Joint Plenary Meeting of ISO/TC 20/SC 16 and SC 17 in Tokyo
In November 2025, a joint plenary meeting of ISO/TC 20/SC 16 and SC 17 was hosted in Tokyo.
This is an important international meeting for discussing global standardization in the fields of uncrewed aircraft systems and airport infrastructure.
Japan served as the host country and was responsible for organizing and operating the meeting, which was held in a hybrid format combining in-person and online participation.
Over the five-day period, approximately 560 participants in total (around 120 participants per day) attended the meeting onsite, and participants from more than 10 countries joined both onsite and online, including experts, regulatory authorities, and industry representatives.
During the meeting week, a reception and an AIST facility tour were also organized to promote networking among participants and to showcase Japan’s research and industrial capabilities.
Meeting Overview
- Meetings：ISO/TC 20/SC 16（Uncrewed Aircraft System), 20th Plenary Meeting & ISO/TC 20/SC17 （Airport infrastructure), 1st Plenary Meeting
- Dates: November 17 (Mon) – November 21 (Fri), 2025
- Venue: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Waterfront Center, Tokyo, Japan
- Format: Hybrid (in-person and online)
- Hosts: Japan UAS Industrial Development Association (JUIDA) (SC 16) / Blue Innovation Co., Ltd. (SC 17)
- Co-hosts: Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies (SJAC) / Japan Industrial Uncrewed Aircraft Association (JUAV) / Japan UAS Traffic Management Consortium (JUTM)
- Sponsors:Fukushima Robot Test Field（RTF) / Electronic Navigation Research Institute (ENRI) / Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) / National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) / Japan Drone Consortium
- Participants:
Approximately 120 onsite participants per day (about 560 in total), plus online participants
Countries represented included Japan, the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, the Republic of Korea, India, Thailand, Russia, and others.
Participants consisted of international experts, regulatory authorities, and industry stakeholders.
Key Topics at the Plenary Meetings
At the plenary meetings, the following key topics were discussed:
- Activity reports and country presentations from participating countries
- Progress reports from each Working Group (WG) and Advisory Group (AG)
- New Work Item Proposals (NWIP) and the status of revisions to existing standards
- Emerging standardization topics such as Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), Counter-UAS, and UTM
In particular, active discussions were held on the future direction of international standardization in areas including UAS operations, training, testing and evaluation, and AAM.
Working Group Meetings
In addition to the plenary sessions, several Working Group meetings were held during the week.
Steady progress was confirmed on ISO 23665 (Training for personnel involved in UAS operations) and on standards related to uncrewed aircraft simulators, both of which were proposed by Japan and are being led by JUIDA.
Role of JUIDA and Future Outlook
At this Tokyo plenary meeting, JUIDA played a central role as the representative organization of the host country Japan, overseeing meeting operations and leading coordination and discussions with participating countries as the secretariat of the national committee.
JUIDA will continue to share the outcomes and decisions from the plenary meetings with Japan’s industry and related organizations, and to contribute to stakeholders through ongoing international standardization activities.
