Clifford Sweatte, accomplished regulatory affairs and advanced aviation program executive, serves as senior policy advisor for Crown Consulting Inc. In this role, he assists Crown clients in developing policies and strategic programs that drive the development, launch and expansion of advanced air mobility (AAM) technologies, including unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS).
An accomplished regulatory affairs and advanced aviation program executive, Sweatte brings decades of aviation-related technical and management expertise from across the world. Before joining Crown, Sweatte served as senior policy advisor for Akin Gump LLP, leading development of policies and strategic programs for advanced aviation systems. He informed the strategies of Fortune 100 aircraft and auto original equipment manufacturers to expand their advanced aviation operations by developing policy and project frameworks that covered all facets of the AAM market, from aircraft design selection to type and operational certification.
He served as an aviation officer at the World Food Programme, where he led the integration of UAS technology with global humanitarian and international development operations, contributing to the World Food Programme’s receipt of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. He served as technical officer for RPAS for The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada, leading the development of a global, multi-sector framework for unmanned air traffic management (UTM).
Earlier, he managed multiple UAS programs at the Federal Aviation Administration, including novel projects for which no prior protocols existed. He led the drafting and signing of the world’s first international, multilateral agreement among eight Arctic countries for the cross-border use of UAS in international airspace for scientific and search and rescue missions. He also led the launch of the first commercial UAS operations in the United States in the Arctic and with BNSF Railways through the FAA’s Focus Area 3 Pathfinder Program. Across his roles, he established frameworks, policies, standards, requirements and partnerships that laid the foundation for the safe commercial and scientific operation of UAS in the United States and abroad.
Sweatte’s impact and leadership have earned him repeated recognition, including the NASA Group Achievement Award, FAA Headquarters Visionary Award and FAA Barrier Breaker Award. He invented and successfully sold six patents covering web-based, biometric, smart card security access technology used in airports. Prior to his career in program management, he served as airline captain. Prior to his career in program management, he served as an airline captain.
