About UVS International

Transcription

UVS INTERNATIONAL
Background & Activities
Federating The International RPAS Community
ARGENTINA
Australia
Austria
Belgium
CANADA
France
FINLAND
Germany
Italy
Italy
THE NETHERLANDS
Norway
Romania
Southern Africa
Spain
SWITZERLAND
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
representing over 1900 companies & organisations in 42 countries
Issue Date: 5 May 2015
Correspondance & Visitors: UVS International - 86 rue Michel Ange, 2nd Building, 2nd Floor, FR-75016 Paris, France
Tel.: 33-1-46.51.88.65 - Fax: 33-1-46.51.02.55 - [email protected] - www.uvs-international.org
UVS International
Background & Activities
Federating & Promoting International Coordination,
Cooperation, Harmonised Regulations & Information Dissemination
Relative to Remotely Piloted Systems
UVS International is a non-profit
in the RPS field on a national, regional
association
registered
with
the
and international level.
Chamber of Commerce in The Hague,
• Promote fair competition.
The
Netherlands
and
operates
• Provide a means to create regional
out of offices in Paris, France. It
and international consensual views
represents manufacturers of remotely
on topics of importance to the RPS
piloted systems (RPS), related subcommunity.
systems and critical components and
• Provide the RPS community with a
associated equipment, as well as
voice on a regional & global level.
companies supplying services with or
• Provide a forum to identify and
for RPS, research organisations and
examine business opportunities &
academia. In this context, RPS should
areas of interest for the benefit of the
be understood as re-useable and
a regional or the international RPS
UVS International’s office, The Hague, The Netherlands
expendable remotely piloted air, space,
community.
terrestrial and maritime systems (civil &
• Facilitate the co-ordination of
military), as well as non-reusable remotely piloted air, ground &
national regulatory efforts on a regional and global level, in
naval target systems.
order to promote harmonization.
• Instigate & co-ordinate national, regional & international RPS
UVS International represents over 1900 corporate, academic and
promotional efforts, including - amongst others - conferences,
institutional members in 42 countries on 5 continents, namely in:
workshops, exhibitions, as well as educational events.
ArgentinaAustralia Austria
Belgium
• Promote and instigate regional and international industrial
Botswana
Brazil
Canada
China
co-operation.
Czech Rep. Denmark
Finland
France
• Maintain relations with national, regional, and international
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
organisations for the benefit of the Members.
IndiaIrelandIsrael Italy
• Provide a forum for potential users to present their requirements.
Japan
Latvia
LuxembourgMalaysia
• Centralise RPS-related information, regulatory and other
Namibia
Netherlands
New Zealand Norway
reference documents.
Portugal
Moldova Rep. Romania
Russian Fed. • Keep Members informed on international developments of
Singapore Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
RPS related matters.
Spain
Sweden SwitzerlandUK
• Promote co-operation between industry, R&D organisations
UkraineUSA
and academic institutions.
• Study and examine possible
The objectives of UVS International
solutions to any problem relating to
are to:
RPS, in particular scientific, technical,
• Promote
the
development,
socio-economic, social, documentary,
production and use of RPS of all
insurance and legal problems.
sizes and in all classes.
• Promote the future civil &
And to do everything relating to the
commercial use of RPS .
foregoing in the broadest sense of
• Facilitate
the
exchange
of
the word and always with respect for
information and co-operation in
existing safety and security standards
the field of RPS between industry
or with the intent of attempting to
(manufacturers
&
operators),
improve them.
national and regional government
authorities (civil & military), national
Background & Milestones
aviation authorities, universities,
training organisations, research &
UVS International originally started
development centres, international
its activity as EURO UVS, which was
organisations, and all other relevant
instigated in June 1995, as an initiative
stakeholders.
to federate the European UVS industry.
• Take measures in order to promote
EURO UVS initially functioned as a
the establishment and adoption of
loose federation of corporate entities
UVS International’s office Paris, France
national, regional and international
without any official legal structure. In
regulations and legislation with
May 1998 it was incorporated in Paris,
respect to the use of RPS.
France as a French registered association. It rapidly became
• Promote the establishment of RPS related standards, apparent that the French association structure and French law
certification & traffic management norms on national, regional governing associations would not allow the association to develop
and international levels.
in the desired direction and take on the activities it was aiming
• Promote the establishment and introduction of acceptable for. Consequently, it was decided to terminate its existence as a
insurance norms, as well as classifications and terminology French registered association and to found a new one with the
UVS International: Background & Activities - 86 rue Michel Ange, 2nd Building, 2nd Floor, FR-75016 Paris, France
Tel.: 33-1-46.51.88.65 - Fax: 33-1-46.51.02.55 - [email protected] - www.uvs-international.org - 5 May 2015 - Blyenburgh © - Page: 2/38
same name in The Netherlands. EURO UVS was registered with
the Chamber of Commerce in The Hague, The Netherlands in
January 2000. The French registered association ceased to exist
in May 2000.
Starting at its original inception, the association has endeavoured
to have a significant number of honorary members; these
honorary members are all representatives of national civil
aviation authorities or serving military officers directly involved
with RPS. The intent of this category of members was to create
an international network, which would permit the honorary
members to contact each other and discuss RPS matters of
mutual interest as association members, instead of having to
go through official channels, thereby making the circulation
of information much faster, and at the same time creating
beneficial relationships.
Starting in 1999, the association instigated the formation of
national RPAS working groups consisting of industry, and in
some cases government and military representatives, to deal
with RPAS-related airworthiness, certification and air traffic
management issues on a national level, and to exchange
information amongst each other. This initiative resulted, directly or
indirectly, in the formation of the following national associations:
• AERPAS, Spain
• ASSORPAS, Italy
• AVBS, Czech Rep.
• BeUAS, Belgium
• DARPAS, The Netherlands • FPDF, France
• Japan UAV Association • Korea UVS Association
• UAS Norway, Norway • UAV DACH, Germany *
• UAVS, UK • Unmanned Systems Canada
* : UAV DACH, a multi-national German language Working Group instigated
by UVS International in 2000, became a national association in 2010.
Increase of Voting Rights
In December 2002, the General Assembly decided to extend
voting rights to include corporate members with their registered
headquarters and principal place of operations in an ECAC
country, namely: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Rep., Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Rep. of
Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovak Rep., Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and such other countries as
the association’s Board of Directors could unanimously agree on.
Name + Statute Change & 2nd Increase of Voting Rights
In early December 2003, the EURO UVS General Assembly
decided by unanimous vote to modify its statute by granting
voting rights to all corporate members, irrespective of the
country in which they are established and where they deploy
their principal activities, and to change its name to UVS
International, in order to better reflect the association’s global
character and outreach.
As not all members with voting rights were present at the
General Assembly, it was decided to inform all members with
voting rights and permit them to cast their vote by email. All
votes cast, but one, were in favour of the proposed statute
amendment.
In February 2004, EURO UVS changed its name to UVS
International and the association’s new statute entered into force.
The new statute permitted the corporate member representatives
from all countries (except those on the United Nations and/or the
European Union blacklist) to submit their candidacy for a position
on the association’s Board of Directors. The association’s Statute
can be found at www.uvs-international.org.
Organisation & Management
As already indicated, UVS International is a Dutch legal entity
registered in The Hague, The Netherland. However, all of its
activities are deployed from offices in Paris, France, which are put
at its disposal by the French registered company Blyenburgh & Co.
This company has been contractually entrusted by the UVS
International Board of Directors with the day-to-day management
of the association. Blyenburgh & Co has also been entrusted with
the responsibility of creating and maintaining the association’s
web site and organising all UVS International’s conferences &
exhibitions, symposiums and workshops, which are all organized
without any financial risk to UVS International, or its members.
The Board of Directors
The members of the Board of Directors are elected by the
association’s General Assembly for a term of two years.
In January 2006, the General Assembly voted to increase the
number of Board of Director members. In February 2008, the
UVS General Assembly, followed by an Extra Ordinary General
Assembly in April 2008, voted to again increase the number of
Board of Director members and to modify the association’s statute
in order to make this possible. The current composition of the UVS
International Board of Directors is indicated on the following page.
Board of Director Observer status can be granted by the Board of
Directors to a deserving individual. Observers do not have voting
rights concerning matters decided by the Board of Director, but can
participate in all board deliberations. The possible transition from
Observer to full board member is decided by the General Assembly.
In February 2013, the General Assembly voted to institute a
Board of Directors with two distinct sections, namely:
• An Executive Committee consisting of at least the President,
Treasurer, Secretary and having full decision-making power;
• A Non-Executive Committee with advisory capabilities;
and to make the necessary changes to the association’s statute.
The current composition of the UVS International Board of
Directors is indicated on the pages 4 & 5.
The General Assembly in February 2013 also decided to
instore a new definition of membership categories. The
General Assembly in December 2013 decided to permit Partner
Organisation representatives to be part of the Non-Executive
Committe of the Board of Directors (see page 5).
Global Access Initiative
In August 2005, UVS International initiated the Global Access
Initiative, which has as objective to make RPAS-related
information (regulatory, technical, commercial) available to
all. Within the framework of the Global Access Initiative, UVS
International representatives have given multiple presentations
at conferences worldwide. Detailed information on the Global
Access Initiative and the list of presentations made throughout
the world since 2006 can be found on www.uvs-info.com and in
the latest edition of the RPAS Yearbook.
International RPAS Coordination Council (IRCC)
In March 2008, on suggestion of its President, the UVS
International Board of Directors decided to establish the
International RPAS Coordination Council (International RPAS
CC). The International RPAS CC was conceived as an advisory
group without a legal structure, which would function as a working
group. The following types of organisations were agreed to be
eligible to apply for membership in the International RPAS CC:
2015 UVS International - Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Peter van Blyenburgh
Horst Schmidt-Bischoffshausen
Blyenburgh & Co v France
STIC Consulting v Germany
Director - Secretary
Director - President & Treasurer
(2nd year - 2nd mandate)
(2nd year - 9th mandate)
Non-Executive Members
RAdm (rtd) Chris Ames
General Atomics ● USA
Director
(2nd year - 1st mandate)
André Jadot
Trimble Group ● USA
Director
(1st year - 1st mandate)
André Clot
Jean Fournier
Joost de Ruiter
EuroUSC ♦ UK
HighEye v The Netherlands Global Aerospace ● France
Director
Director
Director
Alexander Koldaev
Peter La Franchi
DB Watt-Conversion ♦ Russia LFRG Pty Ltd v Australia
Director
Director
Simo Mäkipaja
Patria ● Finland
Director
(2nd year - 3rd mandate)
22 Countries Represented
ArgentinaAustria
AustraliaBelgium
BotswanaCanada
ChinaFinland
FranceGermany
ItalyNamibia
NetherlandsNorway
Romania
Russian Fed.
South Africa Spain
SwedenSwitzerland
UKUSA
Mikael Hult
CybAero ♦ Sweden
Director
Nick Miller
Thales Aerospace ● UK
Director
(2nd year - 6th mandate)
v = Micro Company
< 10 employees
Turnover: < Euro 2 million
4 Members
♦ = SME/SMI
< 250 employees
Turnover: <Euro 50 million
4 Members
Michael Perry
DJI Innovations ● China
Director
Baptiste Tripard
SenseFly ♦ Switzerland
Observer
● = Industry
> 250 employees
Turonover: >Euro 50 million
6 Members
International RPAS Coordination Council
Non-Executive Members of the Board of Directors
Hector Luis Vargas
ARPASA
Argentina
Joe Urli
ACUO
Australia
Raoul Fortner
AAI-UAS Group
Austria
Jürgen Verstaen
BeUAS
Belgium
st
(1 year - 2nd mandate)
Robert Kendall
Unmanned Systems
Canada
Juhani Kangasniemi
RPAS Finland
Finland
Stéphane Morelli
FPDC
France
Bernhard von Bothmer
UAV-DACH
Germany
Paolo Marras
ASSORPAS
Italy
(1st year - 2nd mandate)
Andrea Torri
FIAPR
Italy
Robert van Nieuwland
DARPAS
The Netherlands
(2nd year - 2nd mandate)
Ole Vidar Homleid
UAS Norway
Norway
(2nd year - 3rd mandate)
Manuel Onate
Hennie Kieser
Florin Nedelcut
AERPAS
CUAASA
UVS Romania
Spain
S. Africa, Botswana, Namibia
Romania
Dominik Jenzer
SFCD
Switzerland
Gary Clayton
UAVS
United Kingdom
Angus Benson-Blair
ARPAS
United Kingdom
• National associations (duly registered as such in their
respective countries);
• National federations & syndicates;
• National centres of excellence;
• National & multi-national working groups;
• National competence centres;
• European technology platforms.
Two of the basic objectives of the International RPAS CC were to:
• Bring the international RPAS community together without any
single organisation dominating another, and increase the flow
of information to all;
• Promote international coordination, cooperation & understanding.
The general goals of the International RPAS CC, which should
be seen within the framework of UVS International’s Global
Access Initiative, are:
• Contribute to increasing international awareness of RPASrelated matters;
• Give national and multi-national working groups the possibility
to make their voice heard globally;
• Increase the dual-directional flow of information in all fields
between all International RPAS CC members;
• Be instrumental to organize and supply national inputs
to international working groups, or other RPAS-related
international efforts.
The decided general scope and activities of the International
RPAS CC are as follows:
• International RPAS CC members supply, on a voluntary
basis, the UVS International Board of Directors with:
- Recommendations on policy and/or actions to be taken
and/or new activities to be initiated by UVS International;
- Information for dissemination to the international RPS community.
• International RPAS CC members receive from UVS
International:
- Information for dissemination to its members;
-Support to organize national conferences, symposiums,
workshops, etc;
- Support to internationally promote national events;
- Invitations to supply an article for inclusion in the annual
RPAS Yearbook.
- The possibility to supply technical and opinion papers for
posting on www.uvs-info.com;
- Hard copies of the annual RPAS Yearbook (for distribution
to their organisation’s members), and an electronic copy of
this publication for posting on their organisation’s web site
and/or intranet.
One of the drivers to create the International RPAS CC was to
create a structure that would permit the international Light RPAS
community to contribute in a significant way to the ongoing
standards work concerning Light RPAS (<150 kg) in EUROCAE
WG93 on Light RPAS. The start-up of the International RPAS
CC was coordinated with the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking
on Unmanned Systems (JARUS).
In December 2013, subsequent to the publishing of the
European RPAS Roadmap, the UVS International Executive
Committee decided to create the European RPAS Coordination
Council (Euro RPAS CC), a sub-set of the International RPAS
CC, and to instore new qualifying rules. The Euro RPAS CC
was created with the objective of federating the European
RPAS community (manufacturers & operators), and, under the
umbrella of UVS International, form a significant and focused
RPAS stakeholder group, that can make its voice heard at
political level during the definition and implementation phases
of the European RPAS Roadmap.
Within the framework of the General Assembly’s decision
in February 2013 on the new formulation of membership
categories, the General Assembly decided in December 2013
that non-corporate members in the Partner Organisation
category (national association, federation, syndicate, trade
union) which are duly registered with their competent national
authority as a legal entity, would be admitted to the International
and Euro RPAS CC, as well as to the Non-Executive Committee
of the Board of Directors (with voting rights).
The current 18 members of the International RPAS Ccoordination
Council and their representatives are:
• AAI, Austria
Raoul Fortner
• ACUO, Australia
Joe Urli
• AERPAS, Spain
Manuel Onate
• ARPAS, UK
Philip Tarry
• ARPASA, Argentina
Hector Luis Vargas
• ASSORPAS, Italy
Paolo Marras
• BeUAS, Belgium
Jürgen Verstaen
• CUAASA, Southern Africa
Hennie Kieser
• DARPAS, The Netherlands
Rob van Nieuwland
• FPDC, France
Stéphane Morelli
• FIAPR, Italy
Andrea Torri
• RPAS Finland, Finland
Juhani Kangasniemi
• SFCD, Switzerland
Dominik Jenzer
• UAS Norway, Norway
Ole Vidar Homleid
• UAV DACH, Germany
• UAVS, UK
Gary Clayton
• Unmanned Systems Canada
Robert Kendall
• UVS Romania, Romania
Adrian Nedecut
Organisation of Conferences & Workshops
Conferences, either with or without associated exhibitions, and
workshops are an important activity for the association. Most
conferences organized by UVS International are technical and
non-commercial and strive to bring the international remotely
piloted systems community together.
The annual RPAS conference has without any doubt become
not only the largest RPAS-related conference in Europe, but
also the prime international forum focussing on RPAS-related
standards, airworthiness, certification, air traffic management
and policy issues. It is the only event of its kind where RPAS
policy is discussed.
The excellent relations that UVS International maintains with
a large number of European and non-European Ministries
of Defence, national civil aviation authorities, European
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), European Defence Agency
(EDA), Eurocontrol, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Joint
Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems (JARUS),
NATO & numerous stakeholder groups, makes it possible to
have significant regulatory authority, government & military
participation at these events.
Since its inception, UVS International has organized or
contributed to the organisation of a significant number of
conferences and workshops in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia,
the Middle East, North America and South America.
UVS International News Flashes
In January 2005, UVS International initiated a news flash service
for its members. By means of this service, the association
supplied information (articles, press releases, etc) on RPS (air,
ground, naval) to its members. This service was extended to
also include all government representatives (civil & military),
as well as representatives of national civil aviation authorities
(CAAs), international regulatory authorities, air navigation service
providers (ANSPs), international organisations, the diplomatic
corps and academia, that figure in the UVS International
database.
In January 2011, the aforementioned service was replaced by UAS
Vision, a daily newsletter distributed by email or via an RSS feed.
