Standardization News

ASTM International leaders participated in the European Aviation Safety Agency’s High Level Conference on Drones in Amsterdam this week, at which ASTM’s global drone standards were discussed in conversations with government and industry leaders.

“It is clear that governments and the drone industry throughout Europe know about ASTM International’s leadership in global drone standards, with 17 already published and dozens more on the way,” said Sara Gobbi, director of European affairs for ASTM International. She noted that this includes two major priorities for government and industry stakeholders — remote identification and UAS traffic management (UTM) — which will support civilian low-altitude airspace operations.

“We are pleased to see that the event’s just-issued Amsterdam Declaration emphasizes the global dimension of standards development, in part so that the drone community can avoid duplicative efforts.”

Formed in 2003, the ASTM International committee on unmanned aircraft systems (F38) has over 300 members representing more than a dozen countries worldwide. The committee has published standards that support airworthiness, flight operations, personnel training and certification, and more (see overview here).

In addition, the cover story of the new issue of ASTM International’s Standardization News magazine features content on drone operations and maintenance, and autonomy.