Federal Aviation REDAC NAS Administration

Operations

Subcommittee

Elizabeth Delarosby

March 16, 2021

RE&D Budget Status
2

Federal Aviation

Administration

R,E&D FY 2021 Budget

• FY 21 R,E&D Request $170M

– House Appropriation Committee 

• R,E&D funded at $192.6M

– Senate Appropriation Committee 

• R,E&D funded at $190.1M

– Funding Bill Enacted December 27, 2020

• R,E&D funded at $198M
3

Federal Aviation

Administration

FAA FY 2021 Budget

Appropriation FY 2021 House Difference Senate Difference Conference

Request Mark Mark

Operations $ 11,001,500,000 $ 11,051,500,000 $ 50,000,000 $ 11,001,500,000 $ - $ 11,001,500,000

Facilities & Equipment $ 3,000,000,000 $ 3,045,000,000 $ 45,000,000 $ 3,011,980,000 $ 11,980,000 $ 3,015,000,000

Research Engineering & 

Development $ 170,000,000 $ 192,665,000 $ 22,665,000 $ 190,097,000 $ 20,097,000 $ 198,000,000

Grants-in-aid for Airports $ 3,350,000,000 $ 3,850,000,000 $ 500,000,000 $ 3,750,000,000 $ 400,000,000 $ 5,750,000,000

Total $ 17,521,500,000 $ 18,139,165,000 $ 617,665,000 $ 17,953,577,000 $ 432,077,000 $ 19,964,500,000
4

Federal Aviation

Administration

FY 2019, 2020, 2021 R,E&D Enacted

Program

FY 2019 

Enacted 

($000)

FY 2020 

Enacted 

($000)

FY 2021 

Request 

($000)

FY 2021 House 

Mark ($000)

FY 2021 

Senate Mark 

($000)

FY 2021 Enacted 

($000)

FY 2021 

Conference 

Delta with 

Request +/-

Research, Engineering & Development

Fire Research and Safety 7,200 7,200 7,136 7,136 7,136 7,136 0

Propulsion and Fuel Systems 2,100 2,100 4,215 4,215 4,215 4,215 0

Advanced Materials/Structural Safety 14,720 14,720 1,003 1,191 14,720 14,720 13,717

Aircraft Icing/Digital System Safety/Aircraft Cyber 9,253 9,000 6,426 7,500 6,426 6,426 0

Continued Air Worthiness 11,269 10,269 9,642 11,269 9,642 11,269 1,627

Aircraft Catastrophic Failure Prevention Research 1,570 1,565 0 3,000 0 1,565 1,565

Flightdeck/Maintenance/System Integration Human Factors 7,305 7,300 7,469 7,469 7,469 7,469 0

Safety System Management/Terminal Area Safety 5,500 4,500 5,485 5,485 5,485 5,485 0

Air Traffic Control Technical Operations Human Factors 5,800 5,800 5,685 5,685 5,685 5,685 0

Aeromedical Research 9,080 7,919 10,235 11,500 10,235 10,235 0

Weather Program 15,476 12,911 6,236 7,750 6,236 6,236 0

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research 24,035 24,035 24,035 24,035 24,035 24,035 0

Alternative Fuels for General Aviation 1,900 1,900 2,524 2,524 2,524 2,524 0

Commercial Space Transportation Safety 2,500 2,500 5,840 5,840 5,840 5,840 0

NextGen - Wake Turbulence 6,831 5,000 3,698 3,698 3,698 3,698 0

NextGen - Air Ground Integration Human Factors 6,757 5,300 6,757 6,000 6,757 6,000 -757

NextGen - Weather Technology in the Cockpit 3,644 3,144 1,982 1,982 1,982 1,982 0

Information/Cyber Security 1,232 2,675 4,769 4,769 4,769 4,769 0

NextGen-Flight Deck Data Exchange Requirements 1,035 1,005 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 0

Environment and Energy 18,013 18,013 17,911 21,000 18,013 20,303 2,392

NextGen Environmental Research Aircraft Technologies and Fuels 29,174 29,174 27,009 35,174 29,174 31,465 4,456

Airliner Cabin Environment Research 0 1,000 0 0 0 0 0

System Planning and Resource Management 2,135 12,135 8,022 11,522 12,135 13,022 5,000

