Sec. 22. Probabilistic metrics for exemptions. 

Sec. 23. Probabilistic assessment of risks. 

Sec. 24. Unmanned aerial vehicle-manned aircraft collision research. 

TITLE IV—CYBERSECURITY 

Sec. 31. Cyber Testbed. 

Sec. 32. Cabin communications, entertainment, and information technology systems cybersecurity vulnerabilities. 

Sec. 33. Cybersecurity threat modeling. 

Sec. 34. National Institute of Standards and Technology cybersecurity standards. 

Sec. 35. Cybersecurity research coordination. 

Sec. 36. Cybersecurity research and development program. 

TITLE V—FAA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 41. Research plan for the certification of new technologies into the national airspace system. 

Sec. 42. Aviation fuel research, development, and usage. 

Sec. 43. Air traffic surveillance over oceans and other remote locations. 

Sec. 44. Single-piloted commercial cargo aircraft. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 As used in this Act, the following definitions apply: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

5 Aviation Administration. 

6 (2) FAA.—The term ‘‘FAA’’ means the Fed7 eral Aviation Administration. 

8 (3) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na9 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 


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1 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Transportation. 

3 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 Section 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in the matter before paragraph (1) by strik7 ing ‘‘and, for each of fiscal years 2012 through 

8 2015, under subsection (g)’’; 

9 (2) at the end of paragraph (8), by striking 

10 ‘‘and’’; 

11 (3) by striking paragraph (9); and 

12 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(9) for fiscal year 2016, $166,000,000, includ14 ing— 

15 ‘‘(A) $95,969,000 for Safety Research and 

16 Development programs, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) Fire Research and Safety; 

18 ‘‘(ii) Propulsion and Fuel Systems; 

19 ‘‘(iii) Advanced Materials/Structural 

20 Safety; 

21 ‘‘(iv) Aircraft Icing/Digital System 

22 Safety; 

23 ‘‘(v) Continued Airworthiness; 

24 ‘‘(vi) Aircraft Catastrophic Failure 

25 Prevention Research; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) Flightdeck/Maintenance/System 

2 Integration Human Factors; 

3 ‘‘(viii) System Safety Management; 

4 ‘‘(ix) Air Traffic Control/Technical 

5 Operations Human Factors; 

6 ‘‘(x) Aeromedical Research; 

7 ‘‘(xi) Weather Program; 

8 ‘‘(xii) Unmanned Aircraft Systems 

9 Research; 

10 ‘‘(xiii) NextGen–Alternative Fuels for 

11 General Aviation; 

12 ‘‘(xiv) Joint Planning and Develop13 ment Office; 

14 ‘‘(xv) Ocean and Other Remote Loca15 tions ATS Research Program; 

16 ‘‘(xvi) Cybersecurity Research Pro17 gram; 

18 ‘‘(xvii) Cybersecurity Threat Modeling 

19 Program; 

20 ‘‘(xviii) Single Piloted Commercial 

21 Cargo Aircraft Program; and 

22 ‘‘(xix) UAV-Manned Aircraft Collision 

23 Research Program; 


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1 ‘‘(B) $22,589,000 for Economic Competi2 tiveness Research and Development programs, 

3 including— 

4 ‘‘(i) NextGen–Wake Turbulence; 

5 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Air Ground Integration 

6 Human Factors; 

7 ‘‘(iii) Next Gen–Weather Technology 

8 in the Cockpit; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) Commercial Space Transpor10 tation Safety; 

11 ‘‘(C) $41,897,000 for Environmental Sus12 tainability Research and Development pro13 grams, including— 

14 ‘‘(i) Environment and Energy; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Environmental Re16 search–Aircraft Technologies, Fuels and 

17 Metrics; and 

18 ‘‘(D) $5,545,000 for Mission Support pro19 grams, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) System Planning and Resource 

21 Management; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) William J. Hughes Technical 

23 Center Laboratory Facility; 

24 ‘‘(10) for fiscal year 2017, $169,000,000, in25 cluding— 


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1 ‘‘(A) $98,400,000 for Safety Research and 

2 Development programs, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) Fire Research and Safety; 

4 ‘‘(ii) Propulsion and Fuel Systems; 

