Look up and what looks like a normal plane could soon be a drone. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs are common place in Middle East war zones but they may soon be flying over here.

In a standing-room only conference, the Congressional Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Caucus hosted a roundtable discussion on the integration of Unmanned Systems into the National Airspace (NAS).

The panel featured representatives from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Defense (DoD), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Air and Space Administration (NASA), and the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).

Congress has become increasingly interested in seeing unmanned systems gain greater access to the National Airspace and improving the Certificate of Authorization process, which has served as a temporary fix but is often criticized for being too restrictive towards National Guard and Border Patrol Operations.

The Fiscal Year 2009 National Defense Authorization Act directed the creation of an Executive Committee on UAS Integration into the National Airspace. EXCOM’s Senior Steering Group was joined at the table by Gretchen West of AUVSI, representing the concerns of the unmanned systems industry.

In an open and frank discussion, the Executive Committee responded to the concerns of Caucus members about the rate of integration and the impact on science, defense, and border patrol operations.

NASA liaison for Unmanned Aircraft System airspace integration activities, Jeff Bauer said, “Much like any disruptive technology that you introduce, you don’t know what the results are going to be.”

Mr. Dyke Weatherington, the DOD Task Force Lead on Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Deputy Director of Unmanned Warfare Acquisition, said that, “There are two pieces to this issue; there is a technology piece which we like to focus on because we can touch it. There is [also] an operations piece which is frankly much harder.

“Today in CENTCOM we integrate manned and unmanned systems in every phase of flight and we do that seamlessly.”

Together, the Executive Committee is working to achieve a similar goal in the National Airspace of the United States.

At the end of the roundtable, the Caucus was informed that the Executive Committee foresaw a complete integration of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace by the year 2025. Congressman Buck McKeon said, “2025 is too long. I hope we can move in a more expeditious manner.”

Congressman Alan Mollohan added, “The second meeting of the UAV Caucus brought to light the complex issues associated with integration of unmanned systems into the National Airspace.

“I appreciate the insights that each of the agency participants shared and am encouraged at the cooperation occurring within the government.  This meeting was extremely educational, and I was pleased to have the opportunity learn how Congress, the federal government, and the private unmanned systems community can work together to make integration of unmanned systems into the National Airspace a reality.”

To learn more about the Congressional UAV Caucus, click here.