Implementation of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Operational Capabilities: A Guide (2025)
Chapter: Front Matter
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| NCHRP Research Report 1147 |
National Cooperative Highway Research Program |
Implementation of Uncrewed Aircraft
Systems Operational Capabilities
A GUIDE
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2025 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*
OFFICERS
CHAIR: Leslie S. Richards, Professor of Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
VICE CHAIR: Joel M. Jundt, Secretary of Transportation, South Dakota Department of Transportation, Pierre
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Victoria Sheehan, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC
MEMBERS
James F. Albaugh, President and CEO, The Boeing Company (retired), Scottsdale, AZ
Carlos M. Braceras, Executive Director, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City
Douglas C. Ceva, Vice President, Customer Lead Solutions, Prologis, Inc., Jupiter, FL
Nancy Daubenberger, Commissioner of Transportation, Minnesota Department of Transportation, St. Paul
Marie Therese Dominguez, Commissioner, New York State Department of Transportation, Albany
Garrett Eucalitto, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Transportation, Newington
Andrew Fremier, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco, CA
Martha Grabowski, Professor Emerita, Information Systems, Le Moyne College, Madden College of Business & Economics, Cazenovia, NY
Randell Iwasaki, President and CEO, Iwasaki Consulting Services, Walnut Creek, CA
Carol A. Lewis, Professor, Transportation Studies, Texas Southern University, Houston
Hani S. Mahmassani, W.A. Patterson Distinguished Chair in Transportation; Director, Transportation Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Scott C. Marler, Director, Iowa Department of Transportation, Ames
Ricardo Martinez, Adjunct Professor of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, GA
Russell McMurry, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Transportation, Atlanta
Craig E. Philip, Research Professor and Director, VECTOR, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Steward T.A. Pickett, Distinguished Senior Scientist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY
Susan A. Shaheen, Professor and Co-Director, Transportation Sustainability Research Center, University of California, Berkeley
Marc Williams, Executive Director, Texas Department of Transportation, Austin
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Michael R. Berube, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC
Steven G. Bradbury, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Steven Cliff, Executive Officer, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento
LeRoy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Germantown, MD
Firas Ibrahim, Director, Office of Research, Development, and Technology, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), Washington, DC
Jason Kelly, Deputy Commanding General for Civil Works and Emergency Operations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC
Sandra Knight, President, WaterWonks, LLC, Washington, DC
Ben Kochman, Acting Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Washington, DC
Zahra “Niloo” Parvinashtiani, Engineer, Mobility Consultant Solutions, Iteris Inc., Fairfax, VA, and Chair, TRB Young Members Coordinating Council
Chris Rocheleau, Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
Gloria Shepherd, Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC
Karl Simon, Director, Transportation and Climate Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
Paul P. Skoutelas, President and CEO, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC
Jim Tymon, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, DC
___________________
* Membership as of May 2025.
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 1147
Implementation of Uncrewed Aircraft
Systems Operational Capabilities
A GUIDE
Paul Wheeler
Aaron Organ
Jared Esselman
WSP USA
Washington, DC
Subscriber Categories
Aviation • Administration and Management • Education and Training
Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
Systematic, well-designed, and implementable research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing state department of transportation (DOT) administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local or regional interest and can best be studied by state DOTs individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation results in increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research.
Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 initiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), United States Department of Transportation.
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was requested by AASHTO to administer the research program because of TRB’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. TRB is uniquely suited for this purpose for many reasons: TRB maintains an extensive committee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; TRB possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; TRB’s relationship to the National Academies is an insurance of objectivity; and TRB maintains a full-time staff of specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those in a position to use them.
The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators and other staff of the highway and transportation departments, by committees of AASHTO, and by the FHWA. Topics of the highest merit are selected by the AASHTO Special Committee on Research and Innovation (R&I), and each year R&I’s recommendations are proposed to the AASHTO Board of Directors, the FHWA, and the National Academies. Research projects to address these topics are defined by NCHRP, and qualified research agencies are selected from submitted proposals. Administration and oversight of research contracts are the responsibilities of NCHRP.
The needs for highway research are many, and NCHRP can make significant contributions to solving highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement, rather than to substitute for or duplicate, other highway research programs.
NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 1147
Project 23-20
ISSN 2572-3766 (Print)
ISSN 2572-3774 (Online)
ISBN 978-0-309-99287-9
Library of Congress Control Number 2025941526
Digital Object Identifier:10.17226/29132
© 2025 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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NOTICE
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This material is based upon work supported by the FHWA under Agreement No. 693JJ32350025. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed or implied in this publication are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the FHWA; or the program sponsors.
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COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 1147
Monique R. Evans, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs, and Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Ahmad Abu-Hawash, Senior Program Officer
Sheila A. Moore, Program Associate
Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications
Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications
Brendan Foht, Senior Editor
NCHRP PROJECT 23-20 PANEL
Field of Administration—Area of Agency Administration
Kofi Wakhisi, Atlanta Regional Commission, Atlanta, GA (Chair)
John D’Arville, Alabama Department of Transportation, Montgomery, AL
Matt Coffelt, Georgia Department of Transportation, Atlanta, GA
James Gray, FHWA Liaison
Shayne H. Gill, AASHTO Liaison
AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research reported herein was performed under NCHRP Project 23-20 by a multidisciplinary team led by WSP USA, Inc. (WSP). WSP is the contractor for this project.
Paul Wheeler at WSP USA was the principal investigator for this project, and Aaron Organ was the co-principal investigator, both of whom served as contributing authors. Jared Esselman served as the third author of this report. The authors wish to acknowledge the Burton Planning Services (BPS) team, specifically Amelia Mansfield, Don Leonard, and Rebecca Carr (formerly of BPS), for their work on developing the survey, analyzing the survey results, and supporting the in-person stakeholder feedback workshop.
The authors wish to thank the participants who volunteered time to complete surveys and participate in the working groups and stakeholder feedback workshop. We express appreciation to Aaron Chamberlin (California Department of Transportation), Abigail Smith (Federal Aviation Administration), Adam Cohen (UC Berkeley), Adrienne Lindgren (formerly of Supernal), Alicia McConnell (Rawlins Infra Consult), Anthony McCloskey (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation), Barley Fields (AASHTO), Benjamin Colucci (University of Puerto Rico), Ben Goddard (The LiDAR PROs), Ben Goldman (Archer Aviation), Bob Brock (Kansas Department of Transportation), Brady Reisch (The LiDAR PROs), Brian Kassin (Kansas Department of Transportation), Brian Doherty (Skydio), Bryan Farrell (Mississippi State University), Caden Teer (Mississippi State University), Carol Niewola (New Hampshire Department of Transportation), Catherine Cahill (University of Alaska Fairbanks), Chris Bailey (Massachusetts Department of Transportation), Christopher Pfeifer (Zipline), Christopher Starr (Tennessee Department of Transportation), Clint Harper (Harper4D Consulting), Colton Dlugolecki (New York Department of Transportation), Daniel Friedenzohn (Embry Riddle Aeronautical University), David Gallagher (Ohio Department of Transportation), David Oord (Wisk), David Sarrette (Mississippi State University), Don Berchoff (TruWeather), Douglas Spotted Eagle (The LiDAR PROs), Doug Wood (Oklahoma Aerospace & Aeronautics), Emilien Marchand (Wisk), Erin Rivera (Federal Aviation Administration), Ernest Huffman (North Central Texas Council of Governments), Evan Funk (SANDAG), Gabriela Juarez (City of Los Angeles), George Kivork (Joby Aviation), Grant Bishop (Silent Falcon), Gregory Pecoraro (National Association of State Aviation Officials), Jackie Beckwith (Electrify America), James Gray (FHWA), Jacques Coulon (City of Orlando), James Grimsley (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), Jason Leavitt (New Hampshire Department of Transportation), Joseph Burgett (Clemson University), Joseph Marshall (Zipline), John D’Arville (Alabama Department of Transportation), John-Paul Clarke (The University of Texas at Austin), Jonathan Daniels (Praxis Aerospace), Jon Starr (Nebraska Department of Transportation), Joshua Duplantis (Louisiana Department of Transportation), Julie Bjornstad (Wasatch Front Regional Council), Keith Paquin (Virginia Department of Transportation), Kellen Mollahan (Joby Aviation), Kofi Wakhisi (Atlanta Regional Commission), Laura Swanson (University Aviation Association), Larry Dean (South Dakota Department of Transportation), Linn Smith (Michigan