UVS International Web Site
The association’s web site (www.uvs-international.org)
features, amongst others, information on the association’s
background & activities and how to join, a library with member
brochures & product datasheets, a photo library with photo of
RPAS produced by members, the UVS News Flash library,
documents relative to various actions undertaken by the
association, announcement of upcoming events, and links to its
member’s web sites.
World’s Largest Generic RPS Web Site
In 2006, the www.uav-info.com web site address was changed
to www.uvs-info.com. This generic web site, developed by
Blyenburgh & Co for the benefit of UVS International members,
and the international RPS community in general, currently has
three distinct sections:
• Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS);
• Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Systems;
• Unmanned Maritime Systems (UMS).
Amongst other things, the RPAS section contains the complete
editions of the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009,
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014 RPAS yearbook, photo reports
of RPAS deployments, probably the world’s largest on-line
RPAS photo library (separate sections for systems produced by
members & non-members), RPAS-related terms & definitions
and abbreviations, the world’s largest collection of international
RPAS-related regulatory documents, manufacturer’s RPAS
brochures & datasheets, split in two categories (produced by
members & non-members).
The UGV Section contains more than 300 technical specification
forms from 140 companies in 27 countries, a UGV photo and
datasheet library, generic UGV documents (studies, national
roadmaps, programme overviews) and UGV system brochures.
The UMS Section contains brochures and data sheets on
remotely piloted maritime systems, a photo library, generic
documents (studies, national roadmaps, programme overviews).
This web site also features:
• Downloadable & printable RPAS and UGV posters;
• Links to the web sites of all UVS International corporate members,
national civil aviation authorities, international regulatory
authorities, aviation stakeholders, and partner organisations.
The UCARE Programme
The international UCARE (UAVs: Concerted Actions for
Required REgulations) Programme was initiated by Blyenburgh
& Co for UVS International with the objective to create the basis
of an organization to develop recommendations with the aim
to facilitate the establishment of rules and regulations allowing
the introduction of military and civil/commercial RPAS into civil
managed airspace, regardless of borders.
The basic strategy was to federate the international
RPAS community behind a common goal, and, within a
dedicated framework, create the required basis for issuing
recommendations for a consensual policy and competence
standards. There were two levels of participation: Participants
& Contributors. Participants were representatives of corporate
UVS International members, industry associations, and
international organizations (Eurocontrol, FAA, JAA, NATO) that
took on specific work tasks. The Participants were organized on
a national or multi-national basis under a national coordinator.
UCARE had Participants in Australia, Austria, Canada, France,
Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA.
Contributors were representatives of non-corporate entities
and international organizations (civil & military government
organizations, Eurocontrol, FAA, JAA, NATO, national civil aviation
authorities, government R&D organizations, universities), which
contributed significantly by supplying documents and studies.
The UCARE document library has been migrated to www.uvsinfo.com, which now offers the world’s largest publicly available
library of documents & opinion papers relating to airworthiness,
certification and air traffic management issues pertaining to RPAS.
Joint JAA/Eurocontrol UAV Task Force
On April 3, 2002, after substantial lobbying by UVS International,
the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) agreed to set up the Joint
JAA/Eurocontrol UAV Task Force. The terms of reference of
this Task Force, agreed on by the JAA Executive Board and
Eurocontrol, were subsequently presented during the UCARE
Symposium part of the UAV 2002 conference in Paris, France
in June 2002. The first meeting of the UAV Task Force took
place at JAA headquarters in Hoofddorp, The Netherlands on
October 9 and 10, 2002.
In accordance with the Terms of Reference, the «concept»
approach proposed by JAA, addressed the design, manufacture
and maintenance of RPAS, the operations of RPAS (in particular
the approval of operators), the Rules of the Air and various securityrelated issues. The concept was to be based on: • Identification of current & budding RPAS technologies and
their possible applications;
• Creation of RPAS categories;
• Identification of lower mass limit(s) for regulations at
European level;
• Review of existing documents (draft standards, research studies);
• Consideration & evaluation of the use of a total system approach.
Particular attention was paid to operator qualification &
approval, legal issues in relation to the ICAO Convention Art. 8,
and terminology issues; the composition of the UAV Task Force
was established in accordance with JAR-11 (JAA Regulatory
& Related Procedures) and Eurocontrol’s requirements for
stakeholder involvement. UVS International fulfilled the Task
Force’s secretariat function.
The joint JAA/Eurocontrol UAV Task Force, was the first initiative
of its kind in the world. The UAV Task Force’s final report, which
has become an internationally recognised reference document,
can be found on www.rpas-regulations.com.
EASA’s A.NPA
On October 18, 2005 UVS International, in anticipation of the
Advance Notice of Prior Amendment (A.NPA) to be published
by the European Aviaton Safety Agency (EASA), organized a
presentation of the policy section of the A.NPA by Yves Morier
(EASA) to European industry and interested government
representatives at the Belgian Aeronautical Museum in
Brussels, Belgium. This meeting had as principal purpose to
permit EASA to explain the background and intention of the
A.NPA and to allow European industry representatives to
request clarification of certain
sections of the A.NPA text, which
had been made available to all
attendees several days prior to
the meeting. The draft A.NPA
had undergone internal EASA
consultation and had also been
supplied to FAA for commentary.
ICAO UAS Study Group
Patricipants
Montreal, Canada - 2009
EASA’s A.NPA was published
on November 7, 2005. The
complete text of the A.NPA
is posted on www.uvs-info.
com. The A.NPA can be seen
as the follow-on to the widely
applauded Joint JAA/Eurocontrol
UAV Task Force’s Final Report
that came out in June 2004.
The A.NPA concerns aircraft
with a MTOW of more than 150
kg and addresses, amongst
others, the following issues: the
procedure for RPAS certification, type certification, selection of
the manned airworthiness code reference, the tailoring of the
reference manned airworthiness code, UAS safety objectives &
criteria, special conditions & interpretative material, continued
airworthiness.
UVS International, with inputs from the Euro UAV ICB members,
observers and corporate observers, supplied a federated
European commentary to the A.NPA. UVS International also
instigated a coordinated Canadian commentary to the A.NPA.
European UAV Industry Consultation Body
In anticipation of the publication of the final report of the Joint JAA/
Eurocontrol UAV Task Force, UVS International instigated the
formation of this Industry Consultation Body (ICB) in April 2004.
The vision of the Euro UAV ICB was to have operators of qualified
civil, commercial and military UAV systems able fly their UAS
routinely, safely & reliably in non-segregated European airspace.
The Euro UAV ICB gave itself the mission to be the European
industrial focal point for all European authorities (civil &
military, including NATO FINAS), and to take a pro-active
European industry position concerning the development of
recommendations relative to requirements and procedures that
are necessary to make its vision reality. These recommendations
were to encompass, but not be limited to, requirements &
procedures in the following categories:
•
•
•
•
•
Airworthiness Safety & Security
Maintenance
CNS/ATM
Legal Considerations
•
•
•
•
System Certification
Flying Operations
Training
Aerodrome Interface
The companies participating in the Euro UAV ICB agreed to
federate their expertise & pool their resources in order to attain
their objectives. The Euro UAV ICB was officially established
in February 2005 and functioned as an independent working
group entity with its own finances, and in accordance with
the Statute of UVS International. The secretariat function was
entrusted to UVS International.
In February 2007, the companies participating in the Euro UAV
ICB concluded that, in order to take their initiative to the next
stage, a more formal structure was required. Furthermore, they
wanted to participate in a proposal to the European Defence
Agency concerning a study contract. They decided to combine
their forces with those of several other companies, which were
not participating in the Euro UAV ICB (Alenia Aeronautica, BAE
Systems, EADS CASA), and to unite within a RPAS working
group under the banner of ASD (European Aerospace & Defence
Manufacturers Association), of which most were a member.
ICAO UAS Study Group
On June 27, 2005 the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) issued a consultation with selected States and
international organizations with regard to RPAS and concerning:
• Present and foreseen international civil RPAS activities in
civil airspace;• Procedures to obviate danger to civil aircraft
posed by RPAS operated as State aircraft; and
• States’ procedures for the issuance of special operating
authorizations for international civil RPAS operations.
Furthermore, it was requested, in view of the limited
resources at the disposal of ICAO, and in order to enable
the Air Navigation 0ffice to determine an appropriate level
of priority for RPAS-related issues compared to other tasks
on its work programme, to supply as much detail, copies
of or weblinks to national regulations or guidance material.
UVS International was one of the international organisations
consulted and formulated its response in coordination with the
Euro ICB, and with contributions from Japan and New Zealand.
ICAO invited the representatives from the States who had
replied, and UVS International, to participate in an exploratory
meeting on RPAS. This meeting took place at ICAO
headquarters in Montreal, Canada in May 2006. At this meeting
a small core group was formed to produce a guidance document
for ICAO; UVS International was part of this core group.
Subsequently, a second meeting took place at the FAA facilities
in Palm Coast, Florida, USA, where this core group presented
their guidance document to ICAO. The guidance document was
subsequently presented to the ICAO Council and the green
light was given in October 2007 by the ICAO Council to start up
an ICAO UAS Study Group (UASSG).
The ICAO UASSG had its first meeting at ICAO headquarters in
April 2008 and its members consisted of:
• European Commission;
• State representatives (national aviation authorities) from:
Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Rep.,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Russian Fed.,
Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, UK, USA.
• 10 International organisations: AUVSI, CANSO, EASA,
EUROCAE, Eurocontrol, IAOPA, ICCAIA, IFALPA, IFATCA,
RTCA, and UVS International.
USEP - European Inter-Governmental Initiative
In 2003 the Conseil Général de l’Armement (CGArm), a French
Ministry of Defence think-tank reporting directly to the French
Minister of Defence, mandated a study on the future of RPAS,
for intelligence & combat missions (UCAV) within the European
military context. This study, designated «U(C)AV Systems»
was finalised in 2004. The follow-on to the aforementioned
study, a new study designated USEP (Unmanned Aircraft
Systems for Security & Environmental-related Purposes), was
instigated by CGArm in September 2005 and concerned the
potential use of RPAS for security and environmental-related,
as well as various other civil (commercial & non-commercial)
purposes in Europe. The objective of the USEP initiative was, in
co-ordination with the participating government authorities, and
with non-competitive inputs from industry, to:
• Create, or increase, the awareness with national governmental entities (ministries & related agencies & departments)
of the potential offered by RPAS within the framework of their
respective tasks;
• Form three working groups and co-ordinate a European drive
to jointly identify, document and evaluate:
Operational Needs
- description of needs (scenarios, geographical coverage,
timing, data precision);
- global European market assessment (over the next 15 years);
Technical Issues
- synergy with defence RPAS and equipment solutions;
- communication link bandwidth requirements and frequency
allocation;
- R&T update, incl. deployment in non-segregated airspace;
Organisation & Strategy
- equipment or service acquisition;
- relevant ongoing national activities and recommendations
for the future (co-operation within nations & within Europe).
• Identify and evaluate, the necessary funding required to
make it possible to use State and non-state owned RPAS for
purposes with societal benefits in European airspace.
UVS International was invited by CGArm to contribute to the USEP
study and to help establish it as a transparent and federated panEuropean initiative, and act as the channel of communication and
its symposium organizer. A report on the conclusions of the USEP
study was featured in the 2007 edition of the RPAS Yearbook, and
can also be found on www.uvs-info.com.
European Defence Agency Study Contracts
In July 2006, UVS International received a contract from
the European Defence Agency (EDA) to conduct a study
relative to the possible future use of RPAS for security &
environmental purposes in Europe. This study concerned
the potential for non-military government applications
of all classes of RPAS (by min. of interior, min. of the
environment, min. of transport, min. of agriculture, etc) for roles
such as homeland security matters (crowd surveillance/control,
border patrol, illegal immigrant control, anti-terrorism, drug &
weapons control, anti-crime, anti-piracy), surveillance of inland &
coastal waters, sea lane surveillance, dike inspection, inspection of
bridges & historical monuments, search & rescue, fishery control,
peacekeeping operations, forest fire detection/surveillance,
traffic management, shipping surveillance/monitoring, natural
disaster area survey, (nuclear) crisis management, emergency
communication networks, crop monitoring, meteorological
applications, atmospheric measurements, glacier & ice cap
monitoring, pollution monitoring, etc. This study was concluded in
September 2006. In 2007, UVS International received a second
study contract from EDA, but now relative to RPAS payloads; this
study was successfully concluded that same year.
UVS International Awards
The Catherine Fargeon Award
In 2003 UVS International instigated the Catherine Fargeon
Award. This award, which carries the name of the first person
who received it in 2003 (Dr Catherine Fargeon, French Ministry
of Defence, Conseil Général de l’Armement), is presented
to persons in recognition of their personal commitment &
contribution to promoting the insertion of remotely piloted
aircraft into non-segregated airspace and/or the general
promotion of the future use of remotely piloted aircraft systems.
The recipients of this award are:
2005 • Gilbert Amato, EUROCAE, France
• Cdt Régis Brigaud, DGA-DCE-CEV, France
• Alex Hendriks, Eurocontrol, Belgium
• Yves Morier, European Aviation Safety Agency
• Nick Sabatini, FAA, USA
• Giuliana Tamburro, ENAC, Italy
2006 • Jeff Bauer, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, USA
• Doug Davis, FAA UAV Program Office, USA
• Cdt Christophe Gyr, DGA-DE-CEV, France
• Serge Lebourg, Dassault Aviation, France
• John Walker, JSWalkerGroup, USA
• Klaus Wohlers, Rheinmetall DE, Germany
2007 • LtCdr Geoff Bowker, CAA-DAP, UK
• Roland Decuypere, RMA (rtd), Belgium
• Vince Galotti, ICAO Headquarters
• Holger Matthiesen, Eurocontrol, Belgium
• Fred Pease, Department of Defense, PBFA, USA
• WgCdr Mike Strong, Eurocontrol, Belgium
2008 • Michael Allouche, IAI-Malat, Israel
• Ian Glenn, ING Engineering, Canada
• Gerhard Lippitsch, Austrocontrol, Austria
UVS International Award Winners - 2014
Koen de Vos
EC DG MOVE, EU (2014)
Markus Farner
FOCA, Switzerland (2014)
Siim Kallas
EC, EU (2014)
Taro Kuusiholma
TraFi, Finland (2014)
UVS International Award Winners - 2003-2013
Michael Allouche
IAI-Malat, Israel (2008)
Gilbert Amato
EUROCAE, France (2005)
Matthew Baldwin
Jeff Bauer
NASA-DFRC,USA (2006)
Erika Billen
CAA, Belgium (2013)
Geoff Bowker
CAA-DAP, UK (2007)
Cdt Régis Brigaud
DGA-CEV, France (2005)
Daniel Calleja Crespo
EC DG ENTR, EU (2012)
Leslie Cary
ICAO (2009)
Jim Christner
AAI Corp., USA (2009)
Carmine Cifaldi
ENAC, Italy (2013)
André Clot
EuroUSC, UK (2010)
Jim Coyne
CASA, Australia (2011)
Doug Davis
FAA, USA (2006)
Roland Decuypere
RMA, Belgium (2007)
Filippo De Florio
ENAC (rtd), Italy (2008)
Dr Catherine Fargeon
MoD-CGArm, France (2003)
Gilles Fartek
EC DG TREN, EU (2009)
Vince Galotti
ICAO (2005)
Ken Geiselhart
Lockheed Martin, USA (2009)
Ian Glenn
ING, Canada (2008)
Cdt Christophe Gyr
DGA-CEV, France (2006)
David Haddon
EASA, EU (2011)
Alex Hendriks
Eurocontrol, Belgium (2005)
Zdravko Kolev
FRONTEX, EU (2010)
Gerhard Lippitsch
Mike Lissone
Austrocontrol, Austria (2008) Eurocontrol, Belgium (2011)
Serge Lebourg
Dassault, France (2006)
Xiaogong Lee
FAA-R&T, USA (2011)
Jean-Pierre Lentz
EC DG TREN, EU (2013)
MajGen. Carlo Magrassi
EDA, EU (2010)
Gérard Mardiné
Sagem, France (2008)
Douglas Marshall
Uni. of N. Dakota, USA (2009)
Claude Mas
DGAC, France (2011)
Holger Matthiesen
Yves Morier
EASA, EU (2005)
Ken Munson
Jane’s IG, UK (2007)
Fred Pease
DoD-PBFA, USA (2007)
Umberto Rossi
Nick Sabatini
FAA, USA (2005)
Michael Standar
SESAR, EU (2013)
Rune Storvold
NORUT, Norway (2010)
Martin Stoussavljewitsch
EDA, EU (2010)
WgCdr Mike Strong
Giuliana Tamburro
ENAC, Italy (2005)
Karen Tarr
Transport Canada (2008)
Filippo Tomasello
EASA, EU (2011)
Luc Tytgat
Marcelo Urena
ICAO, Peru (2012)
Ron van de Leijgraaf
CAA, The Netherlands (2008)
John S. Walker
UAV DACH, Germany (2012) JSWalker Group, USA (2006)
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Malcolm Walker
CASA, Australia (2008)
• Gérard Mardiné, Sagem Défense &Sécurité, France
• Karen Tarr, Transport Canada, Canada
• Ron van de Leijgraaf, IVW (CAA), The Netherlands
• Cliff Whittaker, CAA, UK
• Leslie Cary, ICAO Headquarters
• Jim Christner, AAI Corp. (Textron), USA
• Gilles Fartek, European Commission, DG TREN
• Ken Geiselhart, Lockheed Martin, USA
• Douglas Marshall, University of North Dakota, USA
• André Clot, EuroUSC, UK
• Zdravko Kolev, Frontex (EC agency for border security)
• MajGen Carlo Magrassi, European Defence Agency
• Rune Storvold, Northern Research Institute, Norway
• Martin Stoussavljewitsch, European Defence Agency
• Luc Tytgat, European Commission, DG MOVE
• Jim Coyne, CASA, Australia
• Dave Haddon, European Aviation Safety Agency
• Xiaogong Lee, FAA - R&T, USA
• Mike Lissone, Eurocontrol, Belgium
• Claude Mas, DGAC (French CAA), France
• Filippo Tomasello, European Aviation Safety Agency
• Matthew Baldwin, EC DG Mobility & Transport
• Daniel Calleja Crespo, EC DG Enterprise & Industry
• Marcelo Urena, ICAO Lima Regional Office, Peru
• Bernhard von Bothmer, UAV DACH, Germany
• Erika Billen, CAA, Belgium
• Carmine Cifaldi, ENAC, Italy
• Jean-Pierre Lentz, EC DG Enterprise & Industry
• Umberto Rossi, EC DG Mobility & Transport
• Michael Standar, SESAR Joint Undertaking, Belgium
• Koen de Vos, EC DG Mobility & Transport
• Markus Farner, FOCA, Switzerland
• Siim Kallas, Vice President - European Commission
• Taro Kuusiholma, Transport Safety Agency, Finland
UVS International Award for Awareness Creation
In 2007, UVS International gave a special award to Ken Munson
[Jane’s Information Group, UK (rtd)] in recognition for his longstanding personal commitment and contribution to promoting
awareness of RPAS on an international level. Ken has since
then retired. His insight, technical knowledge and unselfish
willingness to contribute has not been equalled.
