FAA Research and Development Act of 2023

This bill reauthorizes through FY2028 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) civilian aviation research and development activities. The bill also specifies required research and development activities.

For example, the Department of Transportation, in coordination with other agencies, must prepare and submit a research and development road map to safely eliminate the use of leaded aviation fuel without adversely affecting the existing piston engine fleet. The FAA must also coordinate with private industry on research programs for the mass production and distribution of unleaded aviation gasoline for market viability.

The bill also directs the FAA to

- continue research on technologies and operations to enhance air traffic surface operations safety;

- research, develop, and test the use of air traffic space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data, in coordination with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), with a specific focus on monitoring and automatically reporting air turbulence events and providing space-based multilateration surveillance;

- conduct research, engineering, and development on the effective and efficient use and management of radio frequency spectrum in civil aviation;

- conduct a research and development program to advance aviation structures, materials, and manufacturing for the safe use in and on aircraft; and

- evaluate opportunities to modernize, enhance, and streamline the training time to become a certified air traffic controller, including assessing the use of advanced technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence and virtual reality).