The Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) issued already proposed rules for the remote identification(ID) of drones in the U.S. This step is to offer a license plate that allows us to identify the drones among the 1.5 million drones registered with the government of the United States.
As part of the 60 day comment period, the document proposing the rules is now available online on the Federal Register in draft form. This 60 day period is to get the feedback from the drone operators, general aviation safety geeks, and other enthusiasts.
In a statement, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said, “Drones are the fastest-growing section in the field of transportation in our nation, and it is crucial that they are injected safely into the national airspace.”
The rules are a step to address the ongoing safety concerns in high-risk areas like airports and stadiums, and also to get out in front of ever-crowding airspace. Between hobbyists and commercial interests like the United Parcel Service(UPS) and Amazon, it is not difficult to think of more issues while going forward.
As per the draft:
This is an important building block in the unmanned traffic management ecosystem. For example, the ability to identify and locate Unmanned Aerial System(UAS) operating in the United States’ airspace provides additional situational awareness to both manned and unmanned aircrafts. This will become more important as the number of UAS operations in all classes of airspace increases. Additionally, the ability to identify and locate UAS provides crucial information to law enforcement and other officials ensuring public safety.
DJI says it is “currently reviewing” the proposal. However, the drone giant notes that it implemented its own AeroScope remote ID technology two years ago, in a step to address pilots flying too close to problematic areas.
VP Brendan Schulman, in a release, said, “DJI has recommended for a Remote Identification system that would provide safety, security, and accountability for the officials.” He also said, “As we are reviewing the FAA’s proposal, we are directed by the principle that is recognized in 2017 by the FAA’s own Aviation Rulemaking Committee, that Remote Identification will not be successful if the costs and burdens to drone operators are not reduced.”
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