H. R. 302—99 
(1) the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office on 
Violence Against Women of the Department of Justice; 
(2) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and 
(3) the Department of Transportation. 
Subtitle B—Unmanned Aircraft Systems 
SEC. 341. DEFINITIONS; INTEGRATION OF CIVIL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT 
SYSTEMS INTO NATIONAL AIRSPACE SYSTEM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of subtitle VII of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 447 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘CHAPTER 448—UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS 
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘44801. Definitions. 
‘‘44802. Integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into national airspace sys-
tem. 
‘‘§ 44801. Definitions 
‘‘In this chapter, the following definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) ACTIVELY TETHERED UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.— 
The term ‘actively tethered unmanned aircraft system’ means 
an unmanned aircraft system in which the unmanned aircraft 
component— 
‘‘(A) weighs 4.4 pounds or less, including payload but 
not including the tether; 
‘‘(B) is physically attached to a ground station with 
a taut, appropriately load-rated tether that provides contin-
uous power to the unmanned aircraft and is unlikely to 
be separated from the unmanned aircraft; and 
‘‘(C) is controlled and retrieved by such ground station 
through physical manipulation of the tether. 
‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEES
OF
CONGRESS.—The term 
‘appropriate committees of Congress’ means the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
of Representatives. 
‘‘(3) ARCTIC.—The term ‘Arctic’ means the United States 
zone of the Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea, and Bering Sea north 
of the Aleutian chain. 
‘‘(4) CERTIFICATE OF WAIVER; CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORIZA-
TION.—The terms ‘certificate of waiver’ and ‘certificate of 
authorization’ mean a Federal Aviation Administration grant 
of approval for a specific flight operation. 
‘‘(5) 
COUNTER-UAS 
SYSTEM.—The 
term 
‘counter-UAS 
system’ means a system or device capable of lawfully and 
safely disabling, disrupting, or seizing control of an unmanned 
aircraft or unmanned aircraft system. 
‘‘(6) PERMANENT
AREAS.—The term ‘permanent areas’ 
means areas on land or water that provide for launch, recovery, 
and operation of small unmanned aircraft. 
‘‘(7) PUBLIC UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The term ‘public 
unmanned aircraft system’ means an unmanned aircraft system 
that meets the qualifications and conditions required for oper-
ation of a public aircraft.
H. R. 302—100 
‘‘(8) SENSE AND AVOID CAPABILITY.—The term ‘sense and 
avoid capability’ means the capability of an unmanned aircraft 
to remain a safe distance from and to avoid collisions with 
other airborne aircraft, structures on the ground, and other 
objects. 
‘‘(9) 
SMALL
UNMANNED
AIRCRAFT.—The 
term 
‘small 
unmanned aircraft’ means an unmanned aircraft weighing less 
than 55 pounds, including the weight of anything attached 
to or carried by the aircraft. 
‘‘(10) TEST RANGE.—The term ‘test range’ means a defined 
geographic area where research and development are conducted 
as authorized by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration, and includes any of the 6 test ranges estab-
lished by the Administrator under section 332(c) of the FAA 
Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note), 
as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the 
FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, and any public entity author-
ized by the Federal Aviation Administration as an unmanned 
aircraft system flight test center before January 1, 2009. 
‘‘(11) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘unmanned aircraft’ 
means an aircraft that is operated without the possibility of 
direct human intervention from within or on the aircraft. 
‘‘(12) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The term ‘unmanned 
aircraft system’ means an unmanned 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 air-
space system. 
‘‘(13) UTM.—The term ‘UTM’ means an unmanned aircraft 
system traffic management system or service. 
