Trump Signs Two Drone-Related Executive Orders

Today, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders that pertain to drone use in the United States. One is meant to address the possibility of drone threats while the other is meant to “accelerate the safe commercialization of drