Policy & Regulation
Drone policy and regulation news from UASFeed — FAA rulemaking, BVLOS, Part 108, the DJI debate, export controls, and the rules shaping the uncrewed sky.
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Policy & Regulation
Charlotte Drone Pilot's Guilty Plea Shows How Far a 2018 Runway Law Reaches
A Charlotte videographer's seven-minute drone flight from a public overlook between two live runways ended in a federal guilty plea, showing how a 2018 exclusion-zone statute criminalizes proximity alone — no near-miss required.
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Policy & Regulation
CIA Warns Europe of Russian Plot to Launch Drones From Mediterranean Vessels
The CIA reportedly told Spain, France and Italy that Russia may be plotting to launch Gerbera attack drones from commercial ships in the Mediterranean, a claim Macron rejects even as drone incursions spike across NATO's flanks.
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Policy & Regulation
Civil Liberties Groups Urge D.C. Circuit to Vacate FAA's Rescinded Drone-Journalism Restriction
EFF, the ACLU and photojournalism groups tell the D.C. Circuit that the FAA's withdrawn drone flight ban near DHS operations still needs to be formally vacated, arguing the agency could reimpose the restriction that critics say criminalized filming ICE and CBP.
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Policy & Regulation
Cleveland's Police Drone Rules Ban What Ohio's New Statewide Drone Law Still Allows
Ohio's HB 251 sets the state's first statewide warrant rules for police drones, but Cleveland's own policy already bans facial recognition, weapons, and demonstration surveillance that the new state law leaves untouched.
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Policy & Regulation
US Sentencing Commission Adopts New Enhancement for Crimes Committed With Drones
The U.S. Sentencing Commission has adopted a guideline adding 4 to 6 offense levels for federal crimes committed using a drone, effective March 15, 2027.
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Policy & Regulation
FCC Clears DOT to Test Commercial Cell Networks on Drones and Small Aircraft Nationwide Through 2029
An FCC waiver lets DOT's MNAAP program measure commercial wireless coverage aloft using up to 2,000 GA pilots and 200 UAS at a time through Oct. 1, 2029, with results that could shape UAS spectrum rules.
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Policy & Regulation
Athens Locks Down Southeastern Aegean Airspace to Drones Through October Amid Turkish Incursions
Greece's aviation authority has grounded all daytime drone flights over Karpathos, Kasos and nearby islets through October 31, citing Turkish UAV activity that officials say is probing Greek air-defense response times.
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Policy & Regulation
Part 108's Clock Is Ticking: FAA's BVLOS Rule Hits Its 90-Day OIRA Deadline October 8
The FAA's long-awaited Part 108 drone rule has sat at White House regulatory review since July 10, with the standard 90-day window closing October 8 — while DoorDash, Zipline, Amazon and Joby all build ahead of a final text nobody has seen.
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Policy & Regulation
Vatn Systems Moves to Expand Undersea Drone Deployment in the Taiwan Strait
US startup Vatn Systems is pushing to expand fielding of its S12 autonomous underwater vehicle in the Taiwan Strait, building on an August MOU with Taiwan's NCSIST to jointly develop AI-enabled command systems and field AUVs locally.
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Policy & Regulation
$75,000-a-Violation No-Drone Zone Locks Down Dallas for the RNC Midterm Convention
Five federal agencies warned Dallas drone operators on Sept. 8 that flying inside the RNC Midterm Convention's 3-mile, 400-foot TFR risks $75,000 civil fines, criminal prosecution, and interception by Secret Service counter-drone aircraft.
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Policy & Regulation
Germany Pivots From Blame to Defense: Nine-City Drone Units, a Law Letting Utilities Fight Back, and Russia's Diplomatic Payback
Five weeks after the Leipzig airport drone-bomb attempt, Germany rolled out counter-drone units in nine cities and a law letting utilities actively repel drones, while Russia expelled German diplomats and shut the St. Petersburg consulate.
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Policy & Regulation
FCC's 'Military-Grade' Drone Ban Draws 98.6% Opposition in Public Comments
A Pilot Institute analysis of the FCC's closed comment docket found 3,770 of 3,824 readable filings (98.6%) opposed its plan to ban foreign 'military-grade' drones, with 99.4% calling the proposed thermal/LiDAR/dock/spray/55-lb categories overbroad.