5 ‘‘(iii) Advanced Materials/Structural 

6 Safety; 

7 ‘‘(iv) Aircraft Icing/Digital System 

8 Safety; 

9 ‘‘(v) Continued Airworthiness; 

10 ‘‘(vi) Aircraft Catastrophic Failure 

11 Prevention Research; 

12 ‘‘(vii) Flightdeck/Maintenance/System 

13 Integration Human Factors; 

14 ‘‘(viii) System Safety Management; 

15 ‘‘(ix) Air Traffic Control/Technical 

16 Operations Human Factors; 

17 ‘‘(x) Aeromedical Research; 

18 ‘‘(xi) Weather Program; 

19 ‘‘(xii) Unmanned Aircraft Systems 

20 Research; 

21 ‘‘(xiii) NextGen–Alternative Fuels for 

22 General Aviation; 

23 ‘‘(xiv) Joint Planning and Develop24 ment Office; 


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1 ‘‘(xv) Ocean and Other Remote Loca2 tions ATS Research Program; 

3 ‘‘(xvi) Cybersecurity Research Pro4 gram; 

5 ‘‘(xvii) Cybersecurity Threat Modeling 

6 Program; 

7 ‘‘(xviii) Single Piloted Commercial 

8 Cargo Aircraft Program; and 

9 ‘‘(xix) UAV-Manned Aircraft Collision 

10 Research Program; 

11 ‘‘(B) $25,110,000 for Economic Competi12 tiveness Research and Development programs, 

13 including— 

14 ‘‘(i) NextGen–Wake Turbulence; 

15 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Air Ground Integration 

16 Human Factors; 

17 ‘‘(iii) Next Gen–Weather Technology 

18 in the Cockpit; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) Commercial Space Transpor20 tation Safety; 

21 ‘‘(C) $39,548,000 for Environmental Sus22 tainability Research and Development pro23 grams, including— 

24 ‘‘(i) Environment and Energy; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Environmental Re2 search–Aircraft Technologies, Fuels and 

3 Metrics; and 

4 ‘‘(D) $5,942,000 for Mission Support pro5 grams, including— 

6 ‘‘(i) System Planning and Resource 

7 Management; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) William J. Hughes Technical 

9 Center Laboratory Facility; 

10 ‘‘(11) for fiscal year 2018, $173,000,000, in11 cluding— 

12 ‘‘(A) $100,738,000 for Safety Research 

13 and Development programs, including— 

14 ‘‘(i) Fire Research and Safety; 

15 ‘‘(ii) Propulsion and Fuel Systems; 

16 ‘‘(iii) Advanced Materials/Structural 

17 Safety; 

18 ‘‘(iv) Aircraft Icing/Digital System 

19 Safety; 

20 ‘‘(v) Continued Airworthiness; 

21 ‘‘(vi) Aircraft Catastrophic Failure 

22 Prevention Research; 

23 ‘‘(vii) Flightdeck/Maintenance/System 

24 Integration Human Factors; 

25 ‘‘(viii) System Safety Management; 


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1 ‘‘(ix) Air Traffic Control/Technical 

2 Operations Human Factors; 

3 ‘‘(x) Aeromedical Research; 

4 ‘‘(xi) Weather Program; 

5 ‘‘(xii) Unmanned Aircraft Systems 

6 Research; 

7 ‘‘(xiii) NextGen–Alternative Fuels for 

8 General Aviation; 

9 ‘‘(xiv) Joint Planning and Develop10 ment Office; 

11 ‘‘(xv) Ocean and Other Remote Loca12 tions ATS Research Program; 

13 ‘‘(xvi) Cybersecurity Research Pro14 gram; 

15 ‘‘(xvii) Cybersecurity Threat Modeling 

16 Program; 

17 ‘‘(xviii) Single Piloted Commercial 

18 Cargo Aircraft Program; and 

19 ‘‘(xix) UAV-Manned Aircraft Collision 

20 Research Program; 

21 ‘‘(B) $25,703,000 for Economic Competi22 tiveness Research and Development programs, 

23 including— 

24 ‘‘(i) NextGen–Wake Turbulence; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Air Ground Integration 

