Inside Unmanned Systems provides actionable business intelligence to decision-makers and influencers operating within the global UAS community. Features include analysis of key technologies, policy/regulatory developments and new product design.
Issue link: https://insideunmanned.epubxp.com/i/643419
Q+A 58 unmanned systems inside January/February 2016 Q G F Q: The charter for the FAA's six unmanned test ranges is up next year. Is there a long-term role for them? a: It's going to be a very, very competitive marketplace. It's going to be a very rich area for research and development. So I think, if we look beyond the next year or two, it'd be speculative on my part to really nail down what I think—what they're going to look like in the future. MAJOR GENERAL MARKE "HOOT" GIBSON, USAF (RET) became senior advisor on UAS integration at the Federal Aviation Administration in September 2015. He works across the FAA's many programs on unmanned aircraft and is engaged in inter-agency initiatives as well as external outreach. Prior to joining FAA he was executive director of the NextGen Institute, which provides professional services to the UAS Joint Program Development Offi ce. Q: What do you see as the most pressing UAS-related priorities over the next three years? a: First and foremost we have a public trust and a priority to our mission, which is to guarantee safe operations in the National Airspace. …At the same time this is a very important industry. We want to retain our aviation global leadership and we want to permit these very bright companies, innovative companies, to have an opportunity to compete. …Also, as we collaborate with industry much more closely, it's staying flexible and agile because frankly, I think if you look back to three years ago we wouldn't have known what was going to hit today in the smalls (small unmanned aircraft) and otherwise. Q: Do you envision broader uses for the information in the drone registration database? a: Possibly, …we're still working through the day-to-day on that. But as you also had commented there's going to be a lot of information in there. First of all, when we say that, I just came from a couple different venues where folks are very concerned about privacy, and that will be addressed, so we're not talking so much about the personal information, but I think if I understand your question, there are certain demographics that might be available that we can map—what types of vehicles and where the locations are more dense, those kinds of things. But frankly we'll have to see what our role in the FAA is, but I think industry's going to be the one that is going to be interested in that as they begin to put in the communications infrastructure. Q: How do you envision energizing the integration of unmanned systems into NextGen? a: As you noticed in the bio I was executive director of the NextGen Institute for the last 18 months or so. So I'm very familiar with a number of the programs they are working on. At a personal level Ed Bolton (assistant administrator for NextGen) is an old friend of mine. We both worked together in the Air Force and so that's a very tight relationship. Q: How do you see cyber security concerns impacting the regulation and integration of UAS? a: It's going to have to be a portion of our standards, some minimums. Frankly though, like we do in so many things, I think industry will be bringing us solutions and working it. It's in their interest, obviously, that cyber doesn't impact on their operations and sales and (the) operation of their vehicles. Five Good Questions MAJOR GENERAL MARKE "HOOT" GIBSON