Perspective: Agricultural Aerial Application with Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Current Regulatory Framework and Analysis of Operators in the United States

Abstract

HighlightsThe FAA has used two exemptions (17261 and 18009) as precedents for approval of numerous agricultural operations for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).While many operators have received exemptions, a significant portion have not received an agricultural aircraft operator certificate (AAOC), despite the need for both to operate UAS in agricultural operations.Operators who have both an exemption and an AAOC tend to be clustered in geographic areas, with many states without a single such operator.Abstract. Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have seen rapid growth in many industries in the U.S. since the introduction of small UAS regulations (14 CFR § 107). However, adoption of UAS for agricultural aerial application has been limited. Two landmark regulatory exemptions by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have laid the foundation for commercial agricultural aerial application with UAS. Since the initial introduction of these exemptions, the pace of new exemptions for agricultural aerial application with UAS has remained steady. By the end of 2019, 64 operators had received exemptions in which the FAA cited one of the two landmark exemptions as a precedent. This study analyzed these exemptions to determine geographic distribution, aircraft manufacturer, number of employees, and time to operator certification. Results indicate that less than half of operators who received an exemption from the FAA became certified for aerial application. Additionally, certified operators were not evenly distributed throughout the U.S. despite the broader distribution of exemption holders. Two UAS manufacturers dominated the market, with over 80% of exemptions requesting UAS from one or both manufacturers. While regulatory hurdles for agricultural aerial application with UAS have been substantially reduced through the introduction of standardized exemptions, this has not resulted in the anticipated influx of certified operators. There are additional impediments preventing operator certification, including technological limitations of currently available UAS, which need to be addressed to improve the rate of UAS integration into agricultural aerial application. Keywords: Chemical applications, Drone, Precision agriculture, UAS, UAV, Unmanned aerial vehicle, Unmanned aircraft systems.