2 Human Factors; 

3 ‘‘(iii) Next Gen–Weather Technology 

4 in the Cockpit; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) Commercial Space Transpor6 tation Safety; 

7 ‘‘(C) $40,475,000 for Environmental Sus8 tainability Research and Development pro9 grams, including— 

10 ‘‘(i) Environment and Energy; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Environmental Re12 search–Aircraft Technologies, Fuels and 

13 Metrics; and 

14 ‘‘(D) $6,084,000 for Mission Support pro15 grams, including— 

16 ‘‘(i) System Planning and Resource 

17 Management; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) William J. Hughes Technical 

19 Center Laboratory Facility; and 

20 ‘‘(12) for fiscal year 2019, $174,000,000, in21 cluding— 

22 ‘‘(A) $101,397,000 for Safety Research 

23 and Development programs, including— 

24 ‘‘(i) Fire Research and Safety; 

25 ‘‘(ii) Propulsion and Fuel Systems; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Advanced Materials/Structural 

2 Safety; 

3 ‘‘(iv) Aircraft Icing/Digital System 

4 Safety; 

5 ‘‘(v) Continued Airworthiness; 

6 ‘‘(vi) Aircraft Catastrophic Failure 

7 Prevention Research; 

8 ‘‘(vii) Flightdeck/Maintenance/System 

9 Integration Human Factors; 

10 ‘‘(viii) System Safety Management; 

11 ‘‘(ix) Air Traffic Control/Technical 

12 Operations Human Factors; 

13 ‘‘(x) Aeromedical Research; 

14 ‘‘(xi) Weather Program; 

15 ‘‘(xii) Unmanned Aircraft Systems 

16 Research; 

17 ‘‘(xiii) NextGen–Alternative Fuels for 

18 General Aviation; 

19 ‘‘(xiv) Joint Planning and Develop20 ment Office; 

21 ‘‘(xv) Ocean and Other Remote Loca22 tions ATS Research Program; 

23 ‘‘(xvi) Cybersecurity Research Pro24 gram; 


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1 ‘‘(xvii) Cybersecurity Threat Modeling 

2 Program; 

3 ‘‘(xviii) Single Piloted Commercial 

4 Cargo Aircraft Program; and 

5 ‘‘(xix) UAV-Manned Aircraft Collision 

6 Research Program; 

7 ‘‘(B) $25,837,000 for Economic Competi8 tiveness Research and Development programs, 

9 including— 

10 ‘‘(i) NextGen–Wake Turbulence; 

11 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Air Ground Integration 

12 Human Factors; 

13 ‘‘(iii) Next Gen–Weather Technology 

14 in the Cockpit; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) Commercial Space Transpor16 tation Safety; 

17 ‘‘(C) $40,603,000 for Environmental Sus18 tainability Research and Development pro19 grams, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) Environment and Energy; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) NextGen–Environmental Re22 search–Aircraft Technologies, Fuels and 

23 Metrics; and 

24 ‘‘(D) $6,163,000 for Mission Support pro25 grams, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) System Planning and Resource 

2 Management; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) William J. Hughes Technical 

4 Center Laboratory Facility.’’. 

5 TITLE II—FAA RESEARCH AND 

6 DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION 

7 SEC. 11. ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR RESEARCH AND 

8 DEVELOPMENT. 

9 (a) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 3 months after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

11 appoint an Associate Administrator for Research and De12 velopment. 

13 (b) SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE.—The Associate 

14 Administrator for Research and Development shall be a 

15 Senior Executive Service position. 

16 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Associate Adminis17 trator for Research and Development shall, at a minimum, 

18 be responsible for— 

19 (1) management and oversight of all the FAA’s 

20 research and development programs and activities; 

21 and 

22 (2) production of all congressional reports from 

23 the FAA relevant to research and development, in24 cluding the National Aviation Research Plan. 


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1 (d) DUAL APPOINTMENT.—The Associate Adminis2 trator for Research and Development may be a dual-ap3 pointment, holding the responsibilities of another Asso4 ciate Administrator. 

