The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have announced their final rule over Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft on December 28th, 2020. The regular publication is scheduled for January 2021. It will become effective 60 days after that, offering specified provisions and stipulated timeframes for adherence. If you are a drone pilot in the US, this decision will affect you. The FAA is declaring these changes amid massive increases in drone sales and operation across the US, addressing the interest to counter security issues and ensure Unmanned Aircraft’s (UA) aviation safety within US territory. Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced (Source: DJI) Significant Differences between Proposition and FAA Final Rule Among the most critical noteworthy changes is that the FAA has decided to remove all transmission requirements other than (local) broadcast-only, specifically internet / network-based transmission, from the final rule. To me, this is a significant cut-back from the original intention. Broadcast-only requirements (such as via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth as mentioned particularly by the FAA) only have a minimal local range. This range is substantially limited compared to proposed internet-broadcast options for UA. The FAA offers registrations of FAA-Recognized Identification Areas (FRIA) that allow UA without Remote ID to fly in that specific geographic region under certain restrictions and limitations. The FAA will accept registrations immediately from 18 months after the rule becomes effective. Another significant change from the proposed rule is that educational institutions are now eligible for such FRIA applications aside from community-based organizations. There are, of course, several other changes...
Published By: CineD - Monday, 4 January, 2021