The RPAS Pioneer Award
In 2008, UVS International instituted the «UAS Pioneer Award»
in order to honour & thank individuals for their exceptional &
dedicated life time services to the international RPAS community.
The first recipients of this award were:
• Filippo De Florio, ENAC, Italy (rtd);
• Malcolm Walker, CASA, Australia (rtd).
This award is now called the De Florio/Walker Award.
Cliff Whittaker
CAA, UK (2008)
Klaus Wohlers
Rheinmetall, Germany (2006)
De Florio/Walker Award
The first recipient of the De Florio/Walker award (2009) was:
• Giuliana Tamburro, ENAC, Italy
( 2009 in the earthquake at l’Aquila, Italy)
Note: In the summer of 2013, the name of the airport of
L’Aquila was changed to Guiliana Tamburro, in recognition of
her contributions to ENAC’s work.
The Innovation Award
In 2011, UVS International instituted the «Innovation Award».
This award is meant to recognise individuals having developed
an RPAS for an innovative application with a clear societal
benefit.
This award was first granted in 2011 to:
• Robert Jonker, GreenX (now Clear Flight Solutions), The
Netherlands.
Presented in recognition of the development of a flapping
wing RPA that very precisely imitates the flight profile of a
raptor and is used environment-friendly bird control purposes.
In 2012, this award was granted to:
• ProxDynamics, Norway.
This relatively small and young company was presented
with this award for the development of the world’s first serial
produced nano RPAS, which has since then entered into
operational service with the British Army.
EUROCAE Working Group 73
UVS International strongly contributed, in close co-ordination
with Eurocontrol and EASA on the European side, and the FAA
and RTCA on the American side, to the start up of EUROCAE
(European Organization for Civil Aviation Equipment) Working
Group 73 (WG73) on unmanned aircraft systems in April 2006.
UVS International continues to strongly support and promote
this very important initiative.
Interim Working Group on Light UAS
The Interim Working Group on Light UAS (IWGLUAS) was
instigated by UVS International in September 2007 with the
objective to produce a guidance document for EUROCAE
WG73 on how the issue of Light RPAS (<150 kg) was to be
dealt with by EUROCAE WG73’s Sub-Group 4.
The members of the IWGLUAS were: The CAAs of Austria,
Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, UK; Eurocontrol; and
industry representatives originating from Belgium, Czech Rep.,
France, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, UK.
The final report produced by the IWGLUAS, instigated & lead
by UVS International, was supplied to EUROCAE WG73 during
its plenary meeting at Eurocontrol headquarters in Brussels,
Belgium on 14 February 2008.
These recommendations stated that the required work
packages defined by EUROCAE WG73’s Sub-Group on Light
RPAS should be dealt with on a national basis in the national
language by national associations or working groups. It was
proposed that these national associations, or working groups,
are then to produce national opinion papers in English, and
submit them to EUROCAE WG73’s Sub-Group 4, where the
required harmonization would take place.
The report recommended that a limited number of
representatives of each of the ICC members supplying the
inputs should be active members of Eurocae WG73 SG4 and
meet to endeavour to harmonize the received inputs, and work
towards a consensually agreed document.
This solution would make it possible for the small & mediumsized companies, which form the mainstay of the Light RPAS
industry, to actively participate with their expertise, in their native
language, and without having to spend time & money to attend
all the working meetings in Brussels, Belgium or elsewhere.
Terms & Definitions + Abbreviations & Acronyms
Blyenburgh & Co has created for UVS International, and the
international UAV community in general, a list of English language
RPAS-related abbreviations & acronyms, their explanation and
origin. The purpose of this task was to create an educational
reference document for persons who are not native English
speakers, and to contribute to the international harmonisation
of RPAS terminology, which is imperative, if internationally
acceptable standards, airworthiness rules and certification
norms are to be defined.
The 7th edition of these documents is freely available at www.uvsinfo.com. These are living documents and will continue to grow. The
international RPAS community is encouraged to supply additions
for both of these documents by email to UVS International.
RPAS Categorisation
UVS International has drawn up a categorization of RPAS,
which permits to slot in all existing systems, as well as RPAS
that are currently under development. It should be noted that
this categorisation has not been designed for certification
purposes. Its main purpose is to come up with a universal
system of cataloguing RPAS, combining various parameters,
for reference purposes.
----- ACTIVITIES IN 2008 ----India - Agreement With Indian Ministry of Defence
Arctic Observation with UAS
In June 2008, discussions started with the National Oceanographic
& Atmospheric Agency, USA relative to global climate change
and the potential concerted use of Light RPAS by the Arctic
Council countries (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway,
the Russian Fed., Sweden, USA) for Arctic monitoring purposes.
From these discussions emerged a progressive UVS International
advocacy and awareness-increasing strategy, which included
the association’s implication in:
• UVS-Tech 2009 in Moscow, Russian Federation;
• 4th Trans-Atlantic UAS Roundtable in Washington, DC, USA;
• A special session on this topic at the UAS 2009 conference in
Paris, France.
For various reasons beyond UVS International’s control, this
strategy was not implemented.
France - Eurosatory 2008
In 2008, UVS International was, for the second time in a row,
partnered with COGES, the organizers of Eurosatory, the
world’s largest army equipment & aviation exhibition, which
took place in Paris, France on 16-20 June 2008.
The UVS Forum, organized by UVS International at this world class
event, featured exhibition booths, a briefing section and a meeting
area. The UVS Forum focused attention on micro, mini & tactical
RPAS, as well as UGV systems. The UVS Forum also featured the
indoor demonstrations of UGV systems (<150kg) on a dedicated
indoor area equipped with an obstacle course, which had been
designed and organized by the French Ministry of Defence (DGA).
The UGV demonstrations were one of Eurosatory’s largest crowd
gatherers (250-430 persons per demonstration).
China - 1st RPAS Conference
With the intent of contributing to maintaining safety in Chinese
airspace, and within the framework of its Global Access Initiative
and international harmonisation, UVS International accepted
an invitation from International Aviation Group, China to coorganise and chair UAS China 2008, the 1st national Chinese
RPAS conference. As contribution to the organization of this
event, UVS International endeavoured to make it possible for
the Chinese regulatory authorities and RPAS community to
be made aware of the ongoing international regulatory work
pertaining to RPAS. UVS International’s goal was to contribute
to motivating the CAA of China to recognise that they have to
start preparing for admitting RPAS into Chinese non-segregated
airspace. The 2-day UAS China 2008 conference took place in
Beijing, China in September 2008 and drew 423 delegates. Half
of the speakers (regulatory authorities, researchers & industry)
were brought on board by UVS International. UVS International
gave 3 presentations, including one on behalf of EUROCAE.
In May 2008, UVS International was invited by the Indian Ministry
of Defence, Defence Research & Development Organization,
Aeronautical Development Establishment, to come to India to
discuss the co-organization of the first national Indian inmanned
systems conference. This conference, designated ICAUV 2009,
was to take place in Bangalore, India in April 2009.
France - UAS 2008 - 10th Edition
The 10th edition of UVS International’s annual conference, UAS
2008 (70 speakers), took place at the Docks Event Centre in
Paris, France on 10-12 June 2008. A photographic review of
this event, as well as the presentations given, are posted on
www.uvs-info.com
Peter van Blyenburgh &
Nancy Liu exchange signed MoUs
China - Strategic Partnership Agreement
USA - Trans-Atlantic UAS Roundtable
During the UAS China 2008 conference in September 2008,
UVS International signed a strategic partnership agreement
with International Aviation Group, China. Within the framework
of this agreement the parties will jointly strive to:
• Implicate the Chinese authorities in the regulatory initiatives
being undertaken by the global RPAS community;
• Improve awareness within the Chinese RPAS community
(government & industry) concerning the ongoing international
activities relative to RPAS-related standards, rules & regulations;
• Promote active Chinese industry implication in these activities;
• Work towards goals of common interest relative to unmanned
systems.
Within the framework of its Global Access Initiative, UVS
International organized, together with The European Institute,
and participated in the 3rd Trans-Atlantic UAS Roundtable in
Washington, DC, USA on 10 November 2008. The theme of this
event was «Security-related RPAS Applications». The purpose
of this on-invitation-only event was to improve high level transAtlantic understanding and forge trans-Atlantic links.
As a result of the message brought over by UVS International
during this event, the Chinese civil aviation authority joined the
ICAO UAS Study Group.
2008 UVS News Flash
During 2008, and within the context of the Global Access
Initiative, 19 editions of the UVS News Flash & 5 special editions
were published (in total 944 pages) and sent out by email. All
are posted on www.uvs-international.org & www.uvs-info.com
----- ACTIVITIES IN 2009 -----
International Test Range Directory
Russia - UVS-Tech 2009 Conference & Exhibition
In October 2008, UVS International instigated the International
Test Range Directory initiative. This initiative has as objective to
create a new open and free access web site, which will reference
the world’s flight test and evaluation ranges. In cooperation with
several ranges, a very comprehensive test range
description and categorization form has been
produced and is posted on www.testranges.
org. This web site has as purpose to not only
reference test ranges, but also to make it possible
to compare their facilities and the services they
offer.
In September 2008, UVS International was invited by the
Ministry of Industry & Trade of the Russian Federation, through
Expo-Ecos Ltd, to contribute to the organization of the UVSTech 2009 conference by organising presentations concerning
Canada - Regulatory Workshop at Canadian
Conference
UVS International organized & chaired a
regulatory workshop at the UVS Canada 2008
conference in Ottawa, Canada on 4-7 November
2008.
Award Received from UVS Canada
During its 2008 conference, UVS Canada presented UVS
International with its 2008 Organizational Award, in recognition
of its RPAS-related organisational activities.
Study Contract Received from French Ministry of Interior
On November 6, 2008 the French Ministry of Interior, Direction
Générale de la Police Nationale, Services des Technologies de
la Sécurité Intérieur, notified (subsequent to a public tender)
the award of a study contract to UVS International. This study
concerned the analysis of the French legal framework relative
to the use of Light RPAS (<150 kg) by the French Ministry of
Interior forces and included the following:
• A detailed analysis of the existing legal framework and the
proposal of a solution that will permit the operation use of
Light UAS by the French Ministry of Interior;
• Technical guidelines on how to deploy a Light RPAS and be
in conformity with the current French regulations;
• A proposal concerning the adaptation of the current
French regulations in the medium term in order to permit
generalization of the operational use of Light RPAS by the
French Ministry of Interior.
UVS International, the prime contractor, conducted this study in
cooperation with UAS Consulting & Services, France, its subcontractor for this contract, and is proud to have been selected
by the French Ministry of Interior.
UVS-TECH 2009 Opening - Moscow, Russian Federation
international UAS-related regulatory work and research
applications. This successful national event took place in
Moscow on 27-29 January 2009. A photographic report & the
presentations given English can be found on www.uvs-info.com
Spain - ISR 2009 Conference
Within the framework of the Global Access Initiative, UVS
International accepted an invitation to give a key note address
at ISR 2009, the 40th International Symposium on Robotics.
This event was organised by AER-ATP, Spain and took place in
Barcelona, Spain on 10-13 March 2009.
France - Export Regulations Symposium
On 17 March 2009, UVS France organized, in co-operation with
UVS International, and with the participation of all the relevant
competent French governmental authorities, a symposium dealing
with French export regulations pertaining to unmanned systems in
Paris, France.
In the morning session the French authorities presented and
explained the French export regulations relative to unmanned
systems (air, ground, naval) at systems & sub-systems &
critical component level, as well as services for & services with
remotely piloted systems.
The afternoon session was dedicated to generic case studies
with which the participants could identify. The objective of this
event was to inform small & medium-sized French enterprises
on the existing export regulations & the upcoming
changes, and increase their awareness of
the legal risks of not complying with these
regulations. The presentations given are posted
(in French) on www.uvs-info.com
Switzerland - 1st Swiss UAS Day
On 27 March 2009, the Ecole Polytechnique
Fédérale of Lausanne organized the 1st Swiss
RPAS Day. This event brought together the
majority of the Swiss companies involved with
RPAS at system and sub-system level. Within the
framework of the Global Access Initiative, UVS
International participated in this symposium.
India - 1st National UAS Conference &
Exhibition
In May 2008, UVS International was invited by the Indian Ministry
of Defence, Defence Research & Development Organisation,
Aeronautical Development Establishment, to co-organize the 1st
national Indian RPAS conference. The ICAUV 2009 conference
& exhibition took place at the Eagleton Golf Resort in Bangalore,
India on 3 & 4 April 2009.
This event celebrated the Aeronautical Defence Establishment’s
50th anniversary and was organized by the Indian Ministry of
Defence, Defence Research & Development Organization
(DRDO), Aeronautical Defence Establishment (ADE), in
partnership with UVS International. A photographic report &
some of the presentations given can be found on www.uvs-info.
com
Abu Dhabi - Middle East RPAS Summit
UVS International supported & chaired the 1st UAS Summit Middle
East 2009, which took place at the Meridien Hotel, Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates on 19-20 April 2009. The presentations
given are posted on www.uvs-info.com
RPAS Photo Competition
The winners of the 2009 edition of the RPAS photo competition
organised by UVS International were published in the 2009
edition of the RPAS Yearbook, posted on www.uvs-international.
org & www.uvs-info.com, and were exhibited at the UAS 2009
conference.
ICAUV 2009, Bangalore, India
European Commission Hearing on Light RPAS
The EC’s first-ever hearing on Light RPAS took place in the
offices of Directorate General Transport & Energy in Brussels,
Belgium on 8 October 2009. The purpose of this hearing, which
was attended by 49 representatives of the European Light
RPAS community, was to make the EC aware of the size and
broad span of the European Light RPAS community and the
currently ongoing Light UAS Operations. In the morning, 12
testimonials were given by current Light RPAS operators (nonmilitary - governmental, commercial, research). During the
afternoon the way forward was discussed, and questions from
the floor were replied by the EC representatives.
The EC’s report of this event, including its conclusions and
recommendations, was published in the 2010 edition of the
RPAS Yearbook, is posted on www.uvs-info.com.
ICAO’s Global ATM Forum on Civil/Military Co-operation
UVS International was invited by the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) to participate and support the first Global Air
Traffic Management Forum on Civil/Military Cooperation, which
took place at ICAO headquarters in Montreal, Canada on 1921 October 2009. This was the first time in ICAO history that
ICAO hosted a civil/military plenary meeting, and it was the first
time that RPAS were an official agenda item at an ICAO plenary
meeting. UVS International is proud to have been part of the
organising team and to have been invited to be the moderator of
the session on RPAS at this historic event.
Austria - UAS: Towards Civil Applications
The 11th edition of UVS International’s annual RPAS conference
& exhibition took place in Paris, France on 9-12 June 2009. With
105 presentations by speakers from 18 countries, UAS 2009 was
the world’s largest UAS conference that year. UAS 2009 featured
a special 1-day plenary session on regulatory matters, a special
half day session on Arctic observation using RPAS, and a 1-day
workshop on Light RPAS (<150 kg).
On 10 November 2009, the Austrian Ministry for Transport,
Innovation and Technology organized this first Austrian national
UAS conference at the Joanneum University in Graz, Austria.
This event, which was supported by UVS International, brought
the Austrian RPAS community together for the first time and
discussed the potential opportunities and best way forward.
UVS International had been invited to give a keynote address
on international RPAS activities and the Global Access Initiative.
Survey on Light RPAS Non-Military Applications
France - UVS International’s Presence at Milipol
In June 2009 UVS International was requested by the European
Commission (EC), Directorate General Transport & Energy
to conduct a world-wide survey on the current non-military
applications of Light RPAS (<150 kg).
UVS International had the privilege of sharing a stand with
COGES, the Eurosatory organisers at the 25th Milipol exhibition,
one of the world’s largest homeland security exhibitions, which
took place in Paris, France on 17-20 November 2009.
The results of the survey were officially presented to the EC
at the Hearing on Light RPAS that was organized by the EC in
Brussels, Belgium on 8 October 2009. The results of this survey
are posted on www.uvs-info.com
Norway - UAS Nordic 2009 Conference
This successful national conference was organized by Flight
Operational Forum and UAS Norway, with the support of UVS
International, and took place at the Quality Hotel
Gardermoen in Oslo, Norway on 8 November 2009.
It brought the entire Norwegian RPAS community
(governmental & non-governmental) together and
focused on current & future RPAS activities. UVS
International had been invited to give a keynote
address on international RPAS activities and the
Global Access Initiative.
