Commercial Drones and Advanced Air Mobility Represent a Tremendous Opportunity for the U.S. to Remain the Global Aviation Leader

WASHINGTON DC / ACCESSWIRE / August 17, 2022 / Representatives from the Commercial Drone Alliance (CDA) took part last week in a historic Summit on Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) hosted by the White House. The momentous event convened leaders from government, industry, and academia to encourage the advancement of new aviation technologies such as electric vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL) and commercial drone technologies which promise to revolutionize transportation in the present and into the future.

Building off the Summit's momentum, the CDA believes now is the time for President Biden to take strong executive action to unleash the full potential of these technologies. Lisa Ellman, Executive Director of the Commercial Drone Alliance posted the following statement outlining the CDA's stance on these technologies and encouraging the President to move the industry forward:

'We are living through an advanced aviation revolution. When its history is written, August 3, 2022, the White House Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Summit could mark a significant milestone,' said Lisa Ellman, Executive Director, Commercial Drone Alliance. 'President Biden now has the opportunity to take strong executive action unleashing the potential of these advanced aviation technologies. Such action is necessary to ensure American leadership in the next era of aviation.'

The technologies highlighted at the White House Summit improve access to transportation, lower emissions, galvanize supply chain and distribution logistics, reduce healthcare inequality, and boost public safety and emergency response. Leadership in this arena supports America's economic vitality, creates good jobs, and promotes national security.

A race is on around the world to lead the way in developing and implementing advanced aviation technology. Here in the United States, a vibrant industry is eager to put this technology to use safely and effectively across a wide array of valuable applications.

But while technological capability has quickly advanced, U.S. policy has lagged behind, hindering this industry's growth here and hurting our country's global competitiveness.

Businesses large and small are looking to uncrewed aircraft - also known as drones - to deliver vital supplies and medicines, inspect critical infrastructure, assist first responders, and much more. Support for enabling the benefits of drones has been a bipartisan policy priority since 2012 when Congress first directed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to integrate drones into the National Airspace System. The Biden-Harris Administration has provided helpful leadership on issues of drone security.

Now, 10 years later, not a single drone model has received standard FAA certification, and FAA approvals authorizing advanced operations for the benefit of the American public are limited and require cumbersome, expensive, and time-consuming procedures. For example, while U.S. companies are busy completing hundreds of thousands of safe and efficient drone deliveries in other countries, drone package delivery here in the U.S. is limited to a handful of small-scale pilot projects. And while drones are being used across America to inspect our critical transportation, energy, and communications infrastructure, outdated regulatory constraints inherently limit the scale and impact of these operations.

In the first century of flight, defined by crewed aviation, U.S. leadership was taken for granted. But in this new era of aviation defined by uncrewed and increasingly autonomous aviation, other countries are not content just to follow. Unless we prioritize progress on these innovations, we risk losing our global leadership in aviation. This matters for our economy and for our national security. In a market long characterized by state-subsidized companies based in countries of concern, U.S. leadership in the AAM sector is a strategic imperative.

The White House AAM Summit sent an important signal. As President Biden recently stated, 'When the federal government invests in innovation, it powers up the private sector to do what it does best: creating incredible new technologies, and new industries and…new jobs.'

As stated in a letter sent to the White House on August 15, 2022, by leading UAS/AAM associations and companies, unlocking the immense benefits of advanced aviation requires decisive executive action. An executive order should proclaim it the policy of the United States to lead the world in the development and deployment of uncrewed and autonomy-enabled aircraft, and direct the development of a government-wide strategy to strengthen U.S. competitiveness in advanced aviation.

The White House AAM Summit marked a strong step forward. Now it's time for our country to start running in a global race that has already begun. U.S. global leadership in aviation hangs in the balance.

About the Commercial Drone Alliance

The Commercial Drone Alliance is an independent non-profit organization led by key leaders in the commercial drone and advanced air mobility industries. The CDA brings together commercial drone end-users, manufacturers, service providers, advanced air mobility companies, drone security companies, and vertical markets including oil and gas, precision agriculture, construction, security, communications technology, infrastructure, newsgathering, and filmmaking. The CDA works with all levels of government to collaborate on policies for industry growth and seeks to educate the public on the safe and responsible use of commercial drones to achieve economic benefits and humanitarian gains.

Contact:

Joel Richman, Escalate PR for the Commercial Drone Alliance
[email protected]

SOURCE: Commercial Drone Alliance