By Bradley R. Gardner

As the number of unmanned aircraft operating in the skies continues to increase, it has become critical that authorities be capable of identifying the owner or operator of a UAS vehicle that is being operated in an unsafe or illegal manner. Unlike traditional aircraft, there are currently no rules or even guidance for requiring UAS vehicles to electronically broadcast identifying information. In order to come up with a solution, in late June the Federal Aviation Administration created an Aviation Rulemaking Committee tasked with: Identifying and recommending technologies for remote identification and tracking of UAS vehicles, identifying requirements for meeting the security and public safety needs of government agencies, including law enforcement, for remotely identifying and tracking UAS vehicles, and evaluating the feasibility and affordability of the potential solutions, and determining how well those potential solutions address the needs of the relevant government agencies. Committee members include representatives from more than 70 stakeholders, including manufacturers, UAS operators, law enforcement agencies, and research groups. A full list of the Committee members can be found on the FAA's website.