With recent advances in autonomous flight, electric propulsion, distributed propulsion systems, and unmanned technologies, future air systems such as Advanced Air Vehicles (AAVs), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft are rapidly emerging. However, existing airworthiness certification standards have been primarily developed for manned fixed-wing aircraft and therefore exhibit structural limitations when applied to these new classes of air systems. Conventional airworthiness criteria are largely based on pilot-centered operational assumptions, hardware-oriented safety verification, and test- and documentation-driven certification processes. As a result, their application to future air systems— characterized by autonomous flight software, electric and distributed propulsion, and hybrid civil–military operational concepts—may lead to excessive certification scope, inefficient verification processes, and extended certification timelines. This study analyzes the key technological characteristics of future air systems and systematically identifies the limitations of existing airworthiness standards from the perspectives of propulsion systems, flight control, software safety, and operational concepts. Based on this analysis, the study highlights the necessity of adopting performance-based and risk-based certification approaches and discusses preliminary directions for improving airworthiness frameworks suitable for future air systems.

• 최정호(경남대학교) | Jeongho Choi Corresponding author