Full NAS Integration Plan of Action 2023
Golly, after twenty-plus years of UAS NAS integration, most folks still can’t figure out how the Chinese beat us at our own UAS game. Just ten short years ago, the AUVSI put out a forecast (political numbers Smokey Mountain forecast) that this industry would be worth $82.1 billion by 2025. We missed the mark; how and why did this happen?
Honest introspection is long overdue. Was it ineptitude, laziness, or shiftlessness on the part of the FAA? Or maybe it was just one of those one-in-eighty-two-billion crazy coincidences you see in the movies? Whatever realization we come to; the punchline is that our Chinese friends have a monopoly on small drones. Those vociferously defending the Chinese do so out of self-preservation, as without DJI, the “visionaries” have no business model.
We must implement the following, or we will spend more time on the regulatory wheel of suffering.
Conduct industry-funded scientific safety study with NASA.
General risks to the NAS, including people and property on the ground.
Kinetic energy
Reliability
Compile industry data from manufacturers and regulators for public outreach, grassroots political advocacy, and regulatory purposes.
Total hours flown, take-offs, and landings.
Reliability
Statistics for licensing, registration, and enforcement actions.
Advocacy platform for local, state, federal, and international purposes –
These efforts aim to put the economic and national security of the United States of America and NATO ally countries first.
FAA should adopt standards that incentivize using domestically manufactured hardware, subsystems, sensors, software, etc.
FAA needs to comply with the laws passed by Congress. That includes the full NAS integration mandated for September 30th of, 2015.
FAA reauthorizations need to include compliance with the laws Congress makes. No deviations or missed deadlines, or mandates without peer-reviewable scientific data to confirm assertions.
The FAA will not promulgate new rules or policies without peer-reviewable scientific data to justify the need.
All regulations and policies promulgated with the assistance of representatives from companies funded by or complying with rules and laws of the Chinese Communist Party or the Peoples’ Republic of China need a forensic review. Those regulations and policy changes may have assisted in facilitating a monopoly for Chinese-made drones and may have inadvertently circumvented the rights of the people guaranteed them by the Constitution of the United States of America. A committee of SMEs appointed by Congress should conduct the review.
The FAA must disclose any ex parte correspondence with the CCP/PRC representatives in text, email, sidebar meetings, or phone calls on or off the public’s time. No more private-public rulemaking.
FAA will conduct due diligence and investigate committee participants/SMEs to determine whether they are representatives of companies that received direct or indirect investment from the CCP or PRC. Compliance with the FARA Act is a must. The FAA must disclose publicly that those representatives work as foreign agents in writing and on official policy or rulemaking documents. https://www.justice.gov/nsd-fara
Advocate for a nonbiased and independent Drone Czar – (I have nominees)
The Drone Czar is a person who has professional/expert knowledge of not only the problems associated with UAS integration but also understands the history, engineering, systems, and regulation that it would take to put the Rube Goldberg machine together. This person has to have an intimate understanding of the laws and processes for UAS NAS integration and would be responsible for reporting to the highest levels of Government. International harmonization and working with international groups would be a plus. They would also need to have the trust of the end-user community. Ulterior motives that would benefit, for example, a spouse’s consulting firm or facilitate a former employer-moving product would not fly. Full integration in any sort of organized and timely fashion means hiring someone capable of integrating science, international business relations, and law with the pure interests of the business community.