US and Switzerland sign agreement to collaborate on drone research
Both countries have agreed to work together to improve and harmonise safety standards in order to minimise the risk of drones in civilian airspace.
On Wednesday, the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) signed a declaration of intent to strengthen collaboration in the area of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The objective is to promote the use of drones for civilian applications by replacing strict regulation with automatic monitoring via technology.
“Both countries are highly innovative, with stakeholders demanding new ways to access airspace in order to perform unprecedented operations. Exchanging viewpoints on and approaches to mutual challenges will be of real benefit to both sides,” said a statement from FOCA.
One of the key areas of collaboration is in remote identification: the ability to detect the identity of drones entering the airspace without the need for direct visual contact. The goal is also to be able transmit information in real time via an application to third parties like air traffic controllers or police.
“This capability will help to increase the effectiveness of airspace control, oversight and law enforcement, therefore improving the safety of UAS operations,” stated FOCA.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.