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All in Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Despite the government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has finally released two highly-anticipated rulemaking documents related to commercial unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations. Yesterday, the agency published a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (draft NPRM) on the Operation of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems over People and a draft advanced NPRM (draft ANPRM) on the Safe and Secure Operations of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
Drones featured prominently at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, as in previous years. While last year Intel dazzled attendees with a 250-drone light show above the Bellagio fountains using its Shooting Star drones, the drone-related events grabbing attention this year concern the applications and technologies that will bring commercial drones into the future.
Although we would rather be writing about the UK’s first drone delivery using 4G networks earlier this week – both groundbreaking and seasonal, as the Vodafone drone was dressed up as Santa’s sleigh – rogue drone operators elsewhere in the country have forced us to change course and think about the threats drones can pose to airports. Major news outlets are reporting that Gatwick Airport, the second-largest airport in the UK, was forced to close last night due to unidentified drones being spotted near the runway.
In this episode of Sara and Josh Talk About Drones, Sara Baxenberg and Josh Turner talk about drone torts, property rights, and the Uniform Law Commission. Tune in and learn why what happened this weekend in a basement in Detroit could have profound impacts on the future of flight.
This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Uber is planning to start deploying unmanned aircraft systems (UAS, commonly called drones) for delivery to consumers “as soon as next year and commercially operational in multiple markets by 2021.” There is speculation this initiative could be tied to UberEats, the company’s prepared food delivery business. As excited as we all are for flying burritos in 2019, this latest drone delivery news raises the question: what is taking so long for drone delivery to get off the ground?
On October 5, 2018, the President signed into law the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (the Act), which reauthorizes the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for a period of five years and includes numerous substantive provisions related to various segments of the aviation industry, including unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released the second edition of its “Integration of Civil Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS) Roadmap.” In addition to providing an update on the FAA’s progress to date, the partnerships and advisory committees it has forged, and identifying key challenges to UAS integration into the NAS, the roadmap details the FAA’s near-term rulemaking and research efforts.
The first headlines were as dramatic as the accompanying video—an apparent drone attack on Nicholas Maduro, President of Venezuela, as he delivered an address in Caracas. The video doesn’t show the drones, but captures Maduro’s wife looking up in alarm and startled soldiers scattering in fear.
