In a Linkedin post OneSky reports it has received its US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Letter of Acceptance (LOA) to provide commercial UTM service supplier (USS) services through the Near Term Approval Process (NTAP).
“This achievement demonstrates OneSky’s readiness for Part 146, paving the way for safe, efficient and scalable Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations,” said the company in a statement. “The LOA allows OneSky to provide UAS Traffic Management (UTM) including Strategic Coordination services, enabling operators to mitigate risks in safely conducting complex missions with confidence.”
The FAA’s UAS Integration office developed the NTAP to expedite third-party service provider approvals, before Part 108 and 146 regulations which will finally formalise the process of authorising UTM USS approvals, come into operation.
According to the FAA: “Eligibility determination for a NTAP Service Provider (SP) and Champion Operator (CO) pair involves initial discussions with the candidates and review of their proposed concept of use (CONUSE), concept of operations (CONOPS), service level agreement (SLA), requirements traceability matrix (RTM), and safety risk management (SRM) plan.”
The US UTM industry is evolving quickly to implement commercial UTM services following FAA moves to accelerate the implementation of Automated Data Services Providers (ADSPs) – under FAA supervision – to support an extension of BVLOS operations. At the start of August NUAIR reported it had received a LOA from the FAA for its Surveillance-as-a-Service infrastructure.
“The FAA Part 146 NPRM proposes requirements for Automated Data Services Providers (ADSPs), which includes UAS Service Suppliers to provide the necessary digital infrastructure for scalable commercial drone operations including BVLOS flights,” said OneSky in its Linkedin post. “NTAP is the precursor to the final rule with requirements aligned to Part 146. With this approval, OneSky is prepared for today’s BVLOS UAS operations and tomorrow’s regulatory frameworks. We appreciate the FAA’s commitment to progress and for their guidance during this process to shape the future of aviation.”
According to the company, the FAA approval milestone advances its BVLOS USS commercialization process, strengthens its positioning as a trusted UTM solution provider, allows for seamless integration into BVLOS workflows and enterprise drone ecosystems and helps the company become future-ready for upcoming FAA regulations, including Part 108 and 146.
For more information
https://www.linkedin.com/company/oneskyinc/posts/?feedView=all
(Image: OneSky)
