During Wednesday’s Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing, Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) questioned Jodi Baker, the Deputy Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety at the Federal Aviation Administration, about drone regulations.
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00:00Thank you. Senator Budd.
00:03Thank you, Chairman.
00:04First, I want to thank President Trump, Secretary Duffy, and you, Chairman Cruz, for your leadership on much-needed ATC modernization.
00:12It comes at a particularly important time in the history of American aviation, with so many new technologies coming to our airspace.
00:20For example, today, Wing Aviation and DoorDash are launching a joint operation in Charlotte.
00:25This marks the first new market for Wing after a successful year in Dallas-Fort Worth.
00:31Sadly, the drone industry continues to be stifled by regulatory uncertainty from the FAA, which has failed to publish a proposed rule on BVLAS or beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations.
00:43Ms. Baker, why has it taken so long for the agency to act, given clear deadlines, and can you commit that the FAA will advance a proposed rule by this summer?
00:53We are very excited to get the BVLAS rule out as well.
00:57We're excited about this new industry segment and what it can do.
01:00We are working very hard to get that rule out.
01:03It's in review.
01:04You know, while the Chinese Communist Party has been extremely forward-looking, unfortunately, I'm concerned that, as we're discussing today,
01:12this somewhat outdated ATC system might be yet another challenge to the full integration of these new technologies.
01:18Mr. McIntosh, I've appreciated the clarity that you brought this morning to many areas.
01:24You know, as we work to modernize ATC, is the FAA thinking about how to future-proof the system so that new technologies can be more smoothly integrated into the national airspace?
01:36Mr. McIntosh, thank you for the question, absolutely.
01:40Senator, the ATO policy is get to yes, but get to yes safely.
01:45And when it comes to integration of these kind of things that you're speaking to, we'll work tirelessly to make that happen.
01:52You know, companies like Boom Supersonic are on the leading edge of civil supersonic revival.
01:58In January, Boom's XB-1 aircraft, it demonstrated that it can fly faster than the speed of sound, but without any audible sonic boom reaching the ground.
02:09Despite this innovation, current FAA regulation sets an arbitrary speed limit in the skies.
02:15Companies trying to bring back supersonic flight for the first time since the Concorde have to ask for special permission from the FAA to operate their aircraft above Mach 1.
02:25And they can only fly them in specific flight testing areas, even if they do so quietly, like Boom.
02:33Today, the U.S. has the only flying civil supersonic aircraft, but China is already making clones of Western airliners.
02:42And they recently announced its own, they announced its own supersonic passenger plane.
02:49So unless we invent and build the next generation of aircraft here in the U.S., our leadership will pass from America to Asia.
02:57Today, together with my colleagues, Senator Sheehy, Senator Tillis, and Senator Lee, I'm introducing the Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act.
03:05This bill directs the administrator to issue or revise regulations to allow companies like Boom to operate their aircraft above Mach 1 within the United States, as long as no sonic boom reaches the ground.
03:20The supersonic race has begun, and it's critical that America wins.
03:25My bill will ensure that innovative companies like Boom have the regulatory certainty that they need to continue innovating.
03:31I look forward to working with my colleagues on this committee to make sure the U.S. maintains its leadership in civil supersonic light.
03:39Thank you, Chairman.