2009 UVS News Flash
Within the context of the Global Access Initiative,
16 editions of the UVS News Flash and 4 special
editions (in total 753 pages) were published and
sent out by email in 2009. All are posted on www.
uvs-international.org & www.uvs-info.com
----- ACTIVITIES IN 2010 -----
ICAO UAS Study Group Participants 2010, Johannesburg, South Africa
ICAO UAS Study Group Meets in South Africa
In February 2010, the ICAO UAS Study Group held, on invitation
of the South African CAA, a working meeting in Johannesburg
at the facilities of CSIR (Council for Scientific & Industrial
Research). This meeting demonstrated the importance ICAO
places on the African continent and made it possible to have
significant implication of the South African CAA in the study
group’s work. UVS International participated in this working
meeting.
Micro Companies - New Membership Category
In March 2010, the UVS International Board of Directors
unanimously agreed to create a new membership category
specifically for micro companies (< 3 employees & annual
turnover < Euro 100.000). Micro companies are very often
university spin-off start-up companies with substantial technical
expertise. This decision was taken in light of the European
Commission’s «Vision 2020 for the European Research Area»
(see RPAS Info Section on www.uvs-info.com). The intent is to
give these micro companies a means of expressing themselves,
making themselves known and communicating with the larger
companies in the field of RPS technology.
Singapore - Defence Summit Asia 2010
International was partnered with K2B International, Singapore,
which organized, with the support & participation of UVS
International, the first international conference on military
robotics in Singapore on 2-4 March 2010.
Spain - UNVEX’10 Conference
International was partnered with IDS, Spain, which organized,
with the support & participation of the Spanish Ministry of
Defence, Asociacion Espanola de Empresas Tecnologicas de
Defense, Aeronautica y Espacio, the second national Spanish
RPAS conference & exhibition in Madrid on 2-4 March 2010.
Czech Rep. - AVBS’ RPAS Conference
International was partnered with AVBS, the Czech remotely piloted
systems manufacturers association, to organize the first national
Czech RPAS conference in Prague on 17 & 18 March 2010.
Russian Federation - UVS-Tech 2010
UVS International had again partnered with Expo-Ecos Ltd,
to co-organize the UVS-Tech 2010 conference and exhibition,
which took place in Moscow, Russian Fed. on 30 June-4 July
2010. A presentation on the global RPAS situation was given
by Alexander Koldaev (member of the Board of Directors) on
behalf of UVS International.
France - UVS Forum at Eurosatory 2010
Subsequent to their successful partnerships in 2006 & 2008,
UVS International once again entered into a partnership with
COGES, the organisers of Eurosatory, the world’s prime
land forces & army aviation & homeland security equipment
exhibition, which took place at the Paris-Nord Villepinte exhibition
center (just north of Paris, France) once every two years. The
Eurosatory Exhibition took place on 14-18 June 2010. Within
the framework of this partnership agreement UVS International
organised the UVS Forum, which was dedicated to RPAS and
unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) systems, as well as sensors
& other related sub-systems applicable to either type of system.
The UVS Forum, the largest technology cluster (1700 m²) at the
Eurosatory exhibition.
2010 Catherine Fargeon Awards Winners
MajGen Carlo Magrassi & Martin Stoussavljewitsch (European Defence Agency)
with UVS International Board Members Ian Glenn, Alexander Koldaev, Gérard Mardiné,
Peter van Blyenburgh, Doug Davis, Nick Miller, John Walker, Tore Kallevig
The winners of the 2010 edition
of the RPAS photo competition
organised by UVS International
were published in the 2010 edition
of the RPAS Yearbook, posted on
www.uvs-international.org & www.
uvs-info.com, and exhibited at the
UAS 2010 conference.
UAS 2010, that year’s edition of UVS International’s annual
international conference on RPAS and related sub-systems took
place on the UVS Forum at Eurosatory 2010. The conference
had two tracks, which ran in parallel; in total 73 presentations
were given by speakers from 6 international organizations, 3
international associations, and 20 countries.
The event was concluded by two inter-active workshops
[RPAS for Atmospheric (volcanic ash) Sensing & RPAS Pilot
Qualification, Training & Certification], which resulted in two
position papers with recommendations that were remitted to the
European Commission for their consideration.
2010 Catherine Fargeon Award Winners
Europe - European Commission’s RPAS Conference
Luc Tytgat, Rune Storvold & Erik Berglund on behalf of Zdravko Kolev
On 1 July 2010, the European Commission, Directorate General
(DG) Mobility & Transport organised, in co-operation with
the European Defence Agency, and in co-ordination with DG
Enterprise and DG Research, a high level RPAS conference.
This event had as purpose to create European political
awareness of the technologies relative to unmanned systems
and their importance for the future. The conference took place
in Brussels, Belgium (see: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air/
uas_en.htm).
International agreed to participate in the national Brazilian RPAS
conference that was organised by DCA-BR. UVS International
gave a keynote address on global RPAS activities, with a
particular emphasis on rules and regulations. This event took
place in Sao Jose dos Campos on 27-29 October 2010.
UVS International is proud to have been invited by the EC to
be a member of the conference organising committee and to
contribute to the organization of this historic event. The 2010
edition of the RPAS Yearbook, which included the European
Commission’s Report on the Hearing on Light RPAS, was
distributed to all attendees at this conference.
France - UAV Show Europe
International agreed to give a keynote address at this national
French RPAS conference on Micro & Mini RPAS. This event,
with associated flight demonstrations, was organised by
Bordeaux Technowest at Bordeaux-Mérignac Aéroparc on 15
& 16 September 2010, with the support of regional authorities.
Europe - UVS International Meets with EC DG MOVE
On 12 October 2011, 5 representatives of the UVS International
Board of Directors met with Daniel Calleja and Peter Sorensen,
EC DG Mobility & Transport (MOVE), at their offices in Brussels.
The purpose of this meeting was to officially introduce UVS
International and its collective expertise, and to propose its
services to DG MOVE. During this meeting, UVS International
was requested to produce an advisory document, which would
express an opinion relative to the High Level Group on RPAS,
the creation of which was announced at the EC’s High Level
Conference on RPAS on 1 July 2010. The requested advisory
document was to cover a proposed structure, an overall strategic
approach, a mission statement,
a proposed work methodology,
as well as the topics to be
covered, a report framework,
and the required time-line. This
confidential document was
produced & remitted to DG
MOVE in February 2011.
Canada - National UAS Conference
International again participated in the regulatory session at
this national event, which was organised by the Unmanned
Systems Canada association in Montréal, Canada on 2-5
November 2010.
Norway - National RPAS Conference
UVS International again participated in this growing national
event, which has strong Scandinavian links and was organised
by UAS Norway in Oslo, Norway on 24 November 2010.
Joint EUROCAE WG73/RTCA SC203 Leadership Meeting
Early December 2010, a Joint EUROCAE WG73/RTCA
SC203 Leadership meeting took place, on invitation of RTCA
SC203, at the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center,
Cambridge, MA, USA.
This working meeting made it possible to find find substantial
areas of common ground, and to prepare the framework for
an increased cooperative effort between the two organisations
with clearly defined deliverables. UVS International participated
in this meeting in its capacity of standing advisor to EUROCAE
WG73.
USA - UAS TAAC 2010
UVS International participated in this national annual event,
which brings together the principal players in the American
RPAS community and was organised by New Mexico State
Brazil - National RPAS
Conference
Within the framework of the
Global Access Initiative, UVS
Joint EUROCAE WG73/RTCA SC203 Leadership Meeting - Cambridge, MA, USA - December 2010
University, Physics & Science Lab in Alburquerque, NM, USA
on 7-9 December 2010.
Europe - Petition Letter To The European Commission
In the beginning of August 2010, UVS International launched
a petition letter initiative. This initiative was launched in
reference to the statements made by European Commission
(EC) representatives at the EC’s conference on RPAS in
Brussels, Belgium on 1 July 2010 and has as purpose to give
the Light RPAS community [manufacturers & non-military
users (governmental & commercial & research), as well
as flight service providers] a way of expressing their views
and expectations. This initiative was not only open to UVS
International members, but also to non-members.
In December 2010, UVS International remitted the petition
letter addressed the EC [Siim Kallas (Vice-President of the
EC), Antonio Tajani (Vice-President of the EC), Daniel Calleja
(DG MOVE), and Luc Tytgat (DG MOVE)] in December 2010.
This petition was signed by 112 organizations (5 governmental;
10 industry; 6 institutions; 2 international associations; 5
national associations; 67 SMEs; 17 academic institutions) in 25
countries (20 European: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Rep.,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom; 5 Non-European:
Brazil, Canada, Israel, Russian Fed., USA), and 1 multi-national
governmental working group; the aforementioned organisations
represented a total of 2046 companies.
France - DGAC Advisory Committee
In December 2010, UVS International received an invitation
from the DGAC (French civil aviation authority) to become a
member of a committee that was being constituted to supply
advise to the DGAC relative to their proposed new rulemaking
on Small UAS (<25 kg). UVS International is proud to have
been requested by the DGAC to contribute to this effort.
----- ACTIVITIES IN 2011 ----Europe - UVS International Meets with SJU
On 1 February 2011, 5 European members of UVS International’s
Board of Directors had a meeting with Patrick Ky and Denis
Koehle at the offices of SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU).
The purpose of this meeting was to officially introduce UVS
International to SJU and to propose making the combined
experience of the association’s members available to SJU, if
and when SJU would require such expertise.
New RPAS Blog
In February 2011, Blyenburgh & Co, in partnership with the
English company AMC, started up UAS Vision (www.uasvision.
com). This is an independent global forum for UVS International
members and the international RPAS community. It is dedicated
to supplying, on a daily basis, breaking news and pertinent
information relative to RPAS. This blog offers a free daily news
alert, for which anyone can register on the blog.
Russian Federation - UVS-TECH 2011
For the third consecutive year, UVS International was partnered
with Expo-Ecos to co-organize, with the support of the Russian
Ministry of Industry and Trade and under the patronage of the
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation,
an international 3-day RPAS conference in Moscow, Russian
Federation (1-3 March 2011).
The presentations given at UVS-TECH 2011 are posted on
www.uvs-info.com
International - ICAO Civil/Military Cooperation
At its conclusion, the Global Air Traffic Management Forum on
Civil/Military Cooperation (Oct. ’09) recommended conducting
a series of regional events to carry over the message of this
Forum. This outcome was reinforced by the 37th ICAO Assembly
(October 2010), which formulated Resolution A37-15, Appendix
O: Coordination and cooperation of civil and military air traffic,
which asked ICAO to serve as an international forum to play
a role in facilitating improved civil/military cooperation and to
provide the necessary follow-up activities, that build on the
success of the Global Forum with the support of civil/military
partners.
In March 2011, ICAO notified UVS International that it would
like to continue working with the organization in the partnership
established for the organisation of the Global Forum, which
included ATCA, CANSO, Eurocontrol, IATA, FAA, Department
of Defense (USA), Ministry of Transport (Germany), NATO,
and UVS International, for the organisation/conduct of this
regional campaign of five seminars/workshops on civil/military
cooperation in all ICAO regions from 2011 to 2013.
EC UAS Panel in Session
In the planning and
organisation of these five
seminars/workshops,
ICAO has acquired the
support of a Civil/Military
Informal Working Group
(Civ/Mil IWG), which is
composed of civil/military
experts from most of the
partner
organisations
that assisted ICAO since
the inception of the
Global Forum and the
development of the Civil/
Military Cooperation in Air
Traffic Management (Cir
330). The support of UVS
EC UAS Panel - Second Workshop Attendees
International was solicited
by ICAO to plan for the
regional campaign of five seminars/workshops on civil/military a strategy for the future of RPAS in the European Union, and
cooperation. It should be noted that RPAS are an integral part to identify the most pressing issues which today hinder the
emergence of a RPAS market.
of ICAO’s civil/military cooperation initiative.
International - ICAO UAS Study Group Meets in Russia
In May 2011, the ICAO UAS Study Group held, on invitation of
GosNIIAS, a working meeting in St. Petersburg at the offices of
Transas, a Russian RPAS manufacturer.
In order to collect the necessary information and input, the
European Commission announced the setting up a process
involving relevant experts from aviation rulemaking bodies and
industry, and inviting them to share their knowledge on the
subject of UAS insertion into civil managed airspace.
New Web Sites Announced
A first preparatory meeting took place at DG Enterprise
& Industry in Brussels, Belgium on 27 May 2010. At this
meeting Daniel Calleja (DG ENTR) and Matthew Baldwin
(DG MOVE) explained the objectives, described the proposed
process and the expected contributions from the invited
stakeholders. At this meeting it was announced that the invited
stakeholders would form the EC UAS Panel, which would
be jointly chaired by Daniel Calleja and Matthew Baldwin.
On 1 April 2011, after considerable work and overcoming multiple
hurdles, totally new editions of www.uvs-international.org and
www .uvs-info.com went on-line.
The official announcement of the creation of the European
Commission’s UAS Panel was made by the European
Commission at the Paris Air Show.
The new web sites were much more user-friendly and their
RPAS & UGV related libraries (brochures, product data sheets,
regulatory documents, white papers, studies, photos (products
& events) had been greatly increased in volume & all previous
editions of the RPAS Yearbook had been made available online.
The European UAS Panel, consisted of nominally designated
high level representatives of the European Aviation Safety
Agency, Eurocontrol, European Civil Aviation Conference,
SESAR Joint Undertaking, European Defence Agency, ASD
and UVS International. The panel organised a series of five
workshops, which were co-chaired by DG ENTR and DG
MOVE, and also involved other European Commission services
(DG HOME, DG RTD, DG INFSO). The five workshops (each
dedicated to a spefic topic) were concluded in February 2012.
ICAO UAS Study Group Secretariat - Administrative Support
In 2011, on request of the ICAO UAS Study Group secretariat,
UVS International played an instrumental role in finding
industrial support for the secretariat to be able to tackle its
increased workload more efficiently.
Europe - European Commission’s UAS Panel Initiative
In follow-up to the high level RPAS conference that it organised
on 1 July 2010, the European Commission, Directorate General
Enterprise & Industry (DG ENTR) and Directorate General
Mobility & Transport (DG MOVE), launched, in lieu of the earlier
announced High Level Group on RPAS, an initiative, which was
to provide it with the necessary expertise and input to develop
UVS International organised the first of the 5 workshops (RPASrelated industry base and market issues), and subsequently
actively participated in all four following workshops.
ICAO’s Civil/Military Cooperation Seminar Attendees - Lima, Peru
UAS Latin America 2011 Attendees - San José dos Campos, Brazil
RPAS Replaces UAS
The winners of the 2011 RPAS photo competition organised by
UVS International were published in that year’s edition of the
RPAS Yearbook, and are posted on www.uvs-info.com.
During the second half of 2011, UVS International choose to
adopt the ICAO-recommended term of remotely piloted aircraft
system (RPAS) (instead of UAS) in all its communications,
including conference designations. The annual yearbook was
renamed to «RPAS: The Global Perspective». Most national
aviation authorities have now also adopted the term RPAS.
France - UAS 2011- 13th Edition
UVS International held the 13th edition of its annual international
RPAS conference and exhibition in Paris, France on 14-16 June
2011 (the week preceding the Paris Air Show). All presentations
given at this event are available on www.uvs-info.com
Peru - ICAO’s 1st Civil/Military Cooperation Seminar
In August 2011, UVS International participated, within the
framework of its Global Access Initiative, in ICAO’s first regional
civil/military cooperation seminar, which took place in Lima,
Peru. The objective of UVS International’s participation was to
highlight ICAO’s ongoing RPAS-related standards activities, as
well as illustrate current RPAS operations worldwide.
China - AVIC Cup
UVS International was invited to be the overseas partner of the
AVIC Cup - International UAV Innovation Grand Prix. The AVIC
Cup (Sept 23 - 25, 2011) was being organized by the Aviation
Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and the Chinese Society
of Aeronautics & Astronautics (CSAA) at the China Aviation
Museum in Beijing, in celebration of the 60th anniversary of
China’s aviation industry. AVIC Cup integrated the Grand Prix
with a RPAS flying demonstration & exhibition.
Brazil - 1st Latin American RPAS Conference
UVS International was partnered with DCA-BR to coorganize, with the support of Brazilian governmental
authorities, an international 3-day UAS conference in Sao
José dos Campos, Brazil (25-27 October 2011).
----- ACTIVITIES IN 2012 ----India - ICAUV 2012 - 2nd Edition
In February 2011, UVS International was invited by the Indian
Ministry of Defence, Defence Research & Development
Organization, Aeronautical Development Establishment, to coorganize and promote the 2nd national Indian RPAS conference.
The ICAUV 2012 conference & exhibition was once again a
residential conference (all speakers & delegates were housed
at the conference venue) and again took place at the Eagleton
Golf Resort in Bangalore, India on 24 & 25 February 2012.
UVS International is proud to have been selected by the Indian
Ministry of Defence for the second time in a row to partner
with it for the organisation of this important national event.
The presentations that have been allowed to be published are
posted on www.uvs-info.com.
Thailand - ICAO’s 2nd Civil/Military Cooperation Seminar
In early March 2012, UVS International participated, within the
framework of its Global Access Initiative, in ICAO’s second
regional civil/military cooperation seminar, which took place
in Bangkok, Thailand. The objective of UVS International’s
participation was to highlight ICAO’s ongoing RPAS-related
standards activities, as well as illustrate current RPAS
ICAUV 2012 Opening - Bangalore, India
This conference was expressly organised for the budding
South American RPAS market and had as purpose
to promote international cooperation in the fields of
regulatory matters and RPAS development & production.