5 SEC. 12. RESEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

6 (a) ADVICE AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Section 

7 44508(a)(1)(A) of title 49, United States Code, is amend8 ed to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(A) provide advice and recommendations to 

10 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis11 tration and Congress about needs, objectives, plans, 

12 approaches, content, and accomplishments of all 

13 aviation research and development activities and 

14 programs carried out, including those under sections 

15 40119, 44504, 44505, 44507, 44511–44513, and 

16 44912 of this title;’’. 

17 (b) WRITTEN REPLY TO RESEARCH ADVISORY COM18 MITTEE.—Section 44508 of title 49, United States Code, 

19 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(f) WRITTEN REPLY.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

22 after receiving any recommendation from the re23 search advisory committee, the Administrator shall 

24 provide a written reply to the research advisory com25 mittee that, at a minimum— 


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1 ‘‘(A) clearly states whether the Adminis2 trator accepts or rejects the recommendations; 

3 ‘‘(B) explains the rationale for the Admin4 istrator’s decision; 

5 ‘‘(C) sets forth the timeframe in which the 

6 Administrator will implement the recommenda7 tion; and 

8 ‘‘(D) describes the steps the Administrator 

9 will take to implement the recommendation. 

10 ‘‘(2) TRANSPARENCY.—The written reply to the 

11 research advisory committee, when transmitted to 

12 the research advisory committee, shall be— 

13 ‘‘(A) made publicly available on the re14 search advisory committee website; and 

15 ‘‘(B) transmitted to the Committee on 

16 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

17 Representatives and the Committee on Com18 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen19 ate. 

20 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL AVIATION RESEARCH PLAN.— 

21 The National Aviation Research Plan shall include a 

22 summary of all research advisory committee rec23 ommendations and a description of the status of 

24 their implementation.’’. 


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1 SEC. 13. PLAN TO DETERMINE RESEARCH AND DEVELOP2 MENT RESPONSIBILITY. 

3 (a) PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 

4 enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation 

5 with the Research, Engineering, and Development Advi6 sory Committee, NASA, and other relevant agencies, shall 

7 enter into an arrangement with an external independent 

8 systems engineering and technical assistance organization 

9 to develop a plan, in the event that the national air traffic 

10 control system is required to be transferred to a non-Fed11 eral entity, for the transition of FAA research and devel12 opment activities to such entity. 

13 (b) PLAN CONTENTS.—At a minimum, the plan de14 veloped pursuant to subsection (a) shall— 

15 (1) examine all FAA research and development 

16 activities, regardless of the budget account funding 

17 such activities; 

18 (2) take into account such required transfer of 

19 the national air traffic control system; 

20 (3) recommend research and development ac21 tivities that— 

22 (A) should be transferred to such non-Fed23 eral entity; 

24 (B) should not be transferred to such non25 Federal entity; and 


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1 (C) should be shared between the FAA and 

2 such non-Federal entity; 

3 (4) identify the necessary authorities that exist 

4 or are required to carry out the recommendations 

5 under paragraph (3); 

6 (5) assess the pros and cons of transferring 

7 particular categories of research and development 

8 activities from the FAA to such non-Federal entity; 

9 and 

10 (6) take into account the safety of the national 

11 airspace system, national security, foreign policy, 

12 and the economic interests of the United States. 

13 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

15 the plan required under subsection (a) to— 

16 (1) the Research, Engineering, and Develop17 ment Advisory Committee; and 

18 (2) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

19 Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

20 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor21 tation of the Senate. 

22 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ASSESSMENT.—Not later 

23 than 6 months after receiving the report under subsection 

24 (c), the Research, Engineering, and Development Advisory 

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1 quired under subsection (a) to the Committee on Science, 

2 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

3 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor4 tation of the Senate. 

5 TITLE III—UNMANNED 

6 AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS 

7 SEC. 21. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS RESEARCH AND 

8 DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP. 

9 Section 332(a)(5) of the FAA Modernization and Re10 form Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended— 

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘, in coordination with NASA 

12 and relevant stakeholders, including those in indus13 try and academia,’’ after ‘‘Web site’’; and 

14 (2) by inserting after ‘‘annually.’’ the following: 

15 ‘‘The roadmap shall include, at a minimum— 

16 ‘‘(A) cost estimates, planned schedules, 

17 and performance benchmarks, including specific 

18 tasks, milestones, and timelines for unmanned 

19 aircraft systems integration into the national 

20 airspace system, including— 

21 ‘‘(i) the role of the 6 unmanned air22 craft systems test ranges established under 

