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US Once Again Requires That You Register Your Drone

posted by CoolHand on Wednesday December 13 2017, @11:10PM   
from the we-drone-on dept.

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for Fnord666

The US' brief period of registration-free drone flight is over -- President Trump has signed the National Defense Authorization Act for 2018, and it revives the registration requirement for civilian drones. Robotic fliers between 0.5lbs and 55lbs need to be submitted to a database if they're going to remain legal. A Washington, DC appeals court had struck down the FAA's original requirement in May, arguing that it didn't have the authority to regulate model aircraft, but that clearly wasn't a deterrent. The FAA had said said it would rethink its approach to the regulation after its earlier defeat.

Naturally, the FAA is slightly giddy. In a statement to TechCrunch, the agency welcomed the return of registration arguing that it helped "promote safe and responsible drone operation."

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/12/trump-signs-bill-requiring-drone-registration/

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Original Submission

• Hidden in a forest of amendments (Score: 3, Informative) by frojack on Thursday December 14 2017, @12:53AM

  by frojack (1554) on Thursday December 14 2017, @12:53AM (#609516) Journal

  SEC. 1092. COLLABORATION BETWEEN FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION AND
                                          DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ON UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS.

          (a) Collaboration.--
                          (1) In general.--The Administrator of the Federal
                  Aviation Administration and the Secretary of Defense
                  may collaborate on sense-and-avoid capabilities for
                  unmanned aircraft systems.
                        ....
          (b) Participation by FAA in DOD Activities.--
                          (1) In general.--The Administrator of the Federal
                  Aviation Administration may participate, and provide
                  assistance to the Secretary of Defense for activities
                  during the test and evaluation efforts of the
                  Department of Defense, including the Air Force,
                  ....
          (c) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``unmanned
  aircraft system'' and ``test range'' have the meaning given
  such terms in section 331 of the FAA Modernization and Reform
  Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-95; 49 U.S.C. 40101 note).
                    ----
          (d) Restoration of Rules for Registration and Marking of
  Unmanned Aircraft.--The rules adopted by the Administrator of
  the Federal Aviation Administration in the matter of
  registration and marking requirements for small unmanned
  aircraft (FAA-2015-7396; published on December 16, 2015) that
  were vacated by the United States Court of Appeals for the
  District of Columbia Circuit in Taylor v. Huerta (No. 15-1495;
  decided on May 19, 2017) shall be restored to effect on the
  date of enactment of this Act.

  So nothing new, simply officially reinstating the FAA rules for which they had no authority.
  Would it have killed them to get the authority in the first place? It seems to have been
  pretty easy to do it right.

  The "sense-and-avoid capabilities for unmanned aircraft systems" probably refers to closing
  sensitive airspace to drones, commercial or recreational by onboard closed area maps or
  other technologies. DOD and FAA are to work together on that.

  --
  No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Moderation		+1
  Informative=1, Total=1
  Extra 'Informative' Modifier		0
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		3