All information pertaining to this event is available on www.
uvs-info.com & www.dca.br.org.br
8th ICAO UAS Study Group
The eighth meeting of the ICAO UAS Study Group to place
in Montreal, QC, Canada from 31 October to 4 November
2011. Once again UVS International participated.
ICAO’s Civil Military Cooperation Seminar Attendees - Bangkok, Thailand
operations worldwide.
Europe - European RPAS Steering Group
The final report of the European UAS Panel concluded that
RPAS presented substantial societal benefits and offered
substantial job creation potential, and that consequently it was
advisable to take this initiative to the following step, and called
for the creation of the European RPAS Steering Group. It was
also decided to adopt the ICAO-recommended terminology
(RPAS instead of UAS or UAV).
The objective of the European RPAS Steering Group was to
draw up, before the end of 2012, a roadmap defining how the
incremental integration of RPAS into European airspace should
be achieved by 2016. The entities participating in the European
Commission’s UAS Panel were all invited to become part of the
European RPAS Steering Group.
UVS International was invited to participate as an RPAS
industry stakeholder, specifically representing small & mediumsized enterprises (manufacturing & services). It participated in
all 3 sub-groups of the Steering Group (Regulatory Matters,
R&D Matters, Complementary Measures) and contributed to
the three roadmaps drawn up by these Sub-Groups, which
laid the basis for the European RPAS Roadmap, which was
completed on time.
Peru - ICAO Latin American UAS Seminar
On 18-20 April 2012 UVS International participated in ICAO’s
first regional RPAS seminar, which took place at the ICAO
regional office in Lima, Peru. This event featured 28 speakers
from ICAO, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,
France, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
USA and brought together national aviation authorities from
many countries in the region, as well as a good number of
RPAS manufacturers and RPAS operators.
This event had been co-organised by UVS International and
had as objective to bring the Latin American national aviation
authorities and industry together to inform them on ICAO’s
ongoing work relative to RPAS, permit Latin American authorities
to highlight currently ongoing RPAS operations in their
countries, and promote closer cooperation and coordination
between Latin American & Carribean region authorities and
organisations like JARUS, Eurocontrol, EUROCAE, and RTCA
relative to standards.
Canada - 9th ICAO UAS Study Group Meeting
The ninth meeting of the ICAO UAS Study Group to place in
Montreal, QC, Canada from 23 to 27 April 2012. It was the first
time that authorities from Japan participated in the study group.
In order to be better positioned to cope with the large amount of
work that the group has to accomplish within a relatively short
period of time, Filippo Tomasello (European Aviation Safety
Agency) and Jim Coyne (Civil Aviation Safety Agency, Australia)
were nominated as co-chairs of the group at this meeting.
EUROCAE Working Group 93
The kick-off meeting of the EUROCAE Working Group 93 on
Light RPAS took place at Eurocontrol headquarters in Brussels,
Belgium on 23 & 24 May 2012.
UVS International played a pivotal role in the build-up and
organisation of WG93. The International RPAS Coordiniation
Council members were all invited to contribute to this very
important effort.
ICAO’s 1st Regional UAS Seminar Attendees - Lima, Peru
France on 11-15 June 2012, had a stand at Eurosatory 2012.
Brazil - 10th ICAO UAS Study Group Meeting
The tenth meeting of the ICAO UAS Study Group took place
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 24-28 September 2012 and was
hosted by ANAC (Brazilian civil aviation authority) and DECEA
(Brazilian military aviation authority). See photo on following
page. UVS International participated in the meeting and
presented a study note on RPAS-related terms and definitions,
RPAS aerial work categorization, and a compilation of all ICAOapproved aviation-related terms & definitions (originating from
the Chicago Convention annexes). These documents are
posted on www.uvs-info.com
Russian Federation - UVS-TECH 2012
For the forth consecutive year, UVS International partnered
with Expo-Ecos to co-organize, with the support of the Russian
Ministry of Industry and Trade and under the patronage of the
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation,
an international 3-day RPAS conference; UVS-Tech 2012 took
place in Moscow, Russian Fed. on 23-26 October 2012. This
event took place within the framework of the 16th «Interpolitekh
2012» exhibition, which is organised by the Ministry of Internal
Affairs, the Federal Security Service, and the Federal Service on
Military and Technical Cooperation of the Russian Federation.
EASA - NPA 2012-10
9th ICAO UAS Study Group Meeting Attendees
France - RPAS 2012 - 14th Edition
The association’s 14th annual RPAS conference and exhibition
took place at the Equinoxe Event Centre in Paris, France on 5
& 6 & 7 June 2012 and brought together 46 speakers from 19
countries and 9 European and international organizations.
France - Eurosatory 2012
UVS International, sponsored by COGES, the organizers of
Eurosatory, the world’s largest army equipment, army aviation
and homeland security exhibition, which took place in Paris,
In August 2012, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
published its Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) 2012-10
for a Commission Regulation laying down the common rules
of the air and operational provisions regarding services and
procedures in air navigation and amending regulations, relative
to the transposition of Amendment 43 to Annex 2 to the Chicago
Convention on remotely piloted aircraft systems into common
rules of the air.
UVS International drew up detailed comments to this proposal
and officially submitted them to EASA for consideration. The
comments submitted by UVS International were submitted with
the endorsement of the following national associations:
• ASSORPAS, Italy; • BeUAS, Belgium;
• DARPAS, The Netherlands; • UAS Norway, Norway; • UAV-DACH, Germany; • UAS France, France;
In total more than 450 companies and organisations supported
UVS International’s position.
Norway - UNC 2012
On 13 November 2012, UVS International gave the keynote
10th ICAO UAS Study Group Meeting Attendees
Attendees at JARUS’ First Workshop
presentation at UNC 2012, the annual national Norwegian
RPAS conference organised by UAS Norway.
Belgium - RPAS CivOps 2012
The first edition of the RPAS CivOps conference, a new annual
conference organised under the auspices of UVS International,
and which is totally dedicated to non-military RPAS operators
and operations, took place at the Royal Military Academy in
Brussels, Belgium on 4 & 5 December 2012.
The organisation of this conference was coordinated with the
European Commission (DG Enterprise & Industry + DG Mobility
& Transport), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA),
Eurocontrol, ECAC, JARUS, SESAR Joint Undertaking,
European Defence Agency, and Eurocae WG93. Photos of this
event can be found on www.uvs-info.com and on www.rpascivilops.org
During this event, UVS International organised a series of
private one-to-one meetings for selected RPAS operators with
the European Commission, EASA and JARUS. The purpose of
these meetings was to give the authorities to obtain first-hand
feedback from RPAS operators on currently ongoing RPAS
operations, and to hear from them what would be required to
develop the RPAS aerial work market in Europe.
JARUS Web Site
In October 2012, UVS International proposed, within the
framework of its Global Access Initiative, to establish and
maintain a web site specifically for the Joint Authorities for
Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems (JARUS).
This proposal was made because it was politically not possible
for any of the JARUS members (all national aviation authorities)
to host such a web site. The UVS International proposal was
accepted and the JARUS web site (www.jarus-rpas.org)
is now online. This web site makes it possible for JARUS
to communicate on its activities to the international RPAS
community. The content of this web site is supplied by JARUS.
Belgium - 1st JARUS Workshop
The first workshop organised by the Joint Authorities for
Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems (JARUS) took place at
Eurocontrol in Brussels, Belgium on 6 December 2012.
The purpose of this workshop was to make it possible for JARUS
to present the JARUS-proposed SC-LURS regulation (for light
unmanned rotorcraft systems) to the RPAS community, and
inform the RPAS community on SC-LURS comment process.
UVS International participated in this workshop.
----- ACTIVITIES IN 2013 ----RPAS Operators
UVS International has continued its endeavours to federate
current and potential RPAS operators (companies & organisations
conducting or planning to conduct aerial operations with RPAS)
on a European and international level, with the intention of
giving this stakeholder group a common voice in the continuing
regulatory debate, which will impact them.
2012 General Assembly
The association’s General Assembly (GA) for 2012 took place
in Paris, France in February 2013. At this GA several new
members joined the association’s Board of Directors, namely:
- RAdm Christopher Ames, General Atomics Aeronautical
Systems, USA (replacing Steve May - who had retired);
- Paolo Marras, Aermatica, Italy;
- Itai Toren, Bluebird Aero Systems, Italy;
- Jürgen Verstaen, Flight Plus, Belgium;
and Peter La Franchi, LFRG International, Australia was
accepted as an Observer on the Board.
Furthermore, a new categorisation of members and an increase
in membership fees was accepted, and it was decided that the
new membership fees would be applicable to membership
applicants submitting their applications starting on 1 March
2013.
In order to put less financial strain on the members and for
reasons of efficiency, it was decided to organise all future
general assemblies in conjunction with conference organised
in Brussels, Belgium.
Europe - European RPAS Steering Group
Based on the roadmaps developed by the three sub-groups
of the European RPAS Steering Group, the final proposal of
the Steering Group’s integrated roadmap was produced by the
Steering Group and submitted to the European Commission for
their rvaluation and comments.
Germany - EASA - NPA 2012-10 Follow-up Meeting
In view of the comments submitted by UVS International in
response to the NPA published by EASA, the association was
invited to participate in a workshop that took place at EASA
headquarters in Cologne, Germany on 4 & 5 March 2013.
At this meeting EASA presented a revised version of the NPA,
that took into account the comments received and accepted
by EASA. The meeting attendees agreed on a further revised
version. Subsequently, it was decided by EASA that the new text
was so fundementally different from the original text, that a new
NPA would have to be issued.
The Netherlands - RPAS Workshop at ATC Global
On 12 March 2013, UVS International organised, on invitation
of the event organisers, a special RPAS workshop (Integrating
RPAS into Civil Airspace) at ATC Global in Amsterdam, The
Netherlands. ATC Global is the world’s largest air traffic control
equipment exhibition. The presentations given at this workshop
The remittance of
the European RPAS Roadmap
to the European Commission
France- ASTech RPAS Symposium
On 25 April 2013, ASTech, the Paris region’s aerospace cluster,
organised an RPAS symposium in Paris, France. At this event
the UVS International President gave a keynote speech on
RPAS-related regulatory activities in Europe and emphasized
the importance of the use of the correct terminology. The
presentations given at this workshop are posted on www.uvsinfo.com
Europe - European RPAS Steering Group Meeting
On 23 May 2013, a meeting of the European RPAS Steering
Group (UVS International is a member) took place in Brussels,
Belgium. At this meeting the comments of the Steering Group’s
members on the final draft of the European RPAS Roadmap
were discussed.
Austria - National RPAS Research Symposium
FH-Joanneum RPAS Symposium
Graz, Austria - 28 May 2013
On 28 May 2013, UVS International gave the keynote speach
at the Austrian national RPAS Symposium organized by FHJohaneum (University of Applied Sciences) in Graz, Austria.
This event brought a large segment of the Austrian research
community together.
New Edition of www.uvs-info.com
Subsequent to a major hacking incident, it was necessary to
totally reconstruct this web site using a new operating system
and putting significant security measures in place. The new
edition went online in May 2013.
This generic web site is now probably the world’s largest with
information on remotely piloted systems (air, ground & naval).
The online library (access restricted to UVS International
members) contains RPAS-related documents in the following
categories: a) governmental; b) military; c) regulatory; d)
reports; e) studies; f) thesis; g) white papers; h) Access 5;
i) model aircraft & related regulations; j) UVS International
presentations; k) national RPAS communities; UVS News
Flash editions; l) Press articles; m) Aviation terminology.
This web site also contains the world’s largest online collection
of RPAS-related brochures, product & technical performance
sheets, and photo galleries. Documents referring to the products
and services of UVS International members are accessible to
all visitors. However, the documents referring to the products
and services of companies and the organisations that are not
a member of UVS International, are only accessible to UVS
International members.
European RPAS Roadmap Remittance
On 20 June 2013, the European RPAS Roadmap remittance
ceremony took place in the GIFAS Chalet (GIFAS = Grouping
of French Aerospace Manufacturers) at the Paris Air Show.
After a short welcome by a GIFAS representative, the opening
speech was giving by Philippe Brunet [Directorate General
(DG) Enterprise & Industry]. In his opening speech Mr Brunet
explained the context, the start up of the European UAS Panel
that was announced at the Paris Air Show in 2011, and the
subsequent establishment of the European RPAS Steering
Group. Mr Brunet also stressed the positive influences the
opening of the RPAS market would have on the European
economy and in the field of job creation.
The European RPAS Steering Group is co-chaired by DG
Enterprise & DG Mobility & Transport, and consists of European
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), EUROCONTROL, SESAR Joint
Undertaking, European Civil Aviation Conférence (ECAC), Joint
Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems (JARUS),
European Space Agency (ESA), European Defence Agency (EDA),
EUROCAE, Association of European Research Establishments
for Aeronautics (EREA), European Cockpit Association (ECA),
Association of European Aerospace & Defence Manufacturers
(ASD), UVS International. Representatives of most of these
organisations were present.
Mr Brunet thanked the European RPAS Steering Group for their
diligent work and efforts, which have resulted in the production
of the European RPAS Roadmap. He then passed the word to
Bernhard Gewert (CEO of EADS Cassidian), Rini Goos (EDA)
and Peter van Blyenburgh (UVS International), who all made
statements on the importance of the European RPAS Roadmap
for the European RPAS community, and all three expressed
the commitment of their organizations to contribute to the
implementation of the roadmap.
Subsequently, the four documents, a high level document & 3
annexes, that constitute the European RPAS Roadmap were
handed over, on behalf of the European RPAS Steering Group,
by Peter van Blyenburgh and Bernhard Gerwert to Matthias
Ruete (DG Mobility & Transport) and Philippe Brunet.
The event was closed by a speech by Matthias Ruete, during
which he explained the importance of the work at hand, as well
as the spin-off potential for other aviation sectors. Mr Ruete
Photogrammetry Week Delegates
also emphasized the commitment of DG Mobility & Transport
and DH Enterprise & Industry, in close cooperation with each
other, to progress the implementation of the roadmap.
The four documents that constitute the European RPAS
Roadmap are posted on www.uvs-info.com under the
“European Matters” tab in the main menu bar.
September 2013. The Photogrammetry Week, which brought
together 450 delegates from over 40 countries, was organised
by the Institute of Photogrammetry at the University of Stuttgart,
Germany. See www.uvs-info.com
Belgium - RPAS 2013 - 15th Edition
UVS International again partnered with Aviation Industry
Corporation of China (AVIC); Commercial Aircraft Corporation of
China Ltd.; China Aviation Supplies Holding Company; CCPIT
Sub-Council of Aviation Industries; China Aviation Publishing &
Media Co.,Ltd.; China Promotion Ltd, Hong Kong to organise
this event, which took place at the China National Convention
Centre in Beijing, China on 25-28 September 2013.
The association’s 15th annual RPAS conference took place at
the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Belgium on 24-27 June
2013.
This event has become Europe’s principal RPAS conference &
RPAS-related regulatory and policy forum; it is coordinated with
the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), European
Commission, EASA, Eurocontrol, ECAC, SESAR Joint
Undertaking, JARUS, Eurocae WG73, and Eurocae WG93 on
Light RPAS. See www.uvs-info.com
RPAS Yearbook - 11th Edition
The 11th edition of the annual RPAS Yearbook (RPAS: The
Global Perspective) was published in June 2013. This first
issues of this publication, which has a steadily growing number
of contributors and seems to get larger each year, was made
available to all attendees at the European RPAS Roadmap
remittance ceremony, as well as to all participants in the RPAS
2013 conference. An electronic copy of this publication is
available in flipbook format on www.uvs-info.com
France - IMAV 2013
IMAV, the International Micro Air Vehicle Conference & Flight
Competition, this year took place at ENAC in Toulse, France
on 17-20 September 2013. The UVS International President
gave a keynote address on the importance of regulations and
how RPAS regulations were being addressed on a national,
European and international level, and participate in a panel
session with representatives from ICAO and Airbus. See www.
uvs-info.com
Germany - Photogrammetry Week 2013
On invitation of the organisers, the UVS International President
gave a keynote speech at the 54th annual Photogrammetry
Week. The purpose of the speech was to broaden the awareness
of the international photogrammetry community relative to the
rules and regulations applicable to RPAS operations, and to
reach out to this community by informing its members that they
have a vital role to play as an RPAS stakeholder to help shape
the future rules and regulations.
This long-standing international conference is dedicated to
photogrammetry and took place in Stuttgart, Germany on 10-13
China - UAS China 2013
At the associated exhibition, 56 mostly Chinese RPA were
exhibited. A photographic review of all the RPA and associated
equipment exhibited can be found on www.uvs-info.com
The UVS International President lead a delegation of 10 foreign
speakers and gave a keynote address in which the importance
of RPAS-related rules and regulations was emphasized.
And in his closing statement, he invited the Chinese Ministry
of Transport to become more active in the ICAO UAS Study
Group, and he strongly suggested that it was in its interest that
the Civil Aviation Authority of China to rapidly join JARUS.
See www.uvs-info.com
Portugal - AFSEA RPAS Symposium
The first national Portuguese RPAS symposium took place at
the Academia da Força Aérea, Granja do Marquês, Sintra (near
Lisbon) on 15 October 2013. This event, which had the slogan
«From Strategy to Action» was organised by AFCEA Portugal
(a non-profit association) in coordination with the Portuguese
Ministry of Defence and brought together 125 persons.
The UVS International President gave the keynote speech at
this event and called for the Portuguese RPAS community to
actively support the implementation of the European RPAS
Roadmap, and to avoid making the mistakes many others had
already made. Furthermore, he strongly suggested that it would
be in the interest of Portugal’s RPAS community if INAC, the
national aviation authority, would join JARUS.
