Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s study group responsible for the promotion of simultaneous operation of multiple uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) has formulated new guidelines, which it announced on March 28.
The study group was established in October 2024 and since then has been working with operators and other stakeholders to create the new Guidelines for the Safe Simultaneous Operation of Multiple Unmanned Aircraft.
The guidelines include pilot, aircraft and operational management requirements as well as verification of operational risks and countermeasures. For example, the organisational structure and the division of roles of those directly involved in the UAS flight (including pilots, those who are not currently operating but may operate, assistants and any personnel necessary for ensuring the safety of the flight) must be clearly defined in advance. In addition, the operator must have a system for sharing information, including near misses, both internally and externally.
The guidelines state that each operator is required to verify the risks according to the use case using the examples shown in the guidance document as reference, and to take both preventive measures to prevent the occurrence of incidents and recovery measures to avoid or reduce the impact when they occur. The incident examples, such as operator fatigue, close contact, communications breakdown and UAS malfunction, also include preventive measures, potential consequences and recommended recovery measures.
The guidelines state that additional manuals will be created, including for emergency response procedures and safety management regulations.
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