Commonly referred to as drones, remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) are different from other aircraft because they have no pilot or passengers onboard.
The term 'RPAS' commonly refers to the aircraft itself, but it also includes all components of the system required for operation. This includes:
- ground control stations
- telemetry and communications
- sensors
- other hardware and software used to operate the aircraft.
There isn't a globally agreed definitional difference between RPAS and advanced air mobility (AAM). For the purpose of this work program, RPAS in the Australian context refers to operations with no humans onboard.
Type certified RPAS operations are:
- larger uncrewed aircraft that don’t carry passengers
- high risk.
We don’t expect these types of operations in the immediate term. Although they are on the horizon to potentially operate in Australia in the next few years.
RPAS will be type certified if the aircraft size, speed and weight, along with the operational contexts, could increase the risk to:
- people
- property on the ground
- other aircraft.
In the longer term, existing commercial airliners could eventually be fully remote piloted.
You can find our plan for developing a regulatory framework for RPAS operations in the RPAS-AAM Roadmap.
Activity status in the immediate to near term
Detailed safety regulatory policy work on the certification and airworthiness approval pathways for some RPAS is underway.
This includes collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US on the type certification of an Australian designed and manufactured large RPAS. Initial work is also underway on the design of a prospective maintenance licencing framework for RPAS.
We have reviewed and implemented an alternative training and examination pathway for remote pilots conducting beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations.
Policy activities for instructor qualification for remote pilot licensing has started.
Medical standards, aligned with relevant Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) published by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) are being considered for higher risk RPAS operations.
We expect policy activities to continue across airworthiness and operational matters on an ongoing basis into 2025. We also anticipate developing standards for landing sites for larger RPAS in the immediate term.
We expect preparatory work for RPAS deployments including necessary rulemaking and implementation activities to take place from late 2023 through to the medium term.
Activity status in the medium term
In the medium term we expect ongoing regulatory responses to the increased scale of RPAS operations and increasing use of larger RPAS.
Activity status in the long term
Longer term activities relate to regulatory responses to the increased scale and automation of RPAS operations and increasing use of type certified RPAS.