International Consortium of

Aeronautical Test Sites

Marc Moffatt, Executive Director
RPAS Situation
• In most nations a simple definition of a UAS is a remotely piloted aircraft
operated for purposes other than recreational
• International industry interest in using UAS for commercial purposes has
grown rapidly and has now overwhelmed the capacity of various
regulatory bodies
• Without timely implementation of regulation, business will be unable to
operate effectively as commercial commitments cannot be made
resulting in businesses moving elsewhere or shutting down
• The growth of the UAS Industry is in jeopardy – urgent attention is
needed
• UAS regulations are being defined by various regulatory bodies with
minimum coordination
• Until these regulations are legally established, regulatory bodies will
allows UAS operations with very restrictive guidelines or regulations
• There is a risk of a stovepipe approach regarding system’s certification &
operability beyond borders
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Test sites – common approach

• Providing a structured & safe environment, guidance and close support to

new and experienced operators
• Close collaboration & support from various regulatory & management
bodies (FAA, CAA, DGAC, Transport Canada, Nav Canada, etc.)
• Respectives sites provide ideal test bed for newly developed regulations
• Each instances meet regulations and standards / civil aviation
requirements (licensed pilot, medical, communications, etc.)
• Guidance and support for operational certificate request (COA, SFOC, etc.)
• Use of corridors and restricted airspace (VLOS & BVLOS)
• Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) & Emergency plans in place
• Trained, experienced and committed personnel;
– Airspace management
– Communication requirements
– Knowledge & expertise of various systems & payloads

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ICATS Initiatives
• Founding members – MOU signed (May 2014)
• Need for collaboration amongst various test sites to support the industry
• Sharing of data & information on various aspects which can in turn be
made available to respective regulating bodies;
 Training
 Airspace structure
 Flight profile
 Systems development (Payload, navigation & communication)

• Consortium is complementary to various association (AUVSI, Unmanned

Systems Canada, UVS France, etc.)
• Facilitate commercial initiatives, experiences and exchanges

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ICATS Aim
• The aim of the consortium is to support the industry by enabling the
development, test and ultimate certification of RPS to allow for their use
in non-segregated airspace.
• This will be achieved by:
 The sharing of information on operational safety, flight regulations and when allowed to
do so, actual operational experiences
 Encouraging the industry to demonstrate and prove sub system technology that will
enable the necessary international standard for future RPS construction to be created
 Working with their respective regulatory bodies to safely push the existing boundaries
whilst continuing the operational confidence building process

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ICATS members

• CAT UAV (Spain)

• ATLAS (Spain)
• North Dakota (U.S.)
• Oklahoma (U.S.)
• UAS Centre of Excellence (Can)
• National Aeronautical Centre (U.K.)
• CESA (Bordeaux, France)
ICATS Mission & Vision
• Mission
Lead, coordinate, and facilitate efforts to enable cooperation among
nations towards the advancement of unmanned systems testing and
integration into our nations’ national airspace systems.

• Vision
Unite a collection of international unmanned systems test sites to
advance UAS/RPAS testing, evaluation, integration and operations into
the national airspaces of respective nations.

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ICATS Future Steps
• Continue outreach to various test sites;
– discussions on-going with several sites

• Continue establishing interface with respective regulating bodies

• Gather & compare systems certification process – national comparison
• Gather & compare standardization process across all sites
• Develop services & method of cooperation
• Structure & admin;
– Develop & Establish Charter
– Establish operation budget and membership fees
– Communication aspects; website, logo
– Event participation; Le Bourget, UAV Show Bordeaux, Unmanned Syst Canada Conf. etc.

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 CESA – France
CESA Drones, the first French civilian Unmanned Aerial System flight test area. Result of the
colaboration between the Regional Council of Aquitaine, the French civil aviation authority
(DGAC) and the ministry of Defense. Managed and operated by Bordeaux Technowest, CESA
Drones allows the certification and qualification of autonomous systems of 150kg or less.

Three different available flight test areas including Souge test centre (main and permanent
flight test area, at 9mi from Bordeaux), secondary test areas on demand: Herm (near Dax) and
Montalivet (on the Atlantic coastline)

16km2 reserved airspace / 2 000 feet above mean sea level / 800m paved runway
With CESA TRUCK CONTROL CENTER the « Multi-purpose mobile station » to manage your
tests campaigns (Weather-station, Air-ground radio, Photographic device-type APS, GPS-hand
Telemetry & Camera, Real time tracking)

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 NAC – U.K.
The National Aeronautical Centre
The National Aeronautical Centre (NAC) is not a company or a group or an
organisation but a focus on an area that encompasses all who are actively
associated to West Wales Airport and the airspace that surrounds it

It is a unique location in the UK

that enables the development,
testing and demonstration of
systems and technologies
associated to the aeronautical
industry. Its key feature is the
world's first area of restricted
airspace designed specifically
for military and civilian
unmanned systems
operations.

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 OSU-UML – U.S.
(Map does not include Private Sector locations)
UML Urban UAS, RF &
C5ISR Test and OSU Graduate Eng.
Training Center Degree Program &
UAS Training Airport
UML Sensor
Laboratory
UAS Development
Center, OSU-UML
Chilocco
OSU UML EMC Test
Ponca City Chambers
Tulsa
Clinton-Sherman
UAS Flight Test and Stillwater
Research Camp University of Tulsa
OKC Midwest City
Burns Flat Gruber Information Security
OU Kessler Norman Institute
Atmospheric and
Ecological Field
Station
OKNG-UML UAS Flight
Lawton Training-Test Center
-Fort Sill

UML UAS Flight Center

(OTC-US) - Restricted OU Advanced
Airspace OKNG Muldrow TBIP Unmanned
UAS Radar & Tinker Air Force
Heliport UAS Systems Innovation
Weather Base: UAS MRO
Center Center
Research
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OSU-UML – U.S.
DHS RAPS Program; sUAS for Public Safety
• Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety; HS-ARPA
• Oklahoma selected as DHS’s test site for
this program
• Support for First Responders, Emergency
Services and Law Enforcement
• Small UAS program (<25lb initially)
• Testing at OTC-US; possible expansion later
• First test - December, 2012
• Multiple year program; currently funded through FY15

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UAS CE Alma – Canada

New facilities

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Northern Plains UAS Test Site
MISSION
Collaborate with FAA, ICAO and
industry partners to develop
equipment, systems, rules, and
procedures to safely integrate
unmanned aircraft into the NAS
without negatively impacting existing
general or commercial aviation.

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International Consortium of
Aeronautical Test Sites
http://icatestsites.org