US officials concerned 'tidal wave' of drones will overwhelm air traffic system
Designers of the ambitious US air traffic control system of the future neglected to take drones into account, raising questions about whether it can handle the escalating demand for the unmanned aircraft and predicted congestion in the sky.
“We didn’t understand the magnitude to which [drones] would be an oncoming tidal wave, something that must be dealt with, and quickly,” said Ed Bolton, the Federal Aviation Administration’s assistant administrator for NextGen, as the program is called.
Congress passed legislation creating NextGen in 2003, and directed the agency to accommodate all types of aircraft, including drones.
The program, which is not expected to be completed for at least another decade, is replacing radar and radio communications, technologies rooted in the early 20th century, with satellite-based navigation and digital communications.
The FAA has spent more than $5bn on the complex program and is nearly finished installing hardware and software for several key systems. But the further it progresses, the more difficult it becomes to make changes.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/24/drones-air-traffic-control-system-rules-commercial
