Aviation Group Supports Use of Drones in 60 GHz Band

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association supports Amazon’s advocacy for allowing unmanned aerial vehicle radars in the 60 GHz band (see 2210200058), said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 21-264. “GAMA recognizes the importance of allowing for the use of 60 GHz band unlicensed devices on-board aircraft, to include drones while airborne, as an enabler for UAS commercial package delivery operations,” the group said. Members believe field disturbance sensor (FDS) devices operating in the 60 GHz band “will not cause harmful interference to other spectrum users,” GAMA said: “Radar devices in this frequency range operate at a relatively low EIRP (equivalent isotropic radiated power), the nearest frequency band that is used on aircraft is 24 GHz, and there [is] existing communications equipment using this same band at the same power where no harmful interference has been observed.”