23 subsection (c) and the Unmanned Aircraft 

24 Systems Center of Excellence; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) performance and certification 

2 standards for unmanned aircraft systems 

3 that operate in the national airspace sys4 tem; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) an identification of tools needed 

6 to assist air traffic controllers in managing 

7 unmanned aircraft systems in the national 

8 airspace system; 

9 ‘‘(B) a description of how the FAA plans 

10 to use research and development, including re11 search and development conducted through 

12 NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic 

13 Management, to accommodate, integrate, and 

14 provide for the evolution of unmanned aircraft 

15 systems into the national airspace system; 

16 ‘‘(C) an assessment of critical performance 

17 abilities necessary to integrate unmanned air18 craft systems into the national airspace system, 

19 and how these performance abilities can be 

20 demonstrated; and 

21 ‘‘(D) an update on the advancement of 

22 technologies needed to integrate unmanned air23 craft systems into the national airspace system, 

24 including decisionmaking by adaptive systems 


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1 such as sense-and-avoid, availability of fre2 quency spectrum, and cyber physical security.’’. 

3 SEC. 22. PROBABILISTIC METRICS FOR EXEMPTIONS. 

4 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall commis6 sion an independent study to— 

7 (1) develop parameters to conduct research and 

8 development for probabilistic metrics to enable the 

9 identification of hazards and the assessment of risks 

10 as necessary to make determinations under section 

11 333(a) of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act 

12 of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) that certain un13 manned aircraft systems may operate safely in the 

14 national airspace system; 

15 (2) identify additional research needed to more 

16 effectively develop and use such metrics and make 

17 such determinations; and 

18 (3) in developing parameters for probabilistic 

19 metrics, this study shall take into account the utility 

20 of performance standards to make determinations 

21 under section 333(a) of the FAA Modernization and 

22 Reform Act of 2012. 

23 (b) CONSIDERATION OF RESULTS.—The Adminis24 trator shall consider the results of the study conducted 


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1 under subsection (a) when making a determination de2 scribed in subsection (a)(1). 

3 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 9 months after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

5 the results of the study conducted under subsection (a) 

6 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

7 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com8 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

9 SEC. 23. PROBABILISTIC ASSESSMENT OF RISKS. 

10 The Administrator shall conduct research and devel11 opment to enable a probabilistic assessment of risks to in12 form requirements for standards for operational certifi13 cation of public unmanned aircraft systems in the national 

14 airspace. 

15 SEC. 24. UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE-MANNED AIRCRAFT 

16 COLLISION RESEARCH. 

17 (a) RESEARCH.—The Administrator shall coordinate 

18 with NASA to conduct comprehensive testing of un19 manned aerial vehicles colliding with a manned aircraft, 

20 including— 

21 (1) collisions between unmanned aerial vehicles 

22 of various sizes, traveling at various speeds, and 

23 commercial jet airliners of various sizes, traveling at 

24 various speeds; 


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1 (2) collisions between unmanned aerial vehicles 

2 of various sizes, traveling at various speeds, and pro3 peller planes of various sizes, traveling at various 

4 speeds; 

5 (3) collisions between unmanned aerial vehicles 

6 of various sizes, traveling at various speeds, and 

7 blimps of various sizes, traveling at various speeds; 

8 (4) collisions between unmanned aerial vehicles 

9 of various sizes, traveling at various speeds, and 

10 rotorcraft of various sizes, traveling at various 

11 speeds; and 

12 (5) collisions between unmanned aerial vehicles 

13 and various parts of the aforementioned aircraft, in14 cluding— 

15 (A) windshields; 

16 (B) noses; 

17 (C) engines; 

18 (D) radomes; 

19 (E) propellers; and 

20 (F) wings. 

21 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

23 a report summarizing the costs and results of research 

24 under this section to the Committee on Science, Space, 

25 and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 


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1 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

2 the Senate. 

