Headquarters
Department of the Army
Washington, DC
11 May 2016
*Army Regulation 70-62

Effective 11 June 2016

Research, Development, and Acquisition

Airworthiness of Aircraft Systems

By Order of the Secretary of the Army:

MARK A. MILLEY
General, United States Army
Chief of Staff

GERALD B. O'KEEFE
Administrative Assistant to the
Secretary of the Army

History. This publication is a major revision.

Summary. This regulation implements guidance in accordance with DODDDODDDepartment of Defense directive 5030.61 for establishing airworthiness of aircraft systems, subsystems, components or allied equipment undergoing development, modifications added to Army aircraft, and in-flight operation of carry-on equipment.

Applicability. This regulation applies to the Active Army, the Army National Guard/Army National Guard of the United States, and the U.S. Army Reserve, unless otherwise stated.

Proponent and exception authority. The proponent of this regulation is the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4. The proponent has the authority to approve exceptions or waivers to this regulation that are consistent with controlling law and regulation. The proponent may delegate this approval authority, in writing, to a division chief within the proponent agency or its direct reporting unit or field operating agency, in the grade of colonel or the civilian equivalent. Activities may request a waiver to this regulation by providing justification that includes a full analysis of the expected benefits and must include formal review by the activity's senior legal officer. All waiver requests will be endorsed by the commander or senior leader of the requesting activity and forwarded through their higher headquarters to the policy proponent. Refer to AR 25-30 for specific guidance.

Army internal control process. This regulation contains internal control provisions in accordance with AR 11-2 and identifies key internal controls that must be evaluated (see appendix C).

Supplementation. Supplementation of this regulation and establishment of command and local forms are prohibited without prior approval from the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4 (DALO-MNA), 500 Army Pentagon, Washington, DC 20310-0500.

Suggested improvements. Suggested Improvements: Users are invited to send comments and suggested improvements on DA FormDA FormDepartment of the Army form 2028 (Recommended Changes to Publications and Blank Forms) directly to the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4 (DALO-MNA), 500 Army Pentagon, Washington, DC 20310-0500.

Distribution. Distribution: Distribution of this publication is available in electronic media only and is intended for command levels C, D, and E for Active Army, the Army National Guard/Army National Guard of the United States, and U.S. Army Reserve.

Airworthiness releases for UAS will be issued based on the AQLs achieved by the UAS. AQLs are determined by intended use but the level may be adjusted based on multiple factors including airspace access, mission, weight, and air vehicle operating characteristics. The AQLs may be modified by the airworthiness authority as necessary to comply with Army and civil regulatory requirements for operation of UAS. The following is description of the AQLs and their intended application. Airworthiness Qualification Level 1. A qualification that provides the equivalent level of safety of manned aircraft and is for UAS that intend to operate in all classes of the U.S. National Airspace System. These systems will have a documented design that indicates materiel-caused aircraft loss and/or catastrophic failure rate no worse than 10–5, or 1 catastrophic event per 100,000 flight hours. AQL 1 is based on airworthiness criteria, engineering standards, and data requirements equivalent to those of manned aircraft while taking into account UAS-unique design considerations. Airworthiness Qualification Level 2. A limited qualification which does not provide the equivalent level of safety of manned aircraft and is for UAS that operate over areas of low population density, Restricted Airspace and Warning Areas, and/or in combat environments. These systems shall have a documented design that indicates materiel-caused aircraft loss and/or catastrophic failure rate no worse than 10–4, or 1 catastrophic event per 10,000 flight hours. AQL 2 may not require the same engineering and data requirements as AQL 1, but is a tailored set of airworthiness criteria, engineering standards, and data requirements to ensure that the integrity of design and the inherent airworthiness of the system are suitable for flight in the above restricted environments. Because AQL 2 does not provide the equivalent level of safety of manned aircraft, these systems will have restrictions that limit areas of operations. AQL 2 is required as a minimum for any UAS that is weaponized or is part of a Kill Chain. A UAS is considered part of the Kill Chain if it directly designates a target with a laser designator or directly passes target coordinates to a weapon system that does not verify target position with its own sensors or another qualified sensor and/or process. These systems will have a system level safety assessment that identifies the hazards for the intended operations. Airworthiness Qualification Level 3. May not be based on traditional airworthiness substantiation from test data, and is for UAS that only intend to regularly operate in Restricted Airspace, for experimental and/or expendable aircraft, and small UAS (under 55 lb) intended to operate in combat environments. These systems should have a design goal of a materiel-caused aircraft loss/catastrophic failure rate no worse than 10–3, or 1 catastrophic event per 1000 flight hours. These UAS may not be designed to accepted engineering standards and/or do not possess adequate engineering data to determine their compliance with accepted standards. These systems will have a system level safety assessment that identifies the hazards for the intended operations. AQL 3 systems are not evaluated to the appropriate Airworthiness criteria to support weaponization or for inclusion in a Kill Chain process and will have restrictions that limit areas of operations. AQL 3 UAS should be considered expendable.