FUTURISE Sdn Bhd (Futurise) together with the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) have unveiled the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) certification (C-UAS) and manned electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft national regulatory sandbox (Manned eVTOL NRS).
Announced during the RegTalk series under the theme "Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) & Certified UAS Regulatory Challenges", the certification and regulatory sandbox hopes to balance public safety with industry needs. The initiatives are also aimed at facilitating a conducive environment while enabling active and unhindered cultivation of innovative air mobility solutions to pave the way for Malaysian smart mobility.
According to Futurise, manned eVTOL NRS on C-UAS will ensure all UAS operating within the sandbox meets all regulatory standards as set by CAAM, an essential requirement to certify that all UAS that are to be deployed during testing are operated under equivalent safety standards.
"While our nation's drone industry has made great strides in recent years, we cannot rest on our laurels. There remains more to be done. We must foster a collaborative ecosystem and take catalytic steps to fulfil our nation's aspirations of becoming a key player in the global drone industry and an Asean drone hub," said Transport Ministry's deputy minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah.
Hasbi also shared that these initiatives will further reinforce the government's national agenda to support the UAS ecosystem and will increase Malaysia's economic impact.
Meanwhile, Futurise's chief executive officer, Rosihan Zain Baharudin, said that these new initiatives will remove a lot of the red tape which will enable more companies to introduce their solutions without excessive curtailing.
"We are excited to be working with MOT and CAAM to design a conducive ecosystem that will fast-track Malaysia's drone industry. Safety remains a priority and with C-UAS and the Manned eVTOL NRS, we will be able to better foster the creation of world-class applications of drone technology without having the sandbox participating companies' future-first ideas stymied, all while ensuring the safety of the public," he said.
He added that it is important for Malaysia to look at AAM given the potential benefits for businesses and society as it promises to move people and cargo more quickly, safely and quietly as compared to helicopters. AAM is also expected to reduce traffic or ground congestion resulting in a low carbon footprint for the overall environment.
CAAM's CEO Captain Norazman Mahmud said, "With today's technological advancements and cutting-edge innovations, regulatory buy-in and leeway for experimentation are mission-critical. By breaking down quite a bit of the policy barriers and instating ones that are forward-thinking, we will be able to see more home-grown solutions take flight."
"This will help our local drone industry gain momentum and simultaneously allow us as a nation to benefit from an increase in drone technology implementation across varied industries," he said.
The RegTalk session also featured key speakers from Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), Vertical Aerospace, Skyports Infrastructure and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) who shared topics related to the regulatory framework and the existing state of the drone landscape.
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