FAA
Every UASFeed story on FAA — across defense, counter-UAS, industry, commercial, policy, and tech, newest first.
-
Counter-UAS
Geofencing and No-Fly Zones Explained: How Drone Airspace Controls Actually Work
On January 13, 2025, DJI stopped blocking its drones from flying into restricted airspace—ending a decade of hard firmware locks. Here is what replaced them: the FAA airspace stack, Remote ID enforcement, and where every layer of the system breaks down.
-
Industry & Contracts
Wing Aviation, Explained: From Google X Moonshot to 40 Million American Customers
Wing Aviation — Alphabet's drone delivery spinout — holds the first FAA Part 135 air carrier certificate ever issued to a drone company, operates across three continents, and is on course to reach more than 40 million Americans through Walmart by 2027.
-
Industry & Contracts
Zipline: How a Drone Startup Became the World's Largest Autonomous Delivery Network
Founded in 2014 to route blood and vaccines around failed road infrastructure in Rwanda, Zipline has logged 100 million autonomous miles, serves 4,000-plus health facilities across seven countries, and is now deploying its second-generation tethered-Droid delivery system in American suburbs.
-
Policy & Regulation
The Sound Standard Drone Delivery Doesn't Have Yet
Drone noise sits in household-appliance decibel territory but is measurably 4–10 dB more annoying than jet aircraft at equal sound pressure. A patchwork of bespoke FAA rulings and an unfulfilled congressional mandate have left communities in Texas and Australia with no effective regulatory recourse.
-
Policy & Regulation
From ISM Bands to Part 88: How U.S. Drone Spectrum Regulation Works
Most commercial drones fly on unlicensed ISM spectrum shared with Wi-Fi and baby monitors — a structural problem for BVLOS operations that require aviation-grade, interference-protected command links. Here is how a 2012 ITU allocation became Part 88, and what remains unresolved.
-
Policy & Regulation
Europe’s U-Space Framework: What the Three 2021 Regulations Actually Require
The EU’s U-space package — three implementing regulations adopted April 2021 and applicable since January 2023 — makes digital airspace services a legal prerequisite for drone operations in designated zones. Here is how the certification regime, four mandatory services, and risk methodology actually work.
-
Policy & Regulation
The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024: What It Mandates for Drones
Public Law 118-63, signed May 16, 2024, mandates a BVLOS rule, rethinks Remote ID, and funds a five-year runway for aerial autonomy. Here is what every operator and developer needs to know.
-
Policy & Regulation
The FAA's Four-Category Rules for Flying Over People, Explained
The FAA's Operations Over People rule, effective April 21, 2021 (as corrected), replaced a blanket waiver requirement with a four-category framework that stratifies access by kinetic energy risk. Here is how the categories work, what Remote ID unlocks — and what it doesn't.
-
Policy & Regulation
Part 107 Night Ops: How the 2021 Reform Ended Five Years of Waiver Bureaucracy
The FAA’s April 2021 rule change ended the requirement that commercial drone pilots obtain individual waivers to fly at night, replacing it with two standardized conditions: updated training and a compliant anti-collision strobe visible for 3 statute miles.
-
Policy & Regulation
“If You Fly, We Can’t”: How Wildfire TFRs Work and What They Cost Violators
A single recreational drone over an active wildfire can ground an entire air tanker fleet for hours. The FAA’s TFR framework under 14 CFR §91.137, FDC NOTAMs, and civil penalties now reaching $75,000 per violation explain why federal enforcement has hardened.
-
Policy & Regulation
FAA Drone Registration Explained: Who Must Register, How, and Why the Rule Almost Died
Every drone over 250 grams flown outdoors in the U.S. requires FAA registration before takeoff. Here is how the two-track system works, the legal battle that briefly voided the rule, and how Remote ID extends registration into the air.
-
Commercial & Delivery
Aerial Triage: How Drones Became Essential to Disaster Response—and Where the Gaps Remain
From mapping Turkey earthquake rubble in 17 seconds to delivering supplies in post-cyclone Vanuatu, drones have proven themselves in disaster response. The harder problems—coordination, authorization timing, data handoffs, and privacy—remain partly unsolved.