William J. Hughes Technical Center Laboratory Facilities 4,571 3,500 2,921 2,921 2,921 2,921 0

Total 191,100 192,665 170,000 192,665 190,097 198,000 28,000
5

Federal Aviation

Administration

FY 2021 Conference Language 

• Advanced Materials/Structural Safety – This includes (1) $6M to advance the use 

of these new additive materials (both metallic and non-metallic based additive 

processes) into the commercial aviation industry; (2) $4M to advance the use of fiber 

reinforced composite materials into the commercial aviation industry through the FAA 

Joint Advanced Materials and Structures Center of Excellence; and (3) $2M for the 

FAA to continue its work with existing public-private partnerships that provide leadingedge research, development, and testing of composite materials and structures.

• Unmanned Aircraft System Research – This includes (1) $12,035,000 to support 

the expanded role of the UAS Center of Excellence (COE) in areas of UAS research, 

including cybersecurity, agricultural applications, beyond visual line of sight 

technology, studies of advanced composites and other non-metallic engineering 

materials not common to manned aircraft but utilized in UAS, the STEM program, and 

to continue efforts with the UAS safety research facility at the Center to study 

appropriate safety standards for UAS and to develop and validate certification 

standards for such systems; 
6

Federal Aviation

Administration

FY 2021 Conference Language 

• UAS Continued: (2) $2M for the Center’s role in transportation disaster 

preparedness and response, partnering with institutions that have demonstrated 

experience in damage assessment, collaboration with state transportation agencies, 

and applied UAS field testing; and (3) $10M to support UAS research activities at the 

FAA Technical Center and other FAA Facilities.

• Community and Technical College Centers of Excellence (COE) in Small UAS 

Technology Training Program – The FAA should continue working with the UAS 

Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) schools and the consortium for small unmanned 

aircraft system technology training to develop additional benefits and opportunities for 

engagement as both programs are developed. The FAA should use available funds 

to assist designated UAS CTIs and include any funding needs permissible under 

current law for this program in future budget justifications.
7

Federal Aviation

Administration

FY 2021 Conference Language

• Environmental sustainability – The agreement provides $20,303,000 for 

Environment and Energy, of which up to $3M is additional funding for the FAA to 

analyze noise at a national level using existing public health surveillance datasets 

and to conduct field studies in the U.S. The agreement provides $31,465,000 for 

NextGen Environmental Research Aircraft Technologies and Fuels, of which up to 

$3M is additional funding to support the Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and 

Noise (CLEEN) program and $15M is for the Center of Excellence. The agreement 

directs the FAA to continue to provide resources to certify fuels for safe use in 

commercial aviation and their inclusion for meeting compliance obligations under 

CORSIA, and encourages utilization of the Aviation Sustainability Center (ASCENT) 

researchers to address the entire sustainable aviation fuels supply chain to identify 

and enable industry to overcome key barriers to entry such as fuels costs. 
8

Federal Aviation

Administration

FY 2021 House Language

• Aviation Professionals – The Committee supports increasing the strength and 

number of aviation professionals who are well – trained and can be relied upon to 

make air travel safe and efficient. To that end, the Committee provides $5,000,000 for 

the aviation maintenance technician development program and $5,000,000 for 

aviation workforce development program in accordance with section 625 of the FAA 

Reauthorization Act (P.L. 115-254). Additionally, the Committee directs the FAA to 

include the section 625 grant program as part of the workforce diversity briefing 

required under the “Operations” heading.
9

Federal Aviation

Administration

FY 2022 Budget

• Awaiting OMB Pass Back

• President’s Budget Submission – Date: TBD
10 Federal Aviation

Administration

R,E&D FY 2023 Budget 

• FY 2023 target ?

• Deliver to OST June 2021?

• FY 2023 remaining schedule 

– Submit to OMB mid September 

– Submit President’s request to Congress Feb. 2022
11 Federal Aviation

Administration

Out Year Targets

• Targets established ?

– FY 23 - ?

– FY 24 - ?

– FY 25 - ?

– FY 26 - ?

– FY 27 - ?

• Expect targets to change
12 Federal Aviation

Administration

FAA Reauthorization

• Current Reauthorization signed by President 

Oct 5, 2018 which extends authorization thru 

2023
13 Federal Aviation

Administration

Budget Future - TBD