FAA Orders Drones to Display Registration Numbers

No, it’s not a hoax.  Today the FAA announced, via the Federal Register, that drone operators will be required to display the drone registration number on the exterior of the aircraft beginning February 23, 2019.

The FAA advises in the release that it is |taking this action to address concerns expressed by the law enforcement community and the FAA’s
interagency security partners regarding the risk a concealed explosive device poses to first responders who must open a compartment to find the small unmanned aircraft’s registration number.”

To date we are unaware of any reports, anywhere in the USA, of bombs being disguised as drones that would justify hundreds of thousands of drone owners to display markings on their drones.

In a related story, Bloomberg is reporting that the FAA is also developing new rules that would require drones to broadcast an electronic signal, similar to aircraft, that provides identifying information about the registrant and their location.

You can read the full FAA order here, and sign up for future FAA updates here.

Until now there has been a back-and-forth of US drone regulations that wobbled between mandatory registration, then no registration, and now we are back to registration again as Congress and the FAA squabbled over who has regulatory domain.

More specific details on exactly how the FAA expects the number to be displayed will follow with the final implemenation of the new rule.

What do you think? Is this administrative overkill or justified security for first responders?  Let us know in the comments.