MARK R. WARI _— BANKING, HOUSING, AND UNBAN AFFAIRS: Wnited States Senate exncer WASHINGTON, DC 20610-4806, INTELLIGENCE December 4, 2014 RULES AND ADMINISTRATION Mr. Michael P. Huerta, Administrator Federal Aviation Administration 800 Independence Ave, SW Washington, DC 20591 Dear Administrator Huerta, {As you are aware, the Commonwealth of Virginia is part of a multistate consortium selected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as one of six regional research sites for the testing and integration of unmanned aircraft into America’s existing airspace. 1 write today to request an update on the FAA’s ongoing efforts to regulate unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and to urge you to make development of balanced and reasonable UAS regulations a top FAA. priority as we move into next year. UAS can provide numerous potential public and private sector benefits, from package delivery to precision agriculture to search-and-rescue applications. The industry also has the potential to make dramatic contributions in terms of economic development. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International has found that, in the first ten years of safe UAS integration into our national airspace, the UAS industry could yield 100,000 jobs created and $82 billion in economic impact. While U.S. companies wait for the FAA to provide clarity on how to safely integrate these systems into the national airspace, foreign companies are forging ahead and gaining a competitive advantage. Reports suggest that the FAA is considering requiring a full pilot license as a condition of operating UAS, even very small drones that bear litle resemblance in their operations to traditional human-piloted aircraft. A pilot license can be expensive, costing as much as $10,000 to obtain, and has several onerous requirements ineluding hours in the cockpit flying aircraft. Making this kind of requirement applicable to operations of small-scale UAS would be unnecessary and would serve to restrict development of an important industry here in the U.S.‘An entite industry is waiting for the FAA to provide a path forward for UAS integration into our nation’s airspace by Sept. 30, 2015, a deadline Congress put in place nearly three years ago. Unfortunately, a recent Inspector General report found that the FAA will likely not meet this deadline. I strongly urge you to make this issue a top priority and put forth a reasonable and well-defined set of rules that appropriately addresses safety concerns without restricting a promising new field that can be a significant driver of the U.S. economy. Sincerely, Mok. © Mone, MARK R. WARNER United States Senator