Challenges for Integration of Drone into National Airspace System

With the rapid development and application of drone in civilian and military fields, the number of drones increases dramatically, which makes drone integration into national airspace system urgently. Nowadays, the drone integration into national airspace system raises several crucial problems, like how to ensure the safety of ground assets and people and how to ensure an equivalent level of safety for drone as manned aircraft, which are great challenges for aviation authorities and drone companies. In this paper, the application and market prospect of drones, the current problems caused by drones and the difference between manned aircraft and drone from operation and system composition are introduced firstly. Secondly, the difficulties and challenges are analyzed from five aspects, such as airworthiness regulation, air traffic management, safety and techniques, law and insurance, and privacy protection. Finally, considering these challenges and successful experiences of manned-aircraft in national airspace, suggestions are proposed from perspective of design, management and operation. Hence, studying the challenges of drone integration into national airspace system could promote development of drone airworthiness and meet the demand of increasing market, which is meaningful and helpful for drones development and application.