Despite the growing presence of drones in agriculture, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will not replace manned aircraft anytime soon, according to Andrew Moore, CEO of the National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA). In a recent interview with DRONELIFE, Moore highlighted the complementary role that drones play alongside traditional manned aircraft, highlighting key factors such as speed and power that favor the latter.
“What we’re seeing at the moment is more of a complementary relationship,” Moore said. “Unmanned aircraft can perform tasks that were previously performed by ground-based installations or cover areas that are more difficult for crewed aircraft to reach.”
NAAA represents small businesses and pilots who use aircraft in agriculture, including both traditional manned aviation and drone operators. Moore said the association advocates for all members by recognizing everyone’s unique contribution to the sector.
The number of drones used in U.S. agriculture has grown in recent years. Data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) shows that from June 2023 to date, 837 applications to operate agricultural drones have been approved, up significantly from the 137 approvals before June 2023. The FAA’s current rulemaking efforts are focused on developing standardized rules for other areas. line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations to make these activities routine and cost-effective.
Despite this growth, Moore identified two main factors that support the dominance of manned aircraft: speed and payload. Manned fixed-wing, turbine-powered farm planes can fly over fields at speeds of approximately 140 mph. In contrast, the average agricultural drone has a much lower payload capacity of about 15 gallons compared to the 400 to 500 gallon payload capacity of manned aircraft.
“The primary and most important function of manned aircraft is speed,” Moore explained. Larger manned aircraft capacity also means fewer flights and less frequent refills of crop protection products, seeds or fertilizers. This efficiency is critical in large-scale agricultural operations.
Economic considerations further strengthen the role of manned aircraft. While using manned aircraft to spray fields can be expensive, using a fleet of drones to cover the same area can incur even higher costs due to labor and frequent battery replacements. Additionally, as drones increase in size and power, they will face stricter federal safety regulations and associated costs.
Moore acknowledged the potential for technological advances in drone design, predicting that larger agricultural drones with larger hopper capacities will be developed. However, these advances will lead to increased regulatory and testing requirements, which will increase costs.
“In many cases, drones don’t need to be certified like manned aircraft do,” Moore said. “But as they get larger and have to be certified for safety, much more testing will be required, and the costs typically go up.”
Despite these challenges, drones have carved out a niche for themselves in the agricultural aviation market, especially in areas difficult to reach by manned aircraft. “I think you’re seeing almost two different markets in the sense that they’re operating in areas that aren’t typically handled by manned aircraft,” Moore noted.
Safety remains a top concern for NAAA, especially given the increasing overlap between drone and manned aircraft operations in low-altitude airspace. Moore praised a provision in the recent FAA reauthorization bill that requires drones to yield right-of-way to manned aircraft and be equipped with detection and avoidance technology for BVLOS operations.
“The NAAA is a big umbrella,” Moore said. “We have hybrid operations with manned and unmanned aircraft, but safety is paramount. We always strive to implement our security programs in terms of application efficiency, ensuring that applications are safe and secure erial approaches.
