Worldwide UAS/RPAS experts gathered in Cologne for the JARUS Plenary Meeting

From April 23-27, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) hosted the bi-annual Plenary Meeting of the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems (JARUS). 

JARUS includes experts from 54 National Aviation Authorities and regional aviation safety organizations working together to recommend a single set of technical, safety and operational requirements for the certification and safe integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

The Plenary meeting also marked the 10th Anniversary celebration of JARUS.  Yves Morier, the Chair of JARUS declared: “JARUS’ first meeting took place on 27th February 2008 in Hoofddorp (The Netherlands) and began with just a handful of member states. This week over 115 participants representing 35 countries are in Cologne to contribute to the Plenary.  JARUS continues to grow and develop along with the growth of UAS in the global airspace systems.”

UAS/RPAS experts from 35 member countries and organizations including Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, EASA, Estonia, EUROCONTROL, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Serbia, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States of America gathered in Cologne.

For the first time, New Zealand, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Serbia, Slovak Republic and Slovenia joined JARUS for its bi-annual Plenary Meeting. Industry participated as part of the Stakeholder Consultative Body (SCB) with representatives from manufacturers, operators, pilots, and standards organizations.

The Plenary participants focused on the ongoing work of JARUS, including the Category A and B Operation Requirements, Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA), and discussed and developed the organization’s future work plan.  In addition, members of the seven JARUS Working Groups met to progress work products.  In the coming months a dedicated Focus Group will look into the “Integration of UAS in the airspace”.

The next JARUS Plenary Meeting will take place in San Diego, California, USA from 15th to 19th October 2018.