‘‘§ 44802. Integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into 
national airspace system 
‘‘(a) REQUIRED PLANNING FOR INTEGRATION.— 
‘‘(1) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.—Not later than November 10, 
2012, the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with 
representatives of the aviation industry, Federal agencies that 
employ unmanned aircraft systems technology in the national 
airspace system, and the unmanned aircraft systems industry, 
shall develop a comprehensive plan to safely accelerate the 
integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national 
airspace system. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The plan required under para-
graph (1) shall contain, at a minimum, recommendations or 
projections on— 
‘‘(A) the rulemaking to be conducted under subsection 
(b), with specific recommendations on how the rulemaking 
will— 
‘‘(i) define the acceptable standards for operation 
and certification of civil unmanned aircraft systems; 
‘‘(ii) ensure that any civil unmanned aircraft 
system includes a sense-and-avoid capability; and 
‘‘(iii) establish standards and requirements for the 
operator and pilot of a civil unmanned aircraft system, 
including standards and requirements for registration 
and licensing;
H. R. 302—101 
‘‘(B) the best methods to enhance the technologies and 
subsystems necessary to achieve the safe and routine oper-
ation of civil unmanned aircraft systems in the national 
airspace system; 
‘‘(C) a phased-in approach to the integration of civil 
unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace 
system; 
‘‘(D) a timeline for the phased-in approach described 
under subparagraph (C); 
‘‘(E) creation of a safe airspace designation for coopera-
tive manned and unmanned flight operations in the 
national airspace system; 
‘‘(F) establishment of a process to develop certification, 
flight standards, and air traffic requirements for civil 
unmanned aircraft systems at test ranges where such sys-
tems are subject to testing; 
‘‘(G) the best methods to ensure the safe operation 
of civil unmanned aircraft systems and public unmanned 
aircraft systems simultaneously in the national airspace 
system; and 
‘‘(H) incorporation of the plan into the annual NextGen 
Implementation Plan document (or any successor docu-
ment) of the Federal Aviation Administration. 
‘‘(3) DEADLINE.—The plan required under paragraph (1) 
shall provide for the safe integration of civil unmanned aircraft 
systems into the national airspace system as soon as prac-
ticable, but not later than September 30, 2015. 
‘‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than February 14, 
2013, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a copy of the 
plan required under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(5) ROADMAP.—Not later than February 14, 2013, the Sec-
retary shall approve and make available in print and on the 
Administration’s internet website a 5-year roadmap for the 
introduction of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the 
national airspace system, as coordinated by the Unmanned 
Aircraft Program Office of the Administration. The Secretary 
shall update, in coordination with the Administrator of the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and 
relevant stakeholders, including those in industry and aca-
demia, the roadmap annually. The roadmap shall include, at 
a minimum— 
‘‘(A) cost estimates, planned schedules, and perform-
ance benchmarks, including specific tasks, milestones, and 
timelines, for unmanned aircraft systems integration into 
the national airspace system, including an identification 
of— 
‘‘(i) the role of the unmanned aircraft systems test 
ranges established under subsection (c) and the 
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence; 
‘‘(ii) performance objectives for unmanned aircraft 
systems that operate in the national airspace system; 
and 
‘‘(iii) research and development priorities for tools 
that could assist air traffic controllers as unmanned 
aircraft systems are integrated into the national air-
space system, as appropriate;
H. R. 302—102 
‘‘(B) a description of how the Administration plans 
to use research and development, including research and 
development conducted through NASA’s Unmanned Air-
craft Systems Traffic Management initiatives, to accommo-
date, integrate, and provide for the evolution of unmanned 
aircraft systems in the national airspace system; 
‘‘(C) an assessment of critical performance abilities nec-
essary to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the 
national airspace system, and how these performance abili-
ties can be demonstrated; and 
‘‘(D) an update on the advancement of technologies 
needed to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the 
national airspace system, including decisionmaking by 
adaptive systems, such as sense-and-avoid capabilities and 
cyber physical systems security. 
‘‘(b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 18 months after the date 
on which the plan required under subsection (a)(1) is submitted 
to Congress under subsection (a)(4), the Secretary shall publish 
in the Federal Register— 
‘‘(1) a final rule on small unmanned aircraft systems that 
will allow for civil operation of such systems in the national 
airspace system, to the extent the systems do not meet the 
requirements for expedited operational authorization under sec-
tion 44807; 
‘‘(2) a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the 
recommendations of the plan required under subsection (a)(1), 
with the final rule to be published not later than 16 months 
after the date of publication of the notice; and 
‘‘(3) an update to the Administration’s most recent policy 
statement on unmanned aircraft systems, contained in Docket 
No. FAA–2006–25714.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chapters for subtitle 
VII of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to chapter 447 the following: 
‘‘448 . Unmanned aircraft systems .......................................................................44801’’. 
(2) REPEAL.—Section 332 of the FAA Modernization and 
Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) and the item relating 
to that section in the table of contents under section 1(b) 
of that Act are repealed. 
SEC. 342. UPDATE OF FAA COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall update 
the comprehensive plan described in section 44802 of title 49, 
United States Code, to develop a concept of operations for the 
integration of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace system. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the update under sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall consider, at a minimum— 
(1) the potential use of UTM and other technologies to 
ensure the safe and lawful operation of unmanned aircraft 
in the national airspace system; 
(2) the appropriate roles, responsibilities, and authorities 
of government agencies and the private sector in identifying 
and reporting unlawful or harmful operations and operators 
of unmanned aircraft;