February 27, 2012

Drones May Come to Neighborhood Near You

Plans for allowing US military drones to invade our airspace have been finalized. Congress passed legislation and President Obama signed the law that allows the FAA to govern the skies. Within 90 days police, firefighters and other first response agencies will begin flying UAVs weighing less than 4.4 pounds with certain restrictions. By May 2013, drones weighing less than 55 pounds will be allowed and full integration will occur by Sept. 2015.

At that time rules will be set as to where they can fly and a bandwidth for UAV radio communications will be set. Gretchen West, Executive VP for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International trade group promises that they will be used for "law enforcement, to monitor traffic, for search and rescue and to track suspects," not widespread surveillance.

Via MSNBC