3 TITLE IV—CYBERSECURITY 

4 SEC. 31. CYBER TESTBED. 

5 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Administrator shall develop an integrated 

7 Cyber Testbed for research, development, evaluation, and 

8 validation of air traffic control modernization programs or 

9 technologies, before they enter the national airspace sys10 tem, as being compliant with FAA data security regula11 tions. The Cyber Testbed shall be part of an integrated 

12 research and development test environment capable of cre13 ating, identifying, defending, and solving cybersecurity-re14 lated problems for the national airspace system. This inte15 grated test environment shall incorporate integrated test 

16 capacities within the FAA related to the national airspace 

17 system and NextGen. 

18 SEC. 32. CABIN COMMUNICATIONS, ENTERTAINMENT, AND 

19 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS CY20 BERSECURITY VULNERABILITIES. 

21 (a) EVALUATION.—The Administrator shall evaluate 

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1 tems on civil passenger aircraft. This evaluation shall in2 clude research and development to address— 

3 (1) technical risks and vulnerabilities; 

4 (2) potential impacts on the national airspace 

5 and public safety; and 

6 (3) identification of deficiencies in cabin-based 

7 cybersecurity. 

8 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator shall— 

9 (1) conduct an assessment of opportunities to 

10 cooperate with the private sector in conducting air11 craft in-cabin cybersecurity research and develop12 ment; and 

13 (2) provide recommendations to improve re14 search and development on cabin-based cybersecurity 

15 vulnerabilities. 

16 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 9 months after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

18 a report on the results of activities under this section to 

19 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

20 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com21 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. This 

22 report may contain classified annexes. 

23 SEC. 33. CYBERSECURITY THREAT MODELING. 

24 (a) PROGRAM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall con2 sult the National Institute of Standards and Tech3 nology to research and develop an internal FAA cy4 bersecurity threat modeling program to detect cyber5 security vulnerabilities, track how those 

6 vulnerabilities might be exploited, and assess the 

7 magnitude of harm that could be caused by the ex8 ploitation of those vulnerabilities. 

9 (2) UPDATES.—This program shall be updated 

10 regularly, not less than once every 5 years. 

11 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, and within 7 days of each threat 

13 modeling program update under subsection (a)(2), the Ad14 ministrator shall transmit a report to the Committee on 

15 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep16 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

17 and Transportation of the Senate detailing the status, re18 sults, and composition of the threat modeling program. 

19 SEC. 34. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH20 NOLOGY CYBERSECURITY STANDARDS. 

21 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, the FAA shall, in consultation with the Na23 tional Institute of Standards and Technology, transmit to 

24 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

25 House of Representatives and the Committee on ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Feb 09, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4489.IH H4489

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1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

2 that includes— 

3 (1) a cybersecurity standards plan to implement 

4 National Institute of Standards and Technology re5 visions to cybersecurity guidance documents within 

6 timeframes set by the Office of Management and 

7 Budget; and 

8 (2) an explanation of why any such rec9 ommendations are not incorporated in the plan or 

10 are not incorporated within such timeframes. 

11 SEC. 35. CYBERSECURITY RESEARCH COORDINATION. 

12 The Administrator shall, where feasible, cooperate on 

13 cybersecurity research and development with other inter14 national air traffic management organizations, including 

15 the European Aviation Safety Agency, the United King16 dom Civil Aviation Authority, Nav Canada, and 

17 Airservices Australia. 

18 SEC. 36. CYBERSECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

19 PROGRAM. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6 months after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the FAA, in consulta22 tion with other agencies as appropriate, shall establish a 

23 research and development program to improve the cyber24 security of civil aircraft and the national airspace system. 

25 (b) PLAN.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the FAA shall de3 velop a plan for the research and development pro4 gram established under subsection (a) that contains 

5 objectives, proposed tasks, milestones, and a 5-year 

6 budgetary profile. 

