Aptima Facilitates NASA Group on Autonomous Multi-Aircraft Ops

Aptima, Inc. is facilitating the NASA-sponsored Routine Autonomous Multi-Aircraft Operations (RAM-AO) Working Group, a key initiative aimed at overcoming the technical and safety barriers to operating multiple Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) with a reduced number of human operators. The group's work is critical for integrating advanced autonomous flights into the national airspace.

The effort addresses a fundamental challenge for the burgeoning Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sector. For concepts like urban air taxis and autonomous cargo delivery to become economically viable, the industry must transition from the current one-operator-per-aircraft model to a system where a single operator can safely manage multiple vehicles. The RAM-AO working group is tasked with developing the data and frameworks needed to make these one-to-many, or m:N, operations a scalable reality.

The Shift to an Ecosystem Approach

The working group, formerly known as the m:N Working Group, is shifting the industry's focus beyond simple operator-to-aircraft ratios. According to Aptima, recent research indicates that determining safe operational limits requires a more holistic view. The group's next meeting is scheduled for March 3rd to 5th, 2026, at the NASA Ames Research Center, where these complex factors will be a central topic.

Dr. Samantha Emerson, Senior Scientist in Aptima's Performance Augmentation Systems Division and the project's Principal Investigator, elaborated on this new perspective. "We found through research that the ideal ratio of operators to aircraft is more complex than simply the number of unmanned aircraft to be managed," she stated. "To determine the true limits to safely scaling autonomous operations in the national airspace you have to consider the aviation ecosystem as a whole, from the density and activity of intervening air traffic to the size of the area the operator is monitoring, and the role the human plays in that overall picture." This highlights a move towards understanding human-autonomy teaming within the full context of Air Traffic Management (ATM).

Regulatory and Safety Hurdles

A primary obstacle to routine autonomous multi-aircraft operations is the absence of established technical standards, safety assurance protocols, and a clear regulatory pathway. The RAM-AO initiative, conducted under a NASA award as part of the Air Traffic Management and Safety (ATMS) project, is designed to generate the foundational research necessary to inform these future rules. The ultimate goal is to provide the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with robust data to create a regulatory framework for the safe integration of these complex operations into the National Airspace System. The working group serves as a collaborative forum for industry stakeholders, academia, and government agencies to define these critical safety parameters.

Industry Context and Ongoing Efforts

The push for scalable unmanned operations is a dominant trend across the aviation industry, underpinning the entire vision for Urban Air Mobility (UAM), a subset of AAM focused on metropolitan transport. The RAM-AO working group's efforts are not new, building on previous collaborations. A biannual meeting was held at NASA's Langley Research Center in July 2025, demonstrating a sustained effort to tackle these challenges. The group's official purpose, as detailed by NASA's working group information page, is to identify and address the key challenges for routine m:N operations in the national airspace.

What Comes Next

The upcoming March 2026 meeting at NASA Ames represents a significant step in consolidating the group's findings. Discussions are expected to focus on operator cognitive workload, human-autonomy interface design, and communication protocols required for safe m:N flights. The outputs from this and future sessions will contribute to a body of knowledge intended to become the basis for industry best practices and, eventually, formalized FAA regulations. While a definitive timeline for regulatory approval remains undisclosed, the working group's progress is a leading indicator of the industry's pace toward large-scale autonomous commercial operations.

Why This Matters

This initiative is a critical enabler for the future of air transportation. By systematically addressing the operational, safety, and human-factors challenges of managing multiple autonomous aircraft, the NASA and Aptima-led group is laying the groundwork for the economic feasibility of AAM and UAM. The successful development of these standards will directly impact the scalability of drone delivery, automated cargo transport, and future air taxi services, moving them from conceptual stages to widespread commercial reality.

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