Xwing Joins FAA Study of Unmanned Systems Traffic Integration

The project is studying how commercial unmanned aerial systems interact with GA traffic and in complex operating environments.

Michael Wildes

Thursday, December 01, 2022 at 05:02 PM ET

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NASA is working with the FAA and other disaster response agencies to figure out how to integrate unmanned aerial systems and deploy an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) to improve disaster response efficiency. [Courtesy: Xwing]

Key Takeaways:

Autonomous aircraft company Xwing has been selected by the FAA and NASA to participate in the COSTA project, studying the integration of commercial unmanned aerial systems into complex airspace.
The project focuses on understanding how autonomous aircraft interact with general aviation and perform in challenging scenarios, such as aerial firefighting and unexpected airspace restrictions.
Xwing will conduct flight operations using its autonomous Cessna Caravan to gather data on air traffic control response times, UAS function near manned operations, and remote operator management in high-stakes environments.
The collected data will be instrumental for the FAA in developing rules and procedures for its Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) framework and for Xwing in certifying its autonomous flight technology.

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Autonomous aircraft company Xwing has been selected to participate in a study of how commercial unmanned aerial systems, such as its forthcoming autonomous aircraft, would interact with general aviation traffic and in complex operating environments, it announced Thursday.

The Crosscutting Operations Strategy and Technical Assessment (COSTA) project is spearheaded by the Federal Aviation Administration and also has support from NASA.