Inside Unmanned Systems Sept 6, 2023
LAS VEGAS—The pending deadline for many drone operators to have Remote ID systems on their vehicles will be slipped, a top FAA safety official said at the kickoff of the Commercial UAV Expo here.
“You’re going to get relief, it’s just a matter of what that relief looks like,” said David Boulter, the associate administrator for aviation safety.
The announcement will come soon, before the previous Sept. 16 deadline, which many in the industry said would be impossible for them to meet. Remote ID is intended to allow government or law enforcement to be able to tell who owns and operators a drone, but for many that means a hardware upgrade.
Boulter acknowledged the push for Remote ID has run into supply chain problems, especially as the FAA had recently required traditional aviation pilots to update their radar altimeters.
“This is a supply chain issue,” he said. “There are only so many chips in the world.”
The news should come in the next few days, he said. “There will be relief, and it will be before the 16th. It’s somewhere in the gauntlet,” and will involve other government agencies beyond the FAA.
Lisa Ellman, the executive director of the Commercial Drone Alliance, and the moderator of the first day keynote, said industry supports the concept but there is “a lot of confusion about how it’s going to be implemented.”
The FAA had previously indicated it might not pursue any enforcement action of the deadline until Dec. 16 at the earliest, and it’s unclear if that will slip as well.
Boulter had previously been the acting associate administrator for aviation safety, but in late August the FAA named him to the permanent post.