The Administrator may make contracts to carry out this subsection without regard to section 3324(a) and (b) of title 31.

When a substantial question exists under paragraph (1) of this subsection about whether a matter is of primary concern to the armed forces, the Administrator shall decide whether the Administrator or the Secretary of the appropriate military department has responsibility. The Administrator shall be given technical information related to each research and development project of the armed forces that potentially applies to, or potentially conflicts with, the common system to ensure that potential application to the common system is considered properly and that potential conflicts with the system are eliminated.

to develop a better understanding of the relationship between human factors and aviation accidents and between human factors and air safety;

to enhance air traffic controller, mechanic, and flight crew performance;

to develop a human-factor analysis of the hazards associated with new technologies to be used by air traffic controllers, mechanics, and flight crews;

to identify innovative and effective corrective measures for human errors that adversely affect air safety;

to develop a better understanding of the relationship between human factors and unmanned aircraft system safety; and

to develop or procure dynamic simulation models and tools for integrating all classes of unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system without any degradation of existing levels of safety for all national airspace system users.

airspace and airport planning and design;

airport capacity enhancement techniques;

human performance in the air transportation environment;

aviation safety and security;

the supply of trained air transportation personnel, including pilots and mechanics; and

other aviation issues related to developing and maintaining a safe and efficient air transportation system.

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, the Administrator shall conduct research on methods and procedures to improve both confidence in and the timeliness of certification of new technologies for their introduction into the national airspace system.

Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, the Administrator shall develop a plan for the research under paragraph (1) that contains objectives, proposed tasks, milestones, and a 5-year budgetary profile.

The Administrator shall enter into an arrangement with the National Research Council to conduct an independent review of the plan developed under paragraph (2) and shall provide the results of that review to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012.