Earlier this week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed rules on drones (unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

For example, the proposed rule would require that an operator maintain visual line of sight of a small UAS. Or, whether the rules should allow operations beyond line of sight, and if so, what the appropriate limits should be. Though, the FAA does not say, at this stage, what measures will be taken to enforce the new rules.

An individual actually flying a small UAS would be labeled an “operator.” An operator would have to be at least 17 years old, pass an aeronautical knowledge test, and then obtain an FAA UAS operator certificate. But, a small UAS operator would not require any further private pilot certifications.

The new rules also suggests operating limitations designed to reduce risks to other aircraft and people and property on the ground:

While the list of the proposed rules sounds reasonable, how would the Agency manage to enforce them of hundreds of thousands different size drones?

For example, “a small UAS operator must always see and avoid manned aircraft. If there is a risk of collision, the UAS operator must be the first to maneuver away.”Or, the operator must discontinue the flight when continuing would pose a hazard to other aircraft, people or property.” – That’s calling for a lot of good will and personal responsibility, doesn’t it?

More: A small UAS operator must assess weather conditions, airspace restrictions, and the location of people to lessen risks if he or she loses control of the UAS.. He/she may not fly over people, except those directly involved with the flight.; – Flights should be limited to 500 feet altitude and no faster than 100 mph. – Operators must stay out of airport flight paths and restricted airspace areas, and obey any FAA Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs), A regulation Senator Schumer has been advocating for. .

Finally, the proposed rule keeps the existing prohibition against operating in a careless or reckless manner. It also would bar an operator from permitting any object to be dropped from the UAS.

However, there are no limitation on what the drones can and cannot carry. How about carrying payloads such jamming devise that can parallelize the areas in which they fly? What about carrying messages across the borders? Drugs?vaporized bacteria? There are unlimited opportunities for harm, which this proposal overlooks. It would be interesting to whether these issues will be addressed tin the proposals next round.

More about Drones in the U.S. National Airspace System: A Safety and Security Assessment, by Major Stephen Maddox & Captain David Stuckenberg.* Here are excerpts from the forthcoming HARVARD LAW NATIONAL SECURITY JOURNAL:

Introduction

Since 9/11, our government has made extensive investments to safeguard citizens, cherished monuments, critical infrastructure and key government installations. Unfortunately, many safeguards are easily bypassed by overflight. On January 26th of this year, a small drone bypassed the fences and radar protecting the White House and crashed unceremoniously onto the south lawn.[i] Back in 2012, Congressman MichaelMcCaul stated: “Now is the time to ensure these vulnerabilities are mitigated to protect our aviation system as the use of UAS (unmanned aircraft systems or “drones”) continues to grow.”[ii] Despite his warning, three primary problems exist for UAS as they enter our national airspace: (1) inadequate safety systems, (2) inadequate statutes, and (3) incomplete threat analyses.

Background

The National Airspace System (NAS) is a highly integrated and complex network designed to provide safe and reliable air transportation throughout the United States with an average of 50,000 [manned] flights a day.[iii] In a single month of 2014, domestic airlines transported more than 66.4 million passengers, or one fifth of the U.S. population.[iv] The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimates that air traffic will increase one percent per year for the next 21 years.[v]

In spite of this modest growth projection, Congress passed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (henceforth the Reform Act) to “improve aviation safety and capacity.”[vi] While such reforms are laudable, nested within the Reform Act’s 300 pages is a small statutory order that raises major concerns. The Act stipulates that the Secretary of Transportation “shall develop a comprehensive plan to safely accelerate the integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace system”[vii] by September 30, 2015.[viii]

Drone integration is problematic because of regulatory impediments on their operations and the resultant political climate. All drone operations in the NAS are restricted to below 400 feet above ground level or Special Use Airspaces (SUAs) for government testing and training. Access to airspace and flight corridors outside SUAs is only granted through a special FAA permit known as a Certificate of Authorization or Waiver (COA).[ix] These operational restrictions exist because of the hazards drones pose to manned aircraft and the public.

In 2010, the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), a leading robotics industry lobby, published a report[x], [xi] geared toward AUVSI’s legislative goal of increasing “airspace access . . . to ensure that obstacles to advancing and fielding unmanned systems and robotics are removed.”[xii] The report argued that the U.S. economy would benefit enormously if drones had access to the NAS.

AUVSI also warned that a failure to integrate UAS would impede military readiness by limiting the Department of Defense’s ability to stay at the forefront of new technology, and negatively impact jobs and the aviation industry.[xiii] Unfortunately, by creating a requirement for drone integration, Congress failed to examine many of the latent safety and security issues surrounding domestic use of UAS.

* Department of Defense disclaimer: “The opinions and views expressed in this paper are those of the authors alone and do not represent the views of the DoD, USAF, or U.S. Government.“