The US government is about to put a dog tag on your drone

Prepare to stick an ID to the outside of your drone – as of February 23, a new FAA rule will require all small unmanned aircraft to carry their registration marks visible on the outside of their bodies, so that law enforcement can easily find their owners.

In a preview document published at the Federal register (spotted by Bloomberg), the FAA stated that this measure responds to fears of terrorism, including "the risk that a concealed explosive device presents to first responders who must open a compartment to find the registration number of the small unmanned aircraft".

Currently, US law requires that you register certain categories of drones with the FAA and identify them with your identification number. Yes, even though drone registration has been challenged in court, Trump then signed it, but the FAA has always let you stick. this sticker hidden somewhere, as in the battery compartment of your drone. Not anymore.

Technically, the rule is currently just in preview at Federal register, will not be released until tomorrow and citizens will have a 30-day comment period to respond. But the FAA argues that the need is urgent enough for it to break the rule only 10 days after publication.

This is not the only news about drones previewed at Federal register today, by the way. Although the FAA is still on the verge of drastically easing its rules regarding the piloting of your drone at night and in front of crowds of people, the agency now says it will not do it as long as it does. She will not be able to find a system that allows her to remotely track and identify remote UAVs. a distance, something that the industry is also working on itself (here's what we learned about DJI's aeroscope), and it asks the public to comment on the type of performance and legal restrictions that It should impose drones before allowing them to do such things. .

For the night, when the FAA stated that there had never been an accident reported, the agency considers that the operators might simply need to undergo additional training and have a drone with visible light at three miles away. But to fly over the crowds, the FAA thinks that it could create three new categories of drones, those weighing less than 5 kg can freely fly over people, while heavier drones might require speed, a altitude, location and serious injury. threshold "so that they are safe enough to be used.