ACP Mission, Objective & Priorities

MISSION

• The U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP) was established in 2007 as a public-private partnership between the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the U.S. Departments of Commerce and State, Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Companies.
• The ACP supports the growth of the Indian civil aerospace sector by working directly with the Government of India (GOI) to identify and execute projects that encourage collaborations between US and Indian stakeholders, in the area of aerospace technology and best practices.

OBJECTIVE

• Promote greater engagement between US and Indian Government agencies and industry to enhance civil aviation in India.
• Undertake projects that advance Cooperation in domains such as aviation safety, security, regulatory oversight and management.
• Provide training and technical assistance to accelerate excellence in aviation operations.
• Within India, increase awareness of, and facilitate access to, US expertise, technology and best practices to assist India’s aviation growth.

PRIORITIES

1. Confident Travel

• Cooperate on scientific studies and data driven approaches to restore confidence in the flying public
• Undertake projects to advance cooperation and joint development of technology to make aviation travel safety
  

2. Foster and continue to develop stronger government to government ties

• System Safety Approach: Promote risk-based data-driven decision making that is built on Safety Management System (SMS) principles to proactively address emerging safety risk by using data to make safer and smarter decisions
• Continued engagement to improve airport operations, safety, capacity, and innovation and foster growth and safe integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems operations in the present airspace ecosystem

3. Aviation in India’s National Logistics Policy

• Provide US expertise and technology to help modernize and improve efficiency of India aviation supply chains
• Foster interactions and partnership between U.S.-India aviation cargo industries 

4. Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO)

• Explore opportunities for industry to partner on India’s vision to develop an MRO hub
• Industry-led MRO training to meet expected new demand following national policy changes

5. Aviation Training

• Foster partnership between U.S. industry and Indian pilot training organizations
• Provide industry-led cooperation to accelerate excellence in airline operations and management

6. Aviation Security

• Undertake projects that investigate use of digital technology and analytics to make airport passenger and cargo flows more efficient, touchless screening and security by evaluating and validating the performance of checkpoint CTs, security scanners, and ASLs
• Facilitate implementation of seamless process for security access/clearances to aviation facilities for technical experts, pilots & engineers to promote technical cooperation and interaction

7. Airspace Optimization

• Continue cooperation on Communication, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) modernization building on developed roadmap
• Foster US-India government and industry interactions on Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) implementation in India and explore inclusion in overall CNS/ATM roadmap
• Safe airspace integration, framework and policy for regulatory capacity building on UTM

8. Sustainability

• Foster U.S.-India government and industry cooperation in furtherance of national and international aviation sustainability and climate goals including implementation of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)
• Facilitate cooperation, joint development and certification of airplane technology