The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently announced airspace regulations concerning unauthorized drone use over military facilities. Over 133 military locations were listed, specifically detailed in a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) – UAS NOTAM FDC 7/7137.
Thankfully, an interactive map of these restricted areas can be found here.
The FAA has the authority to establish these drone constraints based on the existing Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) Section 99.7 – Special Security Instructions.
“Each person operating an aircraft in an ADIZ or Defense Area must, in addition to the applicable rules of this part, comply with special security instructions issued by the Administrator in the interest of national security, pursuant to agreement between the FAA and the Department of Defense, or between the FAA and a U.S. Federal security or intelligence agency,” according to Title 14, Section 99.7.
Since military bases and facilities in the United States are an integral component of our national security, these locations are considered “sensitive.” To maintain safety, The Department of Defense (DoD) and FAA established a “No Drone Zone” up to 400 feet within the boundaries of a sensitive location, however a very short list of exceptions will allow drone access within these military facilities.
The aforementioned restrictions will remain in effect starting April 14, 2017.
In order to ensure your drone flights remain fun and (most importantly) lawful, please read the full outline of restrictions available on the FAA’s UAS website.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
