Commenting on the formation of the committee, CAA aircraft safety GM Obert Chakarisa says that UASes will soon be used in South Africa, and, as such, thorough preparations are required to allow for successful integration of the aircraft into South Africa’s national aerospace system. He also notes that the CAA is one of the leaders in UAS development

“We pride ourselves on being one of the first civil aviation author- ities to have established a dedicated UAS section to do all the groundwork,” he notes.

The committee consists of experts from the CAA and industry, and is, in essence, a CAA working group that will spearhead the development of policies, airworthiness standards and regulations required to effectively oversee this sector of the industry. Locally, the operation of UASes is currently not governed by regulators, like other civil aviation entities, such as airports and airlines.

UAS refers to aircraft that are remotely operated, with no involve- ment of a pilot, from the point of departure to the destination. They carry cameras, sensors and other payload.

CAA CEO and commissioner for civil aviation Colin Jordaan says that South Africans will not have to worry about any security issues.

“The introduction of UASes into South Africa’s airspace will produce economic benefits, without safety and security being compromised in the process,” he says.

Jordaan says that he is confident that the committee will successfully execute its mandate, owing to its comprising industry experts. He adds that the authority will offer the committee its full support, as it is “in the interest of the nation” to see the successful and safe integration of UASes into local airspace.

Anything from one to ten persons are required to operate a UAS. The coordinating committee’s job is to train operators and ensure that they are qualified for the job, by determining standards. UAS operators will have to undergo the same rigorous qualification pro-cess that pilots undergo.

Military operations around the world have already successfully used unmanned aircraft for intelligence gathering, surveillance, target identification and reconnaissance, and they are also deployed as combat vehicles with varying degrees of autonomy.

South Africa has successfully developed and applied UASes for military operations, with Denel Aerospace using them for surveillance missions and high-speed target practice, and ATE for artillery fire correction missions. However, in recent years, their use in civilian roles has experienced a steady increase in demand.

UASes could be used for many purposes, including long, monotonous endurance missions which pilots would not want to execute, such as coastal and marine protection, dangerous and risky missions that would pose a threat to the life of pilots, such as metrological missions in thunderstorms, and dirty and hazardous missions that could pose a health risk to pilots, such as nuclear radiation monitoring sessions.

Further, UASes could be applied in a number of other applications, such as firefighting management and disaster monitoring, cargo transport, border patrol and law enforcement, and rebroadcasting of radio information.

The first unmanned aircraft was used in World War I. The UAS concept started in the US in the 1950s, but its development was discontinued at the time owing to lack of funding and technological immaturity. Its development has gained considerable momentum in the last ten years.

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