In the afternoon 5 Portuguese RPAS manufacturers performed
flight demonstrations. The presentations given at this symposium
Portugal - Meeting with INAC
On 16 October 2013, the UVS International President had a
meeting with INAC representatives. At this meeting a possible
approach to national RPAS regulation and the use of a qualified
entity was explained and the advantages of this approach were
RPAS Latin America 2013 Delegates
highlighted. It was again suggested that the national aviation
authority consider the advantages of joining JARUS.
140 members, the association’s statute was approved and its
Board of Directors was voted into office.
Subsequent to this meeting, a written report was submitted to
INAC for their consideration.
Keynote addresses were given by Maxim Coffin, DGAC,
France and the UVS International President, who emphasized
the importance for the French RPAS community to actively
participate in the implementation of the European RPAS
Roadmap and related actions.
Russian Federation - UVS-Tech 2013
UVS International partnered for the 5th consecutive year with
Expo-Ecos, Russian Fed. to organise this national conference
& exhibition, which took place at the All Russian Exhibition
Centre in Moscow, Russian Fed. on 22-25 October 2013, under
the patronage of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the
Russian Federation.
UVS International Board Member Alexander Koldaev gave the
keynote presentation at this national event.
See www.uvs-info.com
Brazil - RPAS Latin America - 2nd Edition
UVS International and DCA-Br, Brazil again partnered to
organise the second Latin American RPAS conference &
exhibition. This event, which was supported by ANAC (national
Brazil civil aviation authority) & DECEA (national Brazilian
military flight authority) and coordinated with the ICAO regional
office in Lima, Peru, took place in San José dos Campos on
29-31 October 2013.
The conference was opened by Carlos Silveira Pellegrino,
the director of ANAC. This international RPAS event attended
by delegates from Brazil, Colombia, France, Israel, Italy, The
Netherlands, Peru, Venezuela, UK, USA and the national
aviation authority of Venezuela. See wwww.uvs-info.com
New UVS International Web Site
In November 2013, UVS International’s new web site went
online. Subsequent to the hacking of its web site, it had been
necessary to change its operating system, increase safety
measures and totally reconstruct web site. At the same time the
site was made more user friendly.
The brochures, product & technical data sheets of all UVS
International members, as well as a photo gallery of their
products and all presentations given by UVS International since
its inception are posted and accessible to all visitors.
France - Fédération Professionnelle du Drone Civil
On 4 November 2013, the UVS International President attended
the first general assembly of the newly founded Fédération
Professionnelle du Drone Civil (which supercedes UAS
France). At this event, which was attended by approximately
Norway - UNC 2013
On 12 November 2013, the UVS International President gave
the keynote presentation at UNC 2013, the annual national
Norwegian RPAS conference organised by UAS Norway, the
national association. The keynote presentation addressed the
topic of the European RPAS Roadmap and the importance for
the Norwegian RPAS community to actively participate in its
implementation.
Furthermore, very constructive presentations were given by the
deputy director general of the national aviation authority, the
director general of the national air navigation service provider,
and a member of the Norwegian parlement.
EASA - CRD 2012-10 - 2nd Edition
On 18 November 2013, EASA published the CommentResponse Document (CRD) 2012-10, which contains a
summary of the comments on NPA 2012-10 of 21 August 2012
and a summary of the subsequent ‘focused consultation’,
undertaken by the Agency, and its conclusions thereto.
The scope of the NPA was to align the European rules of the
air with Amendment 43 to ICAO Annex 2, which is devoted
primarily to remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS). This
task also implements Article 4(a) and 4(b) of Regulation (EC)
No 551/2004 on the Single European Sky, as amended by
Regulation (EC) No 1070/2009.
Based on 224 comments from 61 commentators, and the
‘focused consultation’, the Agency concluded that:
• The vast majority supported that option 2A (i.e. publish as soon
as possible common rules to transpose amendment 43 to ICAO
Annex 2 into SERA) in the RIA, would be the way forward;
• Stakeholders agreed that the scope of the Agency is not
limited to international civil aviation;
• Stakeholders also agreed that toys and model aircraft should
not be covered by detailed common EU rules, but subject to
a general obligation to minimise hazards to third parties;
• Transposition should be limited to obtain the special
authorisation to operate RPAS internationally;
• AMC/GM (not included in NPA 2012-10) can be provided on
other aspects, including airworthiness, licensing of remote
pilots and operations, for which specific EU common rules do
not yet exist.
EASA, based on the above conclusions, has developed a
new text of the proposed rules (much slimmer legally binding
implementing rules and much larger AMC/GM). This new text
represents a radical departure from the text proposed by NPA
2012-10.
Consequently, the Agency does neither intend for the moment
to adopt any Opinion, nor to publish the revised text in this CRD.
On the contrary, the Agency intends to submit the resulting text
of the proposed Opinion and Decision through a new NPA to
give stakeholders, who were not directly involved in the focused
consultation, a fair opportunity to comment.
Survey: RPAS & Accessibility of the EU Market
The absence of safety regulations for RPAS operations is the
main showstopper for the development of civil RPAS applications.
Six Member States (MS) have now adopted regulations allowing
limited RPAS operations. In these countries RPAS activities are
rapidly expanding. Seven other MS are developing their national
rules (and more may follow), further opening the European
Union (EU) market. However, today most companies are mainly
active on their own national market (or outside Europe), and face
difficulties to develop businesses in other EU MS.
The Roadmap for the integration of civil RPAS into the European
Air System issued in June 2013 calls for the harmonization of
the European regulation and even for common rules in order to
create a true European market for RPAS applications. However,
the market remains fragmented.
In addition to a regulatory initiative, the European Commission
(EC) intends to support the development of RPAS businesses
by facilitating their access to the EU market through dedicated
measures. In order to identify the main problems faced by
small & medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop their
business, in particular in other EU MS, the EC developed a
questionnaire and requested UVS International to use its web
site to disseminate it to the EU RPAS community.
The replies to this questionnaire formed the basis of an
interactive public discussion between the EC Directorate
General (DG) Enterprise & Industry and the audience the first
day of the RPAS CivOps 2013 conference, which took place in
Brussels, Belgium (9-11 December 2013).
In order to supply additional information to the EC DG Enterprise
& Industry UVS International decided to extend the response
period relative to this questionnaire to 18 January 2014. The
questionnaire can be found on www.uvs-info.com - See the
“Study Groups” tab in the upper menu bar on the home page.
Belgium - RPAS CivOps - 2nd Edition
The association’s second annual RPAS CivOps conference,
dedicated to non-military RPAS operations, which is coordinated
with the European Commission (DG Enterprise & Industry; DG
Mobility & Transport), EASA, Eurocontrol, ECAC and Eurocae
WG93 on Light RPAS, took place at the Royal Military Academy
in Brussels, Belgium on 9 -11 December 2013.
In addition to presentations by the European Commission,
Eurocontrol, EASA and SESAR within the framework of the
European RPAS Roadmap, as well as presentations by nongovernmental RPAS operators (commercial, non-commercial,
corporate), particular attention was paid to RPAS-related
responsibility, liability and insurance, safety regulations for
RPAS public flight and capability demonstrations, and the start
up of a remotely piloted systems knowledge centre.
A special interactive session lead by the European Commission
Directorate General Enterprise & Industry was held with the
objective to make it possible for the European Commission to
learn from the small & medium-sized RPAS enterprises present
(manufactufrers & operators) what their immediate concerns
are relative to the implementation of the European RPAS
Roadmap, in order to be able to envisage how to best address
these concerns.
In addition, all European national associations involved with
RPAS gave presentations on the current status of commercial
RPAS operations in their countries. The complete conference
programme and a photographic review of the event can be
found on www.rpas-civops.org
UVS International Study Groups Announced
In October 2013 UVS International launched a call for
participation in Definition Teams that were to define the terms
of reference (ToR) of three study groups that were to undertake
work on the three subject matters that had been identified as of
critical importance to the RPAS community and for which UVS
International wanted to launch study groups, namely:
• SG01 - RPAS Responsibility, Liability & Insurance
• SG02 - RPAS Flight & Capability Demonstrations
• SG03 - Remotely Piloted Systems Knowledge Centre
Study Groups: Definition Teams & Launch
SG01 - RPAS Responsibility, Liability & Insurance
Because of the complexity of the ToR of this SG, and the
necessity for the ToR to not transgress EU competition
laws, it was decided to form a Definition Team composed of
representatives from five distinct stakeholder groups, namely:
Group 1 - Operators
- Paudie Barry, Baseline Surveys, Ireland
- Peter van Blyenburgh, UVS International, The Netherlands
- Jürgen Verstaen, Flight Plus, Belgium
Group 2 - Insurance
- Jean Fournier Global Aerospace France
- Philippe Daouphars Kiln Group France
Group 3 - Legal
- Arthur Flieger, Flieger Law Office, Belgium
- Peter Lee, TaylorVinters, UK
Group 4 - Regulations
- José Calvo Fresno, SESAR JU, Belgium
- Christian Janke, European Aviation Security Center, Germany
- Gert Kruiswijk, CAA, The Netherlands
- Maya Markova, EUROCONTROL, Belgium
Group 5 - Industry
- Ian Henn, Thales, UK
- Paola Lanzi, DeepBlue, Italy
- Andrea Maccapani, Selex ES, Italy
SG02 - RPAS Flight & Capability Demonstrations
- Taurino Damiano, DeepBlue, Italy
- Fabrizio D’Urso, ENAC (CAA), Italy
- Henk Hesselink, NLR, The Netherlands
- Christian Janke, European Aviation Security Center, Germany
- Dr Josef Mendler, Acentiss, Germany
-Catherine Ronfle-Nadaud, Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile,
France
- Peter van Blyenburgh, UVS International, The Netherlands
SG03 - Remotely Piloted Systems Knowledge Centre
-Catherine Ronfle-Nadaud, Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile,
France
- Jan van Hulzen, Hogeschool van Amsterdam, The Netherlands
-Geert de Cubber, Royal Military Academy, Belgium
-Anders La Cour Harbo, University of Aalborg, Denmark
-Dieter Fritsch, University of Stuttgart, Germany
-Stefano Stramigioli, University of Twente, The Netherlands
European Union that are members of UVS International and
the International RPAS Coordination Council.
Subsequently, representatives of each of the three study groups
gave a presentation on the objectives of their groups and UVS
International announced the creation of the three study groups
at the RPAS CivOps 2013 conference in December 2013.
At this meeting the new Board of Directors, including eight
members of the European RPAS Coordination Council, was
unanimously voted into office. In view of the agreed upon
topics, it was agreed that the association’s statute had to be
adapted and this matter had to be dealt with forthwith.
Subsequently a general call for participation in each of the
study groups has been published. The call for participation and
additional information can be found on www.uvs-info.com - See
the “Study Groups” tab in the upper menu bar on the home page.
Survey on Civil RPAS Operations
In order to obtain additional inputs and be able to draw more
balanced and meaningful statistics, it has been decided to
extend the submission period relative to this survey to 1 May
2014. The principal motivation to do so was to be able to supply
valid market data within the context of the European RPAS
Roadmap. All current and possible future RPAS operators are
invited to participate in this survey.
In the context of this survey “Operator” means: A person,
organisation or enterprise engaged in or offering to engage
in an aircraft operation. All relevant documents can be found
under the «European Matters» tab on www.uvs-info.com
Representing the RPAS Operator Community
As is illustrated by the aforementioned, UVS International is
actively engaged in federating the European and international
RPAS operator’s community.
The first concrete step in this direction was its invitation to
all European national RPAS associations, which count a
substantial amount of operators among their members, to
jointly form the European RPAS Coordination Council.
The second step in this direction, as announced at the RPAS
CivOps 2013 conference, is the association’s signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding with the European Spacial
Data Research Group (EuroSDR), which federates European
national mapping and cadastre agencies, as well as related
academic institutes, research organisations, industry & user
groups, which represent significant potential for the use of
RPAS and in a significant number of cases in various countries
already use RPAS.
----- ACTIVITIES IN 2014 ----Belgium - EC Hearing on RPAS Liability & Insurance
On 5 March 2014, a European Commission hearing on
RPAS Liability & Insurance took place at EUROCONTROL
headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The event was organised
by Steer Davies Gleave (SDG) within the context of a study
awarded to it by the European Commission.
The objective of the hearing was to permit SDG to present
intermediate and temporary conclusions and discuss them with
the attending stakeholders, and to permit selected stakeholders
(insurance & legal experts, national aviation authorities, a
qualified entity, manufacturers, operators, trade associations)
to give their views. UVS International had been invited to give
a presentation detailing, country-by-country, the European
commercial RPAS market & the European regulatory situation.
See the «European Matters» tab on www.uvs-international.org
& www.uvs-info.com
The Netherlands - CAPIGI ‘14
CAPIGI is the network for geo-information experts active in
agriculture. UVS International gave a presentation at their
annual conference which took place in Amsterdam, The
Netherlands on 2-4 April 2014.
At this event, UVS International called for the agricultural geoinformation community to constitute a dedicated stakeholder
group of entities involved with RPAS.
USA - ICAUS 2014 - 7th Edition
The seventh edition of the International Conference on
Unmanned Aircraft Systems, which is organised by the ICAUS
association (federating international academic institutions),
took place in Orlando, Florida, USA on 27-30 May 2014.
The purpose of this MoU is to provide a framework for
continuing liaison between UVS International and EuroSDR
relative to their common interest to address matters relating to
the development of RPAS technology, standards, regulations
and applications. UVS International will continue to reach out to
all stakeholder groups, which are already using RPAS, or have
significant RPAS usage potential.
The focus at the conference was on «developing RPAS
standards». The UVS International president gave a keynote
address entitled «The European Approach», which strongly
focus on civil RPAS operators & related regulations, and the
European RPAS Roadmap.
UVS International’s 2013 General Assembly
In May 2014, EASA notified UVS International that it had
been recognised as the representative of the European RPAS
operators’ community, and that it was called on to nominate
a candidate to the plenary of the EASA Safety Standards
Consultative Committee (SSCC).
The association’s annual General Assembly took place at the
Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Belgium in the afternoon of
Wednesday 11 December 2013.
The General Assembly decided to grant non-executive status
on the Board of Directors to the representatives of the qualified
European national associations that are a member of UVS
International and jointly form the European RPAS Coordination
Council (a sub-set of the International Coordination Council).
Furthermore, the General Assembly also decided to extend
this privilege to representatives of associations outside of the
Europe - EASA - Safety Standards Consultative Committee
The SSCC focuses on addressing horizontal issues and
coordinates with subcommittees. The functionof the SSCC is to:
• Provide an opinion on the priorities assigned by the
subcommittees to the rulemaking tasks, and advise on the
overall priorities in the future Rulemaking Programmes.
• Verify that appropriate changes contained within future
Rulemaking Programmes are supported by a formal and
structured (safety) case that justifies the need for regulation
together with a Regulatory Impact Assessment that supports
any required investment by Industry;
• Provide advice on the consistency of the Rulemaking
Programme and the adaptation of existing rules in the light of
experience gained in their application, and to take into account
the technological and commercial evolution/progress;
• Provide advice on the development and use of regulatory
tools and concepts insofar as they relate to the work of the
Agency including, in particular, recommendations on risk
assessment analysis, regulatory impact assessments and
other tools to be employed in rulemaking;
• Provide advice as appropriate in the context of the on-going
efforts to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the
Agency’s rulemaking processes and structures;
• Assist, and provide advice to, the Executive Director as
required by EASA rulemaking procedures;
• Take initiative and express the position of interested parties
on all aspects related to the rulemaking activities of the
Agency whenever deemed appropriate;
• Provide advice on the setting up and composition of drafting
groups as necessary in relation to specific rulemaking tasks;
• Consider rulemaking strategy and policy generation, together
with cross group activities and the structure of the Rulemaking
Programme as appropriate.
• Ensure communication with their respective stakeholders on
issues these wish to bring to the attention of the Agency during
the SSCC meetings, as well as keeping the stakeholders
updated of decisions taken and issues discussed at the
SSCC meetings.
The SSCC retains independence and a right of initiative on all
aspects related to the rulemaking activities of EASA.
Participants in the last ICAO UASSG Meeting
organising, with the support of the maire of Chaumont and the
regional Chamber of Commerce & Industry, an RPAS event on
its base in Chaument, France. This event, which will feature civil
and military RPAS, will consist of conferences, an exhibition and
flight demonstrations, and will have one day (27 June) reserved
for professional visitors; during the two other days the event will
be open to the general public.
The association’s 16th annual international RPAS conference
took place at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Belgium
on 23-26 June 2014. The conference was officially opened by
Siim Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission &
Responsible for Transport.
This event has become the world’s leading RPAS policy
conference. The principal topics at this event related to the
European RPAS Roadmap and its implementation, RPAS
regulations, non-military & military cooperation, and once again
the conference was coordinated with ICAO, the European
Commission, EASA, Eurocontrol, ECAC, SESAR JU, JARUS,
ICAO, Eurocae WG73 & WG93. UVS International Study
Groups presented position papers and all European national
RPAS associations gave reviews of the commercial & noncommercial RPAS operations in their countries.
See www.rpas-2014.org & www.uvs-info.com for additional
information on this event.
Catherine Fargeon Awards 2014
At the RPAS 2014 conference the Catherine Fargeon Awards
for 2014 were remitted to:
-Koen de Vos, European Commission Directorate General
Mobility & Transport
-Markus Farner, FOCA, Switzerland
-
Siim Kallas, European Commission, Vice-President &
Commissioner for Transport
-Taro Kuusiholma, Finnish Transport Agency, Finland
France - Technology & Drones
On 27-29 June 2014, the 61st Artillery Regiment, which is
totally dedicated to the operation of the French Army RPAS, is
Due to its longstanding relationship with the 61st Artillery
Regiment, UVS International was invited to contribute to the
organisation of this event and participate in the event’s closing
roundtable discussion.
