Is India Ready to Share Its Civil Airspace with Drones?

http://www.newindianexpress.com/columns/Is-India-Ready-to-Share-Its-Civil-Airspace-with-Drones/2015/10/08/article3068434.ece

By Manmohan Bahadur

Published: 08th October 2015 

The world is engrossed in integrating Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) into their national airspace. In yesteryears, it was the sole preserve of the military and was flown in segregated airspace. However, with the burgeoning civil market, where UAVs would conduct crop survey, electric transmission line checks, deliver Blue Dart parcels, medicines, pizzas et al, civil and military airspace would have to be shared. Major work to draft rules and regulations is underway in the US where UAVs will transit civil airspace by end-2015. Transit on international air routes is the next logical happening and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is deep into framing Standard Operating Procedures to ensure safe, mixed, manned and unmanned aerial traffic. Weapon carrying unmanned vehicles would also share the common airspace, bringing a host of safety issues to be addressed.

Where does India stand in the world-wide thrust for integrating UAVs with civil passenger traffic? While the first baby steps towards Flexible Use of Airspace (FUA) by manned civil and military aircraft have been taken, the issue of UAV integration is infinitely more complex and requires urgent attention of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

ICAO has clarified in unambiguous terms that, “UAVs will operate in accordance with ICAO Standards that exist for manned aircraft. In order for UAVs to integrate into common airspace and aerodromes, there shall be a pilot responsible for the UAV operation.” Thus, as of the present, humankind is not willing to have a truly autonomous machine co-inhabiting in the same airspace as a manned one due to flight safety reasons. Only those with a man in the loop will be able to integrate into the international civil aviation system.

To fly in a common user airspace, a UAV, besides being certified, would need to have collision and hazard avoidance equipment, foolproof security for communication and data links, predictable actions like those of humans, be able to recognise and understand aerodrome signs, visual signals, markings and lighting and bad weather, identify and avoid terrain and provide “visual” separation from other aircraft or vehicles. Since the present rules demand manoeuvring of the UAV through a remote pilot, a time latency (delay) factor in execution of orders and tasks comes into the equation; safety considerations will demand low latency so that safety is not compromised. These are requirements that need to be codified to enable the industry to accordingly design and develop UAVs from scratch — managers of Make in India drive need to be alive to this. UAV operations in common user airspace would also require intimate coordination between the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) and the Ministry of Defence.

The imperative requirement, thus, is to set up a body comprising members from the Services, DGCA and the Airports Authority of India. This body would deal with airspace management issues, conflict/dispute resolution, certification of UAVs, training of operators and creation and maintenance of ground-based operational and administrative infrastructure. The responsibility for interaction with the ICAO would also rest with this organisation. It is obvious that there would be a step by step expansion of the envelope of utilisation of UAVs in the common airspace. A plan should be drawn up to cater to near, middle and long-term implementation of the induction schedule. An organisation’s work culture impacts the conduct of operations and in aviation in a common area, there cannot be an elastic interpretation by different organisations.

Thus, when aerial vehicles of varied organisations and of different shapes, sizes, capabilities and limitations transit a common airspace, aviation safety demands creation of an aerial cloud where only one set of rules, agreed and accepted by all operators, is the norm. It goes without saying that the governing rules and regulations should be drafted as early as possible, since manufacturers and operators have to tailor their processes accordingly. Besides the MoD and the civil aviation department, legal and commercial arms of the Government would also need to be associated to address issues of liability and commerce. Where would liability lie in case of a UAV mishap that causes loss of life and/or property? Would it be the equipment manufacturer or the operator, who could be sitting hundreds of miles away, maybe in a different country? In case of an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (as and when cleared to fly), it will be more complex as liability determination in case of a ‘wrong’ decision by an artificial intelligence-enabled machine would raise questions. Aircraft and personnel security takes on a different meaning with UAV operations.

With manned aircraft, security checks are carried out on passengers, aircrew and all personnel entering the sanitised area. In the case of UAVs, there are two ways by which security can be compromised. Firstly, the taking over of the machine by interfering with its data link mechanism (hacking, spoofing et al), as is reported to have been done with a sophisticated American UAV by the Iranians on 04 December 2011. The second way is by holding hostage or subverting the UAV operator. Thus, physical security of a remote work station and sanitisation of the remote workplace and personnel in it becomes an imperative.

It would have to be ensured that a rogue operator (of his own volition or under duress) does not wreck havoc. The complexity would deepen if the operators are located in different nations. The empowered DGCA/MoD body would have to lay down rules and a mechanism to ensure this in a foolproof manner. The introduction of UAVs in civil airspace would also raise many fears amongst the public. It is essential that their sensitisation with salient aspects of joint usage of airspace be commenced sufficiently before the start of these operations; this would generate a healthy debate on contentious issues and those that have a psychological effect on the public.

This is an imperative that can only be forgotten at the expense of credibility of the joint usage plan and the target audience should not only include the lay public but also Government officials and lawmakers. It must be remembered that a UAV traversing the same air traffic service route as a passenger carrying aircraft would require a leap of faith on the part of the lay public. The campaign can take the path of seminars, symposiums, public broadcast mediums, as well as taking opinion makers through a detailed explanation of the safety factors built-in through simulation exercises.

The UAVS are upon us – and we better be prepared.

The author is a retd Air Vice Marshal and Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi

Email: manmohanbahadur@gmail.com