Weather Focus Area within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Integration Research Plan for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)

The vision of the FAA for UAS operations is to integrate unmanned aircraft into civil airspace while ensuring the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System (NAS). This goal will be achieved through incremental steps as technology, policies, operational procedures and automation systems evolve for both UAS operators and air traffic controllers. UAS integration research supports key FAA missions and functions to publish regulations, policy, procedures and guidance material to enable safe and efficient UAS operations in the NAS. The 2019-2024 Integration Research Plan for UAS identifies Weather as a “Focus Area”. A focus area is defined as representing a key challenge for the safe and effective integration of UAS operations in the NAS. Research activity under focus areas inform policy, procedures, capabilities and systems, requirements and other research outcomes to enable UAS integration. The Weather Focus Area is defined as: “Weather Research activities focus on informing outcomes such as standards, requirements, capabilities and systems for weather information robustness, resiliency and effectiveness, as well as mitigation strategies to address the impact of weather (e.g., wind, precipitation, visibility, icing and other meteorological conditions) on UAS performance. This focus area also includes the identification, distribution and display of weather information on UAS flight paths to improve decision making.” This presentation will provide an overview of the weather research and development needs identified with the implementation phases of UAS Integration Operational Capabilities.