International - ICAO - Final UAS Study Group Meeting
The final meeting of the ICAO UAS Study Group took place
at ICAO headquarters in Montreal, Canada on 30 June - 4
July 2014. During this meeting the final adaptions of the ICAO
RPAS Manual were made. The RPAS Manual will be presented
at the Global RPAS Symposium that ICAO is organising at its
headquarters in March 2015.
The ICAO UAS Study Group is being replaced by the ICAO
RPAS Panel, which will have its first meeting in November 2014.
The RPAS Panel will have as task to produce the Standards
and Recommended Practices (SARPS) pertaining to RPAS,
which are safety management guidelines intended to assist
States in managing aviation safety risks.
Russian Fed. - ERBA 2014 - 2nd Edition
The second international workshop on RPAS and aircraft with
electric propulsion took place in Moscow, Russian Fed. on 1-4
July 2014, and featured conferences, a flight competition &
demonstration flights (indoors & outdoors).
ERBA 2014 was organised with the support of the Central
Aerohydrodynamics Inst. (TsAGI), UVS International, Scientific &
Production Centre Company “NELK” Ltd., SIE “Falt-Engineering”,
Russian UAS Industries Association, and the Russian Foundation
for Basic Research (RFBR). See http://erba.falt.ru
Drones en Rhônes Alpes
RPAS Definition Phase Workshops
The first of three RPAS Definition Phase Workshops took
place in the offices of SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) in
Brussels, Belgium on 4 September 2014. The purpose of these
workshops, which are chaired by the European Commission
and co-chaired by EASA and SJU, is to ascertain that all
involved parties agree on the process and procedures decided
relative to the implementation of the European RPAS Roadmap.
The second workshop took place on 6 November 2014 and the
last one on 22 January 2015. UVS International participated
in all three workshops as representative of the micro, small &
medium-sized enterprises and the RPAS operator community.
the attending stakeholders, and to permit selected stakeholders
(national data protection agencies, national aviation authorities,
manufacturers, operators, trade associations, academics) to
give their views. The final report produced by TRC can be found
on www.rpas-regulations.com
France - Drones en Rhônes Alpes
The UAS China 2014 conference will take place in Beijing,
China on 15 & 16 September 2014. UVS International
had been invited by the organisers to contribute by to the
conference programme by organising the international section
of the conference programme, and give a keynote address.
The conference was totally sold out; most of the conference
delagates were Chinese.
This regional event took place in Chambéry, France on 10
October 2014 and brought together 280 representatives of the
French RPAS sector. It featured a conference, an exhibition
and flight demonstrations. UVS International gave a keynote
speech at this very successful event.
The associated exhibition covered a surface of 5000 m² and
was totally packed with exhibits of mostly Chinese RPAS
manufacturers (systems & sub-systems).
EASA’s annual Safety Conference took place in Rome, Italy on
15 & 16 October 2014. This event brings together the European
General Aviation community, and this year had, for the first
time, a panel addressing RPAS and brought this community to
the attention of the GA community. The RPAS panel focused
the discussion on light RPAS and the ongoing work to create a
regulatory environment proportionate the relevant risks.
China - ATC Global
ATC Global, an exhibition and conference focused on air
traffic control matters, took place in Beijing, China on 17-19
September 2014. UVS International had been invited by the
organisers to contribute to the conference programme by
organising a special session on RPAS related matters.
Belgium - EC Hearing on Privacy & Data Protection
On 29 September 2014 a European Commission hearing on
Privacy & Data Protection took place at EUROCONTROL
headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The event was organised
by Trilateral Research & Consulting (TRC), UK within the
context of a study awarded to it by the European Commission.
The objective of the hearing was to permit TRC to present
intermediate and temporary conclusions and discuss them with
Photo: Alexis Cornu
Italy - EASA Safety Conference
The panel was moderated by Filippo Tomasello (EASA) and
was composed of Koen de Vos (EC - DG MOVE), Eric Sivel
(EASA), Mike Lissone (JARUS Secretariat), Bruno Moitre
(ENAC), André Clot (EuroUSC) and Peter van Blyenburgh
(UVS International).
Europe - EuroSDR General Assembly
The European Spatial Data Research Group (EuroSDR) is
the European spatial data research organisation for National
Mapping and Cadastre Agencies (NMCAs), embracing academic
institutions, the private sector, industry and user groups, on
issues strongly related to the implementation of technology
developments with respect to optimising the provision (collection,
EuroSDR General Assembly
Leuven, Belgium - 23 Oct. 2014
ICAO RPAS Panel Members
1st Meeting - 17 Nov. 2014
processing, storage, maintenance, visualisation, dissemination
and use) of data serving as a spatial framework for organisations
involved in monitoring, management and development, in a
spatial data infrastructure context.
governing RPAS operations in France, and propose possible
solutions.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UVS
International and EuroSDR that was announced at the RPAS
CivOps 2013 conference in Dec. 2013, has since been signed.
This MoU covers maintaining and increasing the opportunities
of scientific, technical and professional, as well as academic
and educational exchange between the members of both
organisations, through a continuing programme of co-operation
leading to the mutual sharing of knowledge and expertise to the
advantage of both organisations.
On 13 & 14 November 2014, the French Air & Space Academy,
in cooperation with the Aeronautical & Astronautical Association
of France, organized a symposium focussing on the current
status and the future of civil RPAS. This event took place at the
facilities of the French national aviation authorities (DGAC) in
Paris, France.
Within the context of this MoU, UVS International had been
invited to give a keynote address at the EuroSDR General
Assembly in Leuven, Belgium on 23 Oct. 2014. The purpose
of this speech was to broaden the awareness of the attendees
relative to the rules and regulations applicable to RPAS
operations, and to reach out to this community by informing
its members that they have a vital role to play as an RPAS
stakeholder to help shape the future rules and regulations.
France - TV Panel on RPAS
On 17 October 2014, the President together with Francis
Duruflé (Fédération Professionnelle du Drone Civil, France),
Laurent Vidal (lawyer, researcher & professor at Université
Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France) and Jean Fournier
(Global Aerospace, France & member of the UVS International
Board of Directors), participated in a televised panel discussion
in Paris, France on the subject of RPAS regulations and related
legal & insurance issues. This TV show, which was presented
by Eric Roubert, had been organized by Agor AM Business and
had as purpose to draw attention to the dangerous situation that
has been created in France due to the rather permissive law
France - Présent & Future des Drones Civils
UVS International had been invited to give a keynote address
at this event. This keynote address focused on the urgent
necessity in France to certificate RPAS pilots and operators,
and to create nationally accepted standards in these areas;
specific emphasis was put on flight crew training courses
(theoretical & practical).
International - ICAO - First RPAS Panel Meeting
The first meeting of the newly formed ICAO RPAS Panel took
place at ICAO headquarters in Montréal, Canada on 17-21
November 2014. UVS International participated in this meeting
where the RPAS Panel Chair (Randy Willis, FAA, USA) and
Co-Chair (Mike Gadd, CAA, UK) were elected and Leslie
Cary (ICAO, RPAS Programme Manager), was appointed as
Secretary.
The following 6 Working Groups were established:
• Airworthiness
• Command & control
• Detect & avoid
• Remote pilot licence
• RPAS operations
• ATM integration.
France - Hearing at the Assemblé Nationale
On 24 November 2014 a public hearing took place at the French
National Assembly. This hearing had been organized in the
light of the recent overflights of nuclear reactors in France by
RPAS and had as objective to give members of the the National
Assembly, as well as the Senate, insight into current RPAS
operations and capabilities. The president of UVS International
was one of the persons auditioned at this hearing.
Belgium - RPAS CivOps - 3rd Edition
The association’s 3rd annual RPAS CivOps conference, dedicated
to non-military RPAS operations, took place at the Royal Military
Academy in Brussels, Belgium on 2-4 December 2014. See www.
rpas-civops.org or www.uvs-info.com for all relevant information,
including the conference programme, a photographic review of the
event and the proceedings order form.
At a meeting that took place during this event, UVS International
& the European national RPAS associations agreed on how to
address the request by JARUS to industry to contribute with their
technical expertise to the implementation of the European RPAS
Roadmap and the European RPAS Market Strategy, through the
RPAS Definition Phase Implementation Steering Group.
JARUS Information Forum - 1st Edition
The JARUS Information Forum took place within the context of
the RPAS CivOps Conference. Its purpose was to inform on
the changes that have recently taken place in JARUS (Joint
Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems - See www.
jarus-rpas.org), present the group’s leadership, explain it’s
objectives, work methodology, tools, deliverables, internal &
external consultation, interfaces with standards organizations
& industry (small & large).
The Chairman (Eric Sivel, EASA) and Co-Chair (Steve Swider,
FAA, USA), the JARUS Secretariat and the JARUS Secretary
General (Mike Lissone, Eurocontrol), as well as the Leaders
of the 7 JARUS Working Groups were introduced, and the
workplan of each Working Group was presented. An additional
objective was to make the RPAS industrial community aware
of the key roles that JARUS will be playing on European &
international levels and explain why it is crucial for industry
(small & large) to contribute to its work.
RPAS Community Inputs to JARUS
During the RPAS CivOps conference in Brussels, Belgium, and
in follow-up to the JARUS Information Forum, UVS International
organized a meeting with representatives of the European
national RPAS associations at which agreement was reached
on the structure required to make it possible for the members of
the International RPAS Coordination Council to supply inputs to
the work that is to be identified by JARUS within the framework
of its projected work plan. The work methodology that was
retained and that will be implemented in 2015, ts principally
web-based and minimizes travel costs.
UVS International’s 2014 General Assembly
The association’s annual General Assembly for 2014 took place
at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Belgium during the
afternoon (14.00-17.00) of Thursday 4 December 2014.
The following persons were elected to have a seat on the
association’s Board of Directors:
• André Jadot, Trimble, USA
• Michael Perry, DJI Innovations, China.
Subsequent to the General Assembly, the following person was
brought on board the Board of Directors as an Observer:
• Baptiste Tripard, SenseFly, Switzerland
Netherlands - SPAR Europe &
European LiDAR Mapping Forum
These two events, both dealing with geospatial technology ,
were organized jointly for the first time by SPAR Point Group in
2014. They took place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on 8-10
December 2014. UVS International gave a keynote address to
an audience of which a substantial number already used RPAS
or was interested in using RPAS. At the end of its presentation,
which explained the current regulatory situation in Europe,
UVS International invited the geospatial community to consider
constituting a RPAS stakeholoder group.
----- ACTIVITIES IN 2015 ----2 New National RPAS Associations Join UVS International
In April 2015, ARPASA, Argentina & RPAS Finland, Finland
have joined UVS International as partner associations.
International RPAS Coordination Council (IRCC)
The IRCC has grown out to consist of the following 18 national
associations, representing together 1748 companies &
organisations (quantity of members between brackets):
- AAI, Austria (30)
- ACUO, Australia (150)
- AERPAS, Spain (90)
- ARPAS, UK(125)
- ARPASA, Argentina (tba)
-ASSORPAS, Italy (80)
- BeUAS, Belgium (113)
- CUAASA, South Africa (51)
- DARPAS, Netherlands (72) - FPDC, France (303)
- FIAPR, Italy (70)
-RPAS Finland, Finland (20)
-SFCD, Switzerland (70)
-UAS Norway, Norway (300)
- UAV-DACH, Germany (68) - UAVS, UK (85)
-USC, Canada (93)
- UVS Romania, Romania (28)
Certificated European Civil RPAS Operators Community
The increasing numbers of nationally approved or authorized
(jointly referred to as certificated) commercial RPAS operators
in Europe is a positive sign of the European commercial RPAS
market development. In April 2015, according to the figures at
our disposal, there were 2481 certificated operators in Europe:
-Austria: 150
- Belgium: 10 - Czech Rep.: 24
- Denmark: 49
- Finland: 33 - France: 1495 38
- Germany: 300 (est.)- Ireland: 12 - Italy: - Netherlands: 13
- Spain: 25 - Sweden: 244
- UK: 597
Creation of Stakeholder Groups
During 2015 it is the intention to start-up the following
stakeholder groups:
• Light RPAS Manufacturers Stakeholder Group (Light RPAS:
MTOM < 150 kg), with sub-groups in order to better represent
the manufacturers’ community along competence operational
requirement lines (< 2, 2-7, 7-15, 15-25, 25-150, > 150 kg).
• Aerial Work - Commercial RPAS Operators (sub-devided by
RPAS application category)
• Aerial Work - Non-Commercial RPAS Operators (nongovernmental: academia & researchers)
• Aerial Work - Corporate RPAS Operators (sub-devided by
RPAS application category).
• European Police authorities involved with enforcing the law
pertaining to illegal RPAS flights.
• Remote Pilot Training & Qualification (RPAS flight schools –
theoretical & practical).
• RPAS Autopilot Validation Tool Definition.
• Detect & Avoid for BLOS Very Low Level RPAS operations.
• Geo-fencing and related matters.
Improving Awareness & Understanding
There are problems in many segments of the civil RPAS
community relative to the awareness & understanding of a
significant number of “required basic knowledge” topics, namely:
a) What constitutes the aviation community and how functions;
b)Awareness of RPAS operators that they belong to the
aviation community;
c) Understanding what “belonging to the aviation community”
brings with it as obligations;
d) Unfamiliarity with the “rules of the air”.
e) Unfamiliarity with aviation terminology (in English, as well
as in the relevant national languages);
f) Understanding of the difference between flying toys, model
aircraft, and RPAS (from a legal, operational, responsibility,
liability & insurance, privacy & data protection point of view);
g) What an aviation stakeholder group is & what its purpose is;
h)The roles of the various existing aviation community
stakeholders (who are they a what do they do);
i) The responsibility & liability of RPAS operators;
j) The understanding by RPAS operators relative to insurance
matters (and their specific coverage limitations);
k) The understanding by RPAS operators relative to privacy &
data protection matters;
l) The role of ICAO and how it functions;
m) The role of the European Commission and its agencies, and
how they function;
n) The role of JARUS and how it functions (and its interaction
with EC DG Mobility & Transport, SESAR JU, and regional
(EASA, EUROCONTROL) & national aviation authorities (in
& outside of Europe).
o) How national & regional rules & regulations are established.
p) How European regulation will influence national regulation.
q) The importance of proportionality, and what it means.
UVS International, in coordination with the members of the
International RPAS Coordination Council, will undertake a drive
to correct this situation.
Speaking Engagements
Up to and including March 2015, the UVS International
President had speaking engagements at the following events:
• General Assembly of the FPDC (French national ass.)
Paris, France
14 January 2015
• BeUAS New Years Reception
Brussels, Belgium
21 January 2015
• From Magic Carpets to Drones Exhibition
Brussels, Belgium
17 March 2015
On 9 May 2015 he will be speaking at NDV in Kokzijde, Belgium.
Europe - RPAS Roadmap Implementation Coordination Group
At a meeting called by the European Commission (EC)
Directorate General Mobility & Transport and that took place
in the offices of SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) in Brussels,
Belgium on 22 January 2015, the terms of reference of the
European RPAS (Roadmap Implementation) Coordination
Group were agreed upon. The tasks of this group are to:
• Manage the interdependencies between the RPAS Roadmap
implementation and regulatory and technical streams.
• Identify and overcome possible blocking issues in the
implementation process.
• Identify and ease cooperation with non-European Union
implementing projects.
The group is chaired by the EC and co-chaired by European
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and SJU. As indicated in the EC
communication issued in April 2014, the members of the group
are representatives from EASA, JARUS, EUROCONTROL,
SJU, European Defence Agency (EDA), European Space
Agency (ESA), ASD (representing large manufacturing industry),
and UVS International (representing micro, small & mediumsized manufacturers and RPAS operators). The group has been
founded for an indefinate duration.
Europe - EC’s High Level Conference on Civil RPAS
On 5-6 March 2015, the «Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems:
Framing the future of Aviation» conference took place in Riga,
Latvia. This event was organised by the Ministry of Transport
of Latvia and the Civil Aviation Agency of Latvia, in cooperation
with the European Commission, during the Latvian Presidency
of the Council of the European Union. The event was built on
the orientations given in the EC Communication on opening
the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) market [EC
COM(2014)207 – A New Era for Aviation – Opening the aviation
Press conference by Violeta Bulc, European Union (EU)
Commissioner for Mobility and Transport, and
Anrijs Matīss, Minister for Transport of Latvia
market to the civil use of RPAS in a safe and sustainable manner].
In the presence of Anrijs Matiss, the Latvian Minister for Transport,
the conference was kicked off by flight demonstrations by:
• Aerialtronics, The Netherlands
• Clear Flight Solutions, The Netherlands
• Cyberhawk Innovations, UK
• Helico Aerospace Industries, Latvia
• RC-Carbon, Latvia
• Royal Military Academy, Belgium (on behalf of the ICARUS
consortium)
The two-day conference on Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems
(RPAS) was opened by Anrijs Matīss, Minister for Transport of
Latvia and the scene for the conference was set by Joao Aguiar
Machado, Director General of Directorate General Mobility and
Transport, European Commission. The event brought together
the main players involved in the RPAS industry’s development
in Europe (Members of the European Parliament, European
Commission representatives, Directors General of civil aviation
authorities of the EU Member States Data Protection Authorities
and leaders of the manufacturing and service supplying
industry) and found broad agreement on the main principles to
guide the regulatory framework to allow civil RPAS operations
throughout Europe from 2016 onwards. These principles are
summarized in the Riga Declaration on Civil RPAS (Drones),
which was made public at the end of the conference by Violeta
Bulc, European Union (EU) Commissioner for Mobility and
Transport, in the presence of Margus Rahuoja, Director for
Aviation and International Transport Affairs, Directorate General
Mobility and Transport, European Commission.
