Unleashing the Commercial Potential of Drones: Alternative Regulatory Frameworks for Safely Integrating Drones into the National Airspace Faster

Interview with Arjun Garg, Former FAA Chief Counsel and Partner at Hogan Lovells Regulation and type certification has always been recognized as a necessary element for commercial drone operations to provide meaningful return on investment for industries. Yet, the process in getting landmark regulations enacted has been historically slower than what the industry has wanted and needed, despite federal mandates to the contrary. In an article written for Bloomberg Law, Arjun Garg, Former FAA Chief Counsel and Partner at Hogan Lovells, emphasized that regulators, like the FAA, need to establish regulatory frameworks to "Unleash the Commercial Potential of Drones." Commercial UAV News talked with Garg to discuss potential alternative regulatory frameworks for getting the commercial drone market to operate at scale faster, as well as what it means to appropriately assess risk, how industry and regulators can facilitate a smoother type-certification process, the current and historical challenges with regulators and the drone industry, the BVLOS ARC, and more.