GAO Urges FAA and DHS to Increase Support and Develop Network-Based Solutions for Effective Drone Identification and Safety Compliance
By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill
In a report published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the agency said the FAA and the Department of Homeland Security would do more to ensure that the FAA's regulations requiring remote identification of drones achieve their goal of helping law enforcement respond to unsafe situations. He stated that action must be taken. paving the way for drone operations, and drone traffic, to be fully integrated into U.S. airspace.
The FAA has “limited resources available to assist tribal, state, and local law enforcement” in quickly identifying drone operators flying using Remote ID technology, according to a report compiled by GAO after about a year of study. This turns out. Insecure way.
Additionally, despite the FAA's promise that Remote ID technology would help usher in an era of advanced air operations, “commercial drone stakeholders say broadcast-based signals are not sufficient to provide real-time network data on drone location and status,” GAO said. “As needed for advanced operations.”
The FAA's Remote ID regulations, which provide drones with “digital license plates,” require all UAVs weighing more than 250 grams to broadcast identification and location information during flight. Operators can fly drones with Remote ID software already installed, or attach a separate Remote ID module to the drone.
The FAA initially set a deadline of last September for the rule to fully take effect, but the agency extended the rule's discretionary enforcement period until March 16, 2024, to give manufacturers and operators more time to come into compliance. Granted.
Remote ID is not useful for local law enforcement.
The Remote ID regulations are designed in part to provide non-federal law enforcement agencies with real-time identification, location and performance data on drones flying in illegal or dangerous manners. But according to the report, “Tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies contacted by GAO had little knowledge of Remote ID or how it could be used in investigations.”
Currently, access to the FAA's drone database containing Remote ID registration information is extremely limited. For example, at the federal level, access is provided to agents of the FBI and FAA's Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP), whose role is to assist federal, tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies on aviation-related public safety issues.
However, providing that information to local law enforcement on the ground so they can take action in a real-world situation, such as a drone flying in an unsafe manner over a crowded football stadium, is nearly impossible with current systems. .
“FAA officials said LEAP agents are law enforcement’s primary point of contact,” according to the report. “As of January 2024, there are 25 LEAP agents nationwide whose responsibilities include supporting and coordinating investigations into drug interdiction or air smuggling.”
The FAA told GAO that LEAP agents typically take 48 hours to respond to requests for drone registration data from local law enforcement.
The GAO report states, “The FAA is developing an interface to provide Remote ID’s drone registration information to law enforcement, but has no plans or timeline for making it public.” Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is developing an application that would allow law enforcement to connect to the FAA's interface, but “DHS likewise has no plans or timeline for that effort.”
Commercial drone operators complain about the limitations of remote ID.
In preparing the final Remote ID rule, the FAA heard from drone industry officials who advocated for the creation of network-based systems that rely on cellular network signals “as a foundational building block for enabling more advanced operations.” However, the FAA limited the final Remote ID rule to broadcast-based systems that use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to transmit data, citing cybersecurity concerns associated with network-based systems.
Drone industry stakeholders complained to GAO that limiting Remote ID to broadcast systems creates limitations, including limited broadcast signal range compared to more robust network-based systems. The FAA said it will rely on the drone industry “to continue to develop network-based technologies that can integrate advanced drone operations.”
However, industry officials have been reluctant to integrate both types of remote ID systems into drones, citing issues such as increased weight and signal interference.
The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, signed by President Biden last month, addresses this issue by requiring the FAA “to determine whether alternative means of compliance, such as network-based remote ID, meet the intent of the Remote ID final rule.” ” the report says.
The report makes four recommendations, three to the FAA and one to DHS, to address shortcomings found in the implementation of the Remote ID Rule. It states that FAA administrators must:
- Develop resources to help tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies use remote ID.
- Works with DHS and DHS to develop plans and schedules for FAA interface deployment. [the Department of Justice].
- Identify a path forward for how to provide real-time network data on the location and status of drones. This may include identifying and evaluating short- and long-term options and clarifying roles and responsibilities.
GAO also recommended that the Secretary of Homeland Security should work with the FAA and DOJ to develop a plan and timeline for deploying remote ID apps.
In a letter to GAO about the report, Philip A. McNamara, Assistant Secretary for Administration at the Department of Transportation, said his department agreed with three recommendations related to the FAA. DHS officials sent a response agreeing to a single recommendation relevant to their department.
The FAA and DHS will have 180 days to detail the steps they will take to respond to GAO's recommendations, said Heather Krause, director of GAO's physical infrastructure team.
“We continue to follow up on all recommendations to understand when they will be addressed,” Krause said. GAO will continue to check both agencies annually to ensure they are following the report's recommendations, she said.
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Jim Magill is a Houston-based writer with nearly 25 years of experience covering technological and economic developments in the oil and gas industry. After retiring as a senior editor at S&P Global Platts in December 2019, Jim began writing about emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and drones, and how they contribute to our society. In addition to DroneLife, Jim is a contributor to Forbes.com and his work has appeared in the Houston Chronicle, U.S. News & World Report, and Unmanned Systems, a publication of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.