The main principles listed in Riga Declaration on Civil RPAS
(Drones) involve the necessity to ensure clear rules for
manufacturers and potential users, high levels of safety, security
& data protection requirements, as well as RPAS operators’
Anrijs Matīss
Minister for Transport of Latvia
responsibility and effective information exchange. These main
principals are:
1 Drones need to be treated as new types of aircraft with
proportionate rules based on the risk of each operation.
2 EU rules for the safe provision of drone services need to be
developed now.
3 Technologies and standards need to be developed for the
full integration of drones into the European airspace.
4 Public acceptance is key to the growth of drone services.
5 The operator of a drone is responsible for its use.
The Riga Declaration, as well as the videos of the entire event, can
be found on www.rpas-regulations.com
International - ICAO - Global RPAS Symposium - 1st Edition
The first global RPAS symposium organised by ICAO took place
at ICAO headquarters in Montreal, Canada on 23-25 March 2015.
UVS International had been invited to contribute to establishing
the conference programme and had an active presence at this
event, including an exhibit where the 2014 edition of the RPAS
Yearbook was made available to all participants.
608 delegates representing the international RPAS community
from 80 countries convened at ICAO headquarters in Montréal,
Québec, Canada to attend the symposium. During the first
day, the event took place as a plenary meeting in ICAO’s
Assembly Hall and was opened by Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu,
President of the ICAO Council, 3 keynote speeches were given
(FAA, USA; European Commission DG Mobility & Transport;
Google, USA) and 14 presentations were given in 3 themed
Joao Aguiar Machado, Director General
Directorate General Mobility and Transport
European Commission
sessions (RPAS: What is the world doing & What is needed;
Setting the Scene; ICAO RPAS Panel). Day 2 presented 4
concurrent threads during which 72 presentations were given
in 10 themed Workshops (Airworthiness; Operations; ATM
Integration; Civil/Military; Technology; National Regulations;
Licensing; Safety Management; Security; Legal Matters). On
Day 3, the delegates attended a plenary session on Integration,
which was moderated by Nancy Graham, Director Air Navigation
Bureau, ICAO & Stephen Creamer, Appointed Director, Air
Navigation Bureau, ICAO. This very successful symposium
was concluded by a plenary session in which Stephen Creamer
presented the next steps and the symposium conclusions. The
symposium delegates received access to the electronic edition
of the newly published ICAO RPAS Manual. The presentations
given at this symposium can be found under the «Community
Info» tab on www.rpas-regulations.org
At this event, Small RPAS were not only acknowledged, but they
were omni-present. During the coffee breaks and lunch periods,
flight demonstrations were performed in a large netted cage by
three UVS International corporate members: Aerialtronics, The
Netherlands; DJI, China; SenseFly, Switzerland (on behalf of
Parrot, France). In addition, the 18 gram Black Hornet helicopter
was flown in the general assembly hall on 23 & 25 March
2015 by UVS International corporate member ProxDynamics,
Norway, and life video captured by this miniscule aircraft was
beamed in real-time on to the two large projection screens.
On the third day, Jon Resnick of DJI, China presented Nancy
Graham, on behalf of ICAO, in plenary session & with the onstage presence of the workshop moderators, with a Phantom
ICAO’s 1st RPAS Symposium
Delegates in Assembly Hall
ICAO RPAS Symposium - Remittance of Phantom RPA to ICAO by Jon Resnick, DJI, China
RPA for inclusion in ICAO’s collection of aircraft, that is on
display in the «public» areas of the ICAO building.
Multiple speakers referred to the important role that JARUS
(Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems) was
now expected to play relative to producing recommendations for
harmonised regulations for all aspects of RPAS operations relative
to Small RPAS (operational, personnel, technical, organisations).
The strong growth of JARUS membership was highlighted
(current members: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada,
Czech Rep., Colombia, Denmark, EASA, Estonia, Eurocontrol,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia,
Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia,
Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, UK, USA - and additional
countries are in the process of joining).
JARUS also indicated its intention to contribute to regional and
global rulemaking efforts. It was also indicated that JARUS
is at the heart of the European Union’s performance based
approach to integrate RPAS into European airspace and that
JARUS is now evaluating how to actively implicate industry in
its work. The first step in this direction was to be taken at the
JARUS Plenary Meeting in Dublin, Ireland on 16 April 2015.
Within the context of JARUS’ outreach to industry with the intent
to permit industry representatives to be actively involved with
the JARUS work, UVS International was invited to attend the
JARUS meeting on 16 April, as representative of its members,
the national associations that it federates and their members,
as well as SMEs/SMIs and non-military RPAS operators, and
was requested to table what it sees as the priorities that JARUS
should deal with. These priorities were defined in the context of
the Riga Declaration, EASA’s recently published «Concept of
Operations of Drones», and the conclusions of the ICAO RPAS
Symposium.
The presentation given by UVS International can be found
on www.rpas-regulations.com, in «Community Info» under
the JARUS heading. In addition, presentations were given by
the following organisations: AIA, USA; ASD, Europe; AUVSI,
USA; AVA, Europe; CANSO, International; Europe Air Sports,
Europe; IAOPA, International; sUAS Coalition, USA.
France - Haut Comité Français de la Défense Civile (HCFDC)
Acknowledgement
CybAero, Sweden sponsored UVS International’s participation
in the ICAO RPAS Symposium.
On 24 April 2015 the French High Committee for Civil Defence
organised a technical panel discussion on the topic «The security
market for drones», which was broadcast live. UVS International
participated in this panel discussion, which was moderated by
the HCFDC, and included representatives of the French Ministry
of Interior, ASD, and the FPDC.
International - ICAO - RPAS Panel
Switzerland - EBACE 2015
UVS International will continue its participation in the ICAO RPAS
Panel meetings, which will take place at ICAO headquarters in
Montreal, Canada. The next meetings are scheduled to take
place on 15-19 June and 14-18 December 2015.
On 19-21 May 2015, the European Business Aviation Association
is organising this year’s edition of the European Business Aviation
Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland. The
event features over 500 exhibitors and more than 40 000 m² of
exhibition space. At this event, a special session will be dedicated
to RPAS.
Ireland - JARUS Plenary Meeting
In April 2015, JARUS federated the national aviation authorities
from 32 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada,
Czech Republic, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy,
Latvia, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Republic of
Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, USA, as well as
EASA & EUROCONTROL.
On 13-17 April 2015, a JARUS Plenary Meeting took place at
the Irish Aviation Authority in Dublin, Ireland; it was attended by
62 JARUS member representatives from 23 national aviation
authorities, who approved the new JARUS Terms of Reference.
UVS International has been invited by the organisers to chair the
session dedicated to RPAS, which will include representatives
of EASA, SESAR JU, JARUS, ASD, Paul A. Lange Law Office
(USA), and SenseFly, Switzerland.
Europe - RPAS Roadmap Implementation Coordination Group
On instigation of SESAR Joint Undertaking, the second meeting
of the RPAS Roadmap Implementation Coordination Group will
take place at a still-to-be-defined date in May. In view of the
many events that have taken place since the first meeting in
January 2015, this meeting promises to be very dense. UVS
International will obviously participate.
The Netherlands - Kabinetsstandpunt Drones
On 28 May 2015, the Dutch Ministries of Safety & Justice,
Infrastructure & Environment, and Economic Affairs, are
organising a work conference relative to a joint report reflecting
the cabinet’s view on RPAS, that was recently published. The
purpose is to comment the report, and with inputs of the attendees
prepare the way ahead. The event, which will be attended by
public (policy makers) and private parties, as well as research
representatives, is taking place in The Hague a few days prior to
the first Dutch RPAS regulation coming into force.
UVS International has been invited to give the opening keynote
speech at this important national event.
The 17th edition of the association’s annual conference, which
has become the international RPAS policy forum, will take place
at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Belgium on 22-25
June 2015 (the week following the Paris Air Show).
Singapore - Commercial Unmanned Systems Show
On 30 June & 1 July 2015, Terrapin, in partnership with UVS
International, is organizing this event at the Suntec Singapore
Convention & Exhibition Centre. It will consist of conferences
and a large exhibition, and will be dedicated to informing on
the use of RPAS in the domains of agriculture, mining, pipeline,
inffrastructure environment, border security.
Singapore - JARUS Information Forum
Within the context of JARUS’ continued growth and its strategy to
start-up regional JARUS offices, UVS International is organising
a JARUS Information Forum in Singapore on 2 July 2015. The
purpose of this event is to bring together the regulatory authorities
of the Asia/Pacific region, inform them on the current status of
JARUS and its activities, and lay the foundation for a regional
JARUS office.
The UAS China 2015 conference & exhibition will take place
in Beijing, China on 16-18 September 2015. UVS International
has, once again (for the 5th time), been invited by the organisers
to contribute by to the conference programme by organising the
international section of the conference programme, and give a
keynote address.
The conference (16 Sept.) and the associated exhibition (15
& 16 Sept.) will take place within the framework of the China
Aviation Expo in Beijing, which takes place at the same venue
(China National Convention Center) on 16 to 19 September
2015.
USA - Commercial UAV Expo
This event, organized by SPAR Point Group, USA, will take
place in Las Vegas, NV, USA on 5-7 Oct. 2015. This event will
bring together the American geospatial and RPAS communities.
UVS International has been invited to be part of the programme
organising committee.
France - RPAS Inter Tech Conference
This technical conference, which will focus on RPAS-related
research and technologies that will be instrumental to facilitate
the insertion of civil RPAS into civil-managed airspace, is
being organised by ASTEch, France in coordination with
UVS International, and the French aeronautical competence
centres Aerospace Valley and Pégase, as well as the JARUS
Secretariat, EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre and SESAR
Joint Undertaking, which are all also member of the programme
committee. This event will take place in Paris, France on 3 & 4
November 2015.
Belgium - RPAS CivOps 2015 - 3rd Edition
The 3rd edition of the association’s annual conference dedicated
to RPAS operations, will take place at the Royal Military Academy
in Brussels, Belgium on 1-3 December 2015.
General Assembly 2015
The association’s General Assembly for 2015 will take place
at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Belgium at 14.0017.00 on 3 December 2015.
----- GENERAL ----UVS International welcomes enquiries from national &
international associations, organisations & government
authorities interested to discuss collaboration relative to
remotely piloted systems, including the organisation of events
in their territory.
UVS International’s primary focus is currently very clearly on
RPAS and RPAS-related airworthiness, certification, standards
and air traffic management issues. As indicated earlier on, the
problems associated with these issues should not be seen only
on a national, regional or continental level, but on a global scale.
The association is striving to play an international advocacy
and federating role in order to tackle the problems associated
with inserting RPAS into non-segregated airspace and to be
instrumental in making it possible to harmonise the various
national & international approaches at the earliest possible stage.
Continued Outreach & Global Access Initiative
Within the context of its Global Access Initiative, UVS
International will continue to reach out, to all stakeholders,
associations and organisations dedicated to furthering remotely
piloted systems and interested in their safe utilisation.
UVS International will actively continue the promotion of its
Global Access Initiative by:
• Continuing to reach out to the international remotely piloted
systems community and all related stakeholders in all
countries.
• Undertaking efforts to formalize participation by additional
national associations in the International RPAS Coordination
Council.
• Continuing its support for the establishment of national
associations with activities relative to remotely piloted
systems in countries with a sufficiently wide industry base.
Active support by all association members to undertake these
activities is sought.
External Relations & Recognition
UVS International is internationally recognised by numerous
government authorities (civil & military), and a significant
number of other organisations, as an impartial representative
and advocate of the RPAS community. The association currently
maintains relations of various nature with many international &
national stakeholder organisations, including amongst others:
• AAI (national trade association), Austria
• ACUO (national professional operators association), Australia;
• Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), India;
• Aerospace & Defence Manufacturers Association of Europe (ASD);
• Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), USA;
• AERPAS (national trade association), Spain;
• Air Navigation Services Providers (ANSPs) in numerous
countries;
• Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA), USA;
• Airbeam Consortium, Europe;
• American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA), USA;
• ANFR (National Frequency Agency), France;
• Arctic Council UAS Expert Group (AMAP);
• ARPAS (national trade association), UK;
• ARPASA (national trade association), Argentina;
• Associação Brasileira das Indústrias de Materiais de Defesa
e Segurança - Comitê de Veículos Não Tripulados, Brazil;
• Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), UK;
• ASSORPAS (national trade association), Italy;
• ASTech (regional promotion organisation), France;
• ASTM International, USA;
• ASTRAEA Consortium, UK;
• Atlantida Consortium, Spain;
• Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation, Australia;
• Australian UAS Academy (AUASA), Australia;
• AVA (Article V Association), Europe;
• BeUAS Association (national trade association), Belgium;
• British Model Flying Association, UK;
• Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO);
• Civil aviation authorities (CAAs) in over 40 countries;
• CUAASA (multi-national trade association), Botswana &
Namibia & South Africa;
• Conseil Général de l’Armement (CGArm), France;
• Conseil Général de l’Environnement Durable, France;
• Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa;
• DARIUS Consortium;
• DARPAS (national trade association), The Netherlands;
• Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), India;
• Direction de la sécurité aéronautique d’Etat (DSAé) (national
organisation for safety of state aircraft), France;
• DSAé, France;
• Dutch Institute of Worldclass Maintenance, The Netherlands;
• Europe Air Sports Association, The Netherlands;
• European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA);
• EUROCAE, France (WG73 & WG93);
• Eurocontrol, Belgium;
• European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC);
• European Business Aviation Association (EBAA);
• European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC);
• European Cockpit Association (ECA);
• European Commission (EC) - DG ENTR;
• European Commission (EC) - DG GROW;
• European Commission (EC) - DG MARE;
• European Commission (EC) - DG MOVE;
• European Commission (EC) Joint Research Centre (JRC);
• European Commission funded consortia with RPAS & UGV &
UMS-related study contracts;
• European Defence Agency (EDA);
• European Group of Institutes of Navigation (EUGIN);
• European Institute (The), Washington, DC, USA;
• European RPAS Implementation Steering Group;
• European Space Agency (ESA);
• European Spatial Data & Research Group (EuroSDR);
• Federal Ministry of Interior, Germany;
• FIAPR (national operators association), Italy;
• Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Belgium;
• FRONTEX, European Union Agency for Border Protection;
• Government Accountability Office (GAO), USA;
• ICARUS Consortium, Europe;
• ICAUS Association;
• Institute for Photogrammetry, University of Stuttgart, Germany;
• Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA), Brazil;
• INTELI, Portugal;
• International Air Transport Association (IATA);
• International Council of Aircraft Owners & Pilots Associations
(IAOPA);
• International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Associations
(IFATCA), Canada;
• International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations (IFALPA);
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International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO);
International Micro UAS Competition (IMAV);
Interreg-2 Seas Consortium, Europe;
ISO - International Organization for Standardization;
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan;
Japan UAV Association (JUAV), Japan;
JARUS Secretariat, Belgium;
Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems
(JARUS) - Members;
Korea Aerospace Research Institute, South Korea;
MIDCAS Consortium, Europe;
Ministries of Defence in many countries (inside & outside of
Europe);
Ministries of Interior in many countries (inside & outside of
Europe);
NAMSA, Luxembourg;
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Neil
A. Armstrong Flight Research Center [formerly known as
Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC)], USA;
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA;
National research organisations in many countries;
National Working Groups in various countries;
NATO ATM Committee (NATMC);
NATO C3 Agency, The Netherlands;
NATO FINAS;
NATO Joint Air Power Competence Centre (JAPCC);
NATO Joint Capability Group on UAV;
NATO Science & Technology Organization;
Norwegian Research Institute (NORUT);
Police organisations in multiple countries;
Remote Control Aerial Photography Association (RCAPA), USA;
Reuters Institute for Journalism, University of Oxford, UK;
Royal Aeronautical Society, United Kingdom;
Royal Institute of Navigation, United Kingdom;
Royal Military Academy, Belgium;
Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), UK;
RPAS Finland (national trade association), Finland;
RPAS Sweden (national trade association), Sweden;
RTCA, USA;
Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) Joint Undertaking
(JU);
SFCD (national trade association), Switzerland
Sistema Regional de Cooperación para la Vigilancia de la
Seguridad Operacional (SRVSOP), Peru;
SAE International, USA;
SPAR Point Group, USA;
Terrapin, Singapore;
UAS Denmark (national working group), Denmark;
UAS Norway (national trade association), Norway;
UAV DACH (national trade association), Germany;
UAV National Industry Team, (UNITE), USA;
UAVS (national trade association), UK;
ULTRA Consortium, Europe;
Universities & academies in numerous countries;
Unmanned Systems Canada (national trade ass.), Canada;
UVS Romania (national trade association), Romania;
U.S. Government Accoutability Office, USA;
U.S. Depart. of Defence, Policy Board on Fed. Aviation, USA;
U.S. Department of Transportation, Research & Innovative
Technology Administration, Volpe National Transportation
Systems Center, USA;
U.S. Survey Office, USA.
www.uvs-international.org
www.uvs-info.com
www.rpas-regulations.com
Federating The International RPAS Community
ARGENTINA
Australia
Austria
Belgium
CANADA
www.arpasa.com.ar
www.acuo.org.au
https://www.aaig.at
www.beuas.be
www.unmannedsystems.ca
FINLAND
France
Germany
Italy
Italy
www.rpas.fi
www.federation-drone.org
www.uavdach.org
www.assorpas.it
www.fiapr.it
The Netherlands
Norway
Romania
Southern Africa
Spain
www.darpas.nl
www.uasnorway.no
https://www.uvsr.org
www.cuaasa.org
www.aerpas.es
SWITZERLAND
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
under construction
http://arpas.co.uk
www.uavs.org
Correspondance & Visitors: UVS International - 86 rue Michel Ange, 2nd Building, 2nd Floor, FR-75016 Paris, France
Tel.: 33-1-46.51.88.65 - Fax: 33-1-46.51.02.55 - [email protected] - www.uvs-international.org

About UVS International

Transcription

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