In early 2014, JMA Solutions was awarded a contract by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide technical, analytical, and planning support to the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (UASO) of Emerging Technologies (AJV-115). Since then, a small group of five subject matter experts tirelessly coordinated between the commercial UAS user community, various Air Traffic locations, and FAA Headquarters to gain approval of the requests for Certificates of Waiver and Authorization (COA). These COAs are agreements allowing the user to maneuver unmanned aircraft in specific airspace for a specified period of time, while providing safe separation from other manned aircraft. To date, over 750 of these COAs have been processed and approved.
Although most COAs are processed "behind the scenes", one high-profile COA recently supported a popular television commercial for the Audi A6 automobile, inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds." This effort is only one example of the commitment of all JMA's knowledgeable experts to providing unparalleled solutions to the customer.