Washington, DC, Dec. 27, 2019 – The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) today commended the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) mandating remote identification for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones.
The 319-page NPRM, issued Dec. 26 by the agency, proposes to require remote identification capabilities that would allow a drone’s identity and location to be received by people on the ground and in the air, helping to further the safe integration of the devices into the nation’s airspace system.
Specifically, the proposal would:
- Create definitions for “unmanned aircraft system,” “unmanned aircraft system service supplier” and “visual line of sight”
- Adjust aircraft-registration requirements contained in Parts 47 and 48 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR)
- Create a new FAR Part 89, “remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems”
- Amend transponder and ADS-B requirements in FAR Parts 91 and 107
“The remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems in the airspace of the United States would address safety, national security and law enforcement concerns regarding the further integration of these aircraft into the airspace of the United States while also enabling greater operational capabilities,” according to the FAA.
“NBAA has long maintained that UAS offer great promise for a variety of applications, including for companies relying on aviation in the conduct of their business,” noted NBAA Vice President, Regulatory and International Affairs Doug Carr. “This notice from the FAA is a foundational document for moving forward with integrating not just UAS, but other emerging technologies, in a way that addresses our industry’s collective safety, security and other objectives. We thank the FAA for issuing this important proposal, and we look forward to working with the FAA and other stakeholders to secure its adoption.”
For more than a decade, NBAA has represented the business aviation community as a participant in various government-industry working groups focused on UAS policy formulation. The association intends to submit comments regarding the NPRM during the 60-day window for industry feedback, once it is officially published in the Federal Register on Dec. 31.
