FAA Selects AURA for BVLOS Aviation Rulemaking Committee
By: Aura Network Systems
Tags: Aviation, Urban Air Mobility, NASA, Bvlos

Press Release

June 16, 2021

Regulatory Affairs Director Jim Williams to Co-Chair Working Group

AURA Network Systems is pleased to announce that it has been selected to serve on a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rulemaking committee for unmanned aircraft that aims to create a “regulatory path for routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations.” The company’s communications network utilizes aviation-approved spectrum and is designed to enable the commercial viability of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) market by providing nationwide, secure and reliable voice and data communications to the aviation industry.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson announced the new Aviation Rulemaking Committee, or ARC, in a virtual keynote address at the FAA’s sixth annual UAS Symposium and included a six-month deadline for committee recommendations.

“This is a huge step forward,” said Jim Williams, AURA’s regulatory affairs director who will represent the company on the ARC and co-chair one of its working groups. “We’re honored to be included and very pleased the FAA recognizes the need for third-party services supporting unmanned aircraft to be part of determining a regulatory path forward.”

Currently, BVLOS flights are allowed but only under special FAA waivers that can’t easily accommodate routine business uses, explained Williams. He also noted that the FAA’s six-month timeline for committee recommendations is “very ambitious” and illustrates the value the agency places on moving forward quickly. Analysts have valued the global commercial drone market size at $13.44 billion in 2020, and it is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 57.5% through 2028.

In making the ARC announcement, the FAA also issued a formal charter for the committee and outlined its scope of work: “Today, companies, communities, and industrial sectors are eager to realize these benefits and have invested substantial resources developing UAS technologies. The FAA’s existing regulatory framework must change to better support the long-term viability and sustainability of this evolving aviation sector.” The agency noted the need for collaboration among the entire UAS community in order to address these challenges and pointed out how the rulemaking will impact safety, security and societal acceptance.

(For more about Jim Williams, see his bio.)

About AURA Network Systems

AURA Network Systems provides voice, data and navigation capabilities via a nationwide, ultra-reliable communications network designed specifically for manned and unmanned aviation use cases. Utilizing licensed aviation-approved spectrum, AURA’s private network delivers secure command-and-control (C2) communications links for the aviation sector, including the UAS/drone market so that government agencies, transportation and logistics and critical infrastructure industries can ultimately augment operations with autonomous air vehicles and capitalize on the full potential of Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) technology.

For further information:

Michael Tucker

tucker@plumblinepublicaffairs.com