FAA Testing Drone Detection Technology, Congressional Panel Told
Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-New Jersey.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced today that it will work with CACI International Inc. to see how the company’s technology can help detect unmanned aircraft systems near airports.
The FAA hasn’t yet announced where the demonstrations will take place, or when they will begin, but FAA Deputy Administrator Mike Whitaker told members of Congress today that the effort is part of the agency’s push for drone safety.
Whitaker told members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s subcommittee on aviation that CACI’s technology can detect the radio signals used to control UAS.
“We will assess the results of that technology, as well as geofencing and other technologies,” Whitaker told subcommittee members, referring to technology that won’t allow UAS to fly where they aren’t allowed.
The subcommittee held a hearing entitled “ensuring aviation safety in the era of unmanned aircraft systems,” which included testimony from Whitaker; James Hubbard, deputy chief for state and private forestry from the U.S. Forest Service; Capt. Tim Canoll, president of the Air Line Pilots Association; Rich Hanson, director of government and regulatory affairs at the Academy of Model Aeronautics; and Mykel Kochenderfer, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University.
Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-New Jersey, who chairs the subcommittee, said the uses for UAS keep growing, and “with each new use, commercial users can save time, money and in some cases even lives.”
However, he noted that potentially problematic drone sightings, especially near airports, are on the rise, going from more than 200 in 2014 to more than 600 in 2015, according to an FAA report.
The AMA’s Hanson noted that his group evaluated that data and found that some sightings aren’t drones at all, and the situation is not as dire as initially reported.
“Indisputably, there are some records of near misses. But it appears to be in the dozens, not in the hundreds,” he said.
He and other speakers, including ALPA’s Canoll, mentioned the Know Before You Fly safety campaign, started by AUVSI and the AMA, with the FAA as a partner.
Whitaker said education on drone use is key for now, because until technology like CACI’s is proven, a drone sighting doesn’t tell the FAA where that drone operator is located.
“The reports tell us where the UAS is, but don’t tell us where the operator is, unlike laser strikes.”
Some members of the panel suggested that all drones should be registered and equipped with geofencing software, so they won’t fly where they shouldn’t and their owners can be found if they do.
Several of the witnesses said they agree with that approach, particularly on the registration of UAS. However, Hanson noted that many of the systems being sold are basically toys with short operational lives, so registration might not make sense for them.
