The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking feedback from industry on requests by four companies to fly unmanned aerial vehicles beyond visual line-of-sight.
Aerial data acquisition services provider Phoenix Air Unmanned, UAS technology developer uAvionix and autonomous delivery companies UPS Flight Forward and Zipline have sought permission to conduct BVLOS drone operations at or below 400 feet, the FAA said Tuesday.
The agency grants BVLOS waivers to public organizations looking to fly drones beyond a remote pilot’s normal visual range.
Members of the public have 20 days to submit comments on the proposed waivers.
The FAA will use the gathered information to inform its ongoing policy and rulemaking activities.
Related Articles
Pete Hegseth, secretary of the Department of Defense and a 2025 Wash100 awardee, has issued a memorandum directing the secretary of the Army to establish the Joint Interagency Task Force 401, or JIATF 401, to accelerate the delivery of counter-small unmanned aircraft systems, or C-sUAS, to U.S. warfighters. DOD said Thursday JIATF 401 will report directly to the deputy secretary of defense and replace the Joint C-sUAS Office, or JCO. “We’re moving fast — cutting through bureaucracy, consolidating resources, and empowering this task force with the utmost authority to outpace our adversaries,” Hegseth said. Responsibilities of JIATF 401 & New
The Department of the Army has released its revised document on acquisition procedures. According to the department’s PAM 70-3 document posted Wednesday on the Army Publishing Directorate’s website, the major revision incorporates the Adaptive Acquisition Framework; replaces virtual in sight with the Acquisition Information Repository; eliminates a requirement to assess probability of success; and accounts for Army organizational changes implemented for U.S. Army Futures Command’s formation. The revised Army pamphlet also incorporates guidance from an Army directive, titled Enabling Modernization Through the Management of Intellectual Property, and adds semiannual program reporting requirements. Adaptive Acquisition Framework According to the pamphlet, the
The Government Accountability Office is urging the Department of the Treasury’s Chief Information Officer Sam Corcos to address 21 open recommendations related to improving IT management and strengthening federal cybersecurity. Key Recommendations for Treasury Department’s CIO In a new report, the congressional watchdog said the recommendations are related to areas that GAO has designated as high risk: ensuring the cybersecurity of the nation and improving IT acquisitions and management. One of the cybersecurity-related recommendations provided by GAO calls for the department to commit to a timeframe for the implementation of multifactor authentication across software-as-a-service. The report also pointed out that