Brandon Suarez

Brandon Suarez currently serves as Technical Director for UAS Civil Airspace Integration for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), where he leads the company’s effort to integrate Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) into domestic, foreign, and international airspace. GA-ASI manufactures, supports, and operates a variety of proven, reliable, RPAS for military and commercial applications worldwide. In his current role, Mr. Suarez leads a multi-disciplinary team working to solve the technical and regulatory challenges associated with gaining unfettered access to civil airspace and achieving safe, secure, and efficient global operations.

Mr. Suarez currently holds a leadership role or actively participates on several committees pursuing the goal of routine, global RPAS operations, including as Co-Chair of RTCA Special Committee 228, which is developing technical standards for UAS. He is also an advisor to the FAA on the ICAO RPAS Panel where he contributes as a subject matter expert to internationally harmonize standards and best practices.

Previously at GA-ASI, Mr. Suarez led a collaborative team of experts from the FAA, NASA, and several industry partners to bring together the technology needed for a Detect and Avoid (DAA) system on a Predator® B RPAS. He also served as Vice Chairman of NATO Industrial Advisory Group (NIAG) Study Group 205, which provided industry recommendations to the NATO specialist team standardizing DAA capabilities for military forces worldwide.

Brandon holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is also an instrument rated private pilot and enjoys taking his wife and 4 children on flying adventures around the Western US.