Jeffery E. Bauer is NASA’s liaison for Unmanned Aircraft System airspace integration activities. He serves on the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Executive Committee Senior Steering Group.
Mr. Bauer has over 20 years experience in flight research with UAS during which he acquired a thorough understanding of the issues confronting the UAS industry with respect to routine access to non-segregated airspace.
The United States Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Executive Committee (ExCom) was established in October of 2010 with the following mission statement: “The mission of this multi-agency UAS ExCom is to enable increased and ultimately routine access, of Federal UAS engaged in public aircraft operations into the NAS (National airspace system) to support operational, training, developmental, and research requirements of the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), DoD (Department of Defense), DHS (Department of Homeland Security), and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).” This presentation will outline the formation of the committee, its goals, successes, and current undertakings. Specific current activities of interest include plans to validate operational procedures and other requirements that would facilitate greater access of multiple manned and unmanned or multiple unmanned aircraft simultaneous operations in Class D airspace, routine access for ExCom agency small UAS at specific locations, as well as more routine access in remote areas.
The UAS ExCom has been valuable in prioritizing common requirements and addressing federal policy and procedures that serve toward facilitating greater and more routine UAS access to the National Airspace System (NAS) without compromising safety.