Department of Transportation), Lori Pepper (California Department of Transportation), Marisa Paula Walker (Arizona Commerce Authority), Matthew Broffman (Lilium), Matthew Coffelt (Georgia Department of Transportation), Matthew Beatty (DroneUp), Melissa McCaffrey (Overair), Michelle Vigeant-Haas (Penn State University), Nick Holt (Utah Department of Transportation), Parley Jacobs (Granite School District), Paul Damron (Utah Department of Transportation), Paul Snyder (University of North Dakota), Pricila Roldan (San Diego Association of Governments), Ramses Madou (City of San Jose), Richard Fields (City of Los Angeles), Riley Beaman (North Carolina Department of Transportation), Robin Grace (Massachusetts Department of Transportation), Royce Snider (Bell Flight), Ryan Marlow (Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities), Ryan Naru (Joby Aviation), Ryan Traversa (Tennessee Department of Transportation), Sandi Hemmert (Granite School District), Sara Meess (City of Ogden), Scott Cullinane (Skydio), Sergio Roman (Texas Department of Transportation), Shayne Gill (AASHTO), Stephen Ley (Utah Valley University), Tarek Tabshouri (California Department of Transportation), Todd Pauley (The Boeing Company), Tony McCloskey (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) and Yasmina Platt (Joby Aviation).
Additionally, the authors would like to acknowledge the dedication and support of WSP’s review, design, and editorial team for their support on this project. We express gratitude to Allyson Powers, Andrew Murak, Alena Randol, Deborah Mandell, Evelyn Dsouza, Jag Mallela, and Sandra Brown.
Finally, the authors wish to acknowledge that this Guide was largely developed and written in the summer of 2023 and note that timelines or information may be outdated at the time of publication.
FOREWORD
By Ahmad Abu-Hawash
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board
NCHRP Research Report 1147: Implementation of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Operational Capabilities: A Guide presents state-of-the-art information to assist state departments of transportation (DOTs) in the implementation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operational capabilities. The Guide provides proposals based on the latest developments in UAS and advanced air mobility (AAM) technologies, along with practical use cases and applications. It was developed based on an extensive review and study of the state of practice and industry trends. The findings will serve as a valuable resource for state DOTs and other public transportation agencies.
State DOTs and local agencies are utilizing UAS in more day-to-day operations such as traffic incident management, mapping, bridge and structure inspections, geographic information systems, environmental requirements, and a variety of other uses. However, there have been different challenges to integrating UAS operational capabilities into the US National Airspace System. Additionally, external developments on package delivery via UAS and AAM raise issues about their safe operation over state and local rights-of-way and needed ground infrastructure and air space management. Research was needed to aid state DOTs and local agencies in addressing the operational challenges and issues, as well as to develop a roadmap for the implementation of UAS operational capabilities.
Under NCHRP Project 23-20, “Guidebook for Implementation of UAS Operational Capabilities,” WSP USA Inc. was asked to develop a guide to assist state DOTs and local agencies with the implementation of UAS operational capabilities. The research included use cases and applications, impact and opportunity evaluation tools, framework and tools for coordinating resources, outreach and collaboration strategies, funding consideration, workforce qualifications and training, and roles and responsibilities.
In addition to the Guide published as NCHRP Research Report 1147, the following materials are available on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for NCHRP Research Report 1147: Implementation of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Operational Capabilities: A Guide.
- NCHRP Web-Only Document 424: Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Operational Capabilities: Conduct of Research, which is the research agency’s report documenting the development of the guide and the entire research effort.
- A stand-alone Implementation Plan.
- A stand-alone Roadmap.
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CONTENTS
Chapter 2 Industry and Technology Trends
Chapter 3 Use Cases and Applications for UAS and AAM
Current State DOT Use Cases for UAS
Chapter 4 Impact and Opportunity Evaluation
AAM Challenges and Opportunities
Chapter 5 Framework and Tools for Coordinating Resources
Chapter 6 Outreach and Collaboration Strategies
Chapter 7 Funding Considerations