7 (2) NATIONAL ACADEMIES’ STUDY.—The Ad8 ministrator shall— 

9 (A) enter into an arrangement with the 

10 National Academies for a study of the plan de11 veloped under paragraph (1); and 

12 (B) provide the results of that study to the 

13 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

14 of the House of Representatives and the Com15 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor16 tation of the Senate not later than 18 months 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

18 TITLE V—FAA RESEARCH AND 

19 DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES 

20 SEC. 41. RESEARCH PLAN FOR THE CERTIFICATION OF 

21 NEW TECHNOLOGIES INTO THE NATIONAL 

22 AIRSPACE SYSTEM. 

23 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with NASA, 

25 shall transmit a comprehensive research plan for the cerVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:01 Feb 09, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4489.IH H4489

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1 tification of new technologies into the national airspace 

2 system to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech3 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

4 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

5 This plan shall identify research necessary to support the 

6 certification and implementation of NextGen, including 

7 both ground and air elements, and explain the plan’s rela8 tionship to other activities and procedures required for 

9 certification and implementation of new technologies into 

10 the national airspace system. This plan shall be informed 

11 by and conform to the recommendations of the National 

12 Research Council report titled ‘‘Transformation in the 

13 Air—A Review of the FAA Research Plan’’, issued on 

14 June 8, 2015. This report shall include, at a minimum— 

15 (1) a description of the strategic and prescrip16 tive value of the research plan; 

17 (2) an explanation of the expected outcomes 

18 from executing the plan; 

19 (3) an assessment of the FAA’s plan to use re20 search and development to improve cybersecurity 

21 over the next 5 years, taking into account the cyber22 security research and development plan developed 

23 under section 36(b); 


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1 (4) an assessment of the current software as2 surance practices, and the desired level or attributes 

3 to target in the software assurance program; 

4 (5) cost estimates, planned schedules, and per5 formance benchmarks, including specific tasks, mile6 stones, and timelines and including an identification 

7 of cost and schedule reserves, for the certification of 

8 new technologies into the national airspace system, 

9 including NextGen, Automatic Dependent Surveil10 lance-Broadcast, Data Communications, National 

11 Airspace System Voice System, Collaborative Air 

12 Traffic Management Technologies, NextGen Weath13 er, and System Wide Information Management; 

14 (6) methods for integrating emerging tech15 nologies throughout NextGen’s development, certifi16 cation, and implementation process; and 

17 (7) best practices in research and development 

18 used by other organizations, such as NASA, 

19 NavCanada, and Eurocontrol. 

20 SEC. 42. AVIATION FUEL RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND 

21 USAGE. 

22 The Administrator may conduct or supervise re23 search, development, and service testing, currently being 

24 conducted under the Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative 

25 (PAFI) unleaded avgas program, that is required to allow 


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1 the use of an unleaded aviation gasoline in existing air2 craft as a replacement for leaded gasoline. 

3 SEC. 43. AIR TRAFFIC SURVEILLANCE OVER OCEANS AND 

4 OTHER REMOTE LOCATIONS. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Adminis6 trator, in consultation with NASA and other relevant 

7 agencies, shall establish a research and development pro8 gram on civilian air traffic surveillance over oceans and 

9 other remote locations. Such program shall— 

10 (1) take into account the need for international 

11 interoperability of technologies and air traffic control 

12 systems; and 

13 (2) recognize that Automatic Dependent Sur14 veillance-Broadcast (ADS–B) is an element of the 

15 Next Generation Air Transportation System. 

16 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall es17 tablish a pilot program to test, evaluate, and certify for 

18 integration into the national airspace system air traffic 

19 surveillance equipment for oceans and other remote loca20 tions. 

21 (c) PARTNERSHIP WITH PRIVATE INDUSTRY.—The 

22 Administrator shall partner with private industry on the 

23 research, development, testing, and evaluation under this 

24 section. 


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1 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

3 transmit a report on activities under this section to the 

4 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

5 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com6 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

7 SEC. 44. SINGLE-PILOTED COMMERCIAL CARGO AIRCRAFT. 

8 (a) PROGRAM.—The FAA, in consultation with 

9 NASA and other relevant agencies, shall establish a re10 search and development program in support of single-pi11 loted cargo aircraft assisted with remote piloting and com12 puter piloting. 

13 (b) REVIEW.—The FAA, in consultation with NASA, 

14 shall conduct a review of FAA research and development 

15 activities in support of single-piloted cargo aircraft as16 sisted with remote piloting and computer piloting. 

17 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit 

19 a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech20 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

21 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

22 that describes— 

23 (1) the program established under subsection 

24 (a); and 


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1 (2) the results of the review conducted under 

2 subsection (b). 

Æ 


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