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Aviation regulators want virtually all drones to be remotely identified and tracked in U.S. airspace within three years, under proposed rules that aim to balance law-enforcement and safety concerns with industry interest in an array of commercial uses.
Rules proposed Thursday by the Federal Aviation Administration would link drone registration to uniform tracking requirements, aiming to create a seamless network able to verify the identity of drone operators and digitally follow their vehicles from takeoff to landing.
The network would help to prevent midair collisions in the short term, and would eventually feed data into traditional air-traffic control facilities and automated traffic-control systems, according to the FAA.
The rules would cover virtually all commercial and hobby drones except the smallest models, weighing under half a pound and flown only for recreational uses, which already are exempt from the FAA’s existing limited requirements for drones.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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