U.S. Drone Ban Plan Meets Overwhelming Public Opposition – stdaily.com

U.S. Drone Ban Plan Meets Overwhelming Public Opposition  stdaily.com

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on July 21 proposed prohibiting the import and marketing of foreign-made The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on July 21 proposed prohibiting the import and marketing of foreign-made "military-grade" drones, citing "unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States" and opened the proposal to public comment. The comment period closed on September 2. Recently, U.S. drone industry news outlet DroneXL, citing data compiled by the prominent U.S. drone training organization Pilot Institute, reported that the FCC received 3,829 comments, of which 3,824 contained readable text. Over 98 percent of them opposed the proposal, while only 16 supported it — comprising a trade group, two venture investors, a think tank and a handful of domestic manufacturers that compete with the aircraft targeted.

The overwhelming opposition stems from the fact that the FCC's proposal effectively labels ordinary civilian drones as "military-grade" and imposes sweeping import restrictions under the broad banner of national security. Under the FCC's proposed definition, drones equipped with thermal imaging sensors or LiDAR, "docking stations", agricultural spraying equipment, or swarming capabilities would fall into the "military-grade" category. This is clearly absurd because many civilian drones already have these features and capabilities. LiDAR, for example, has become a standard feature on drones equipped with obstacle-avoidance systems, while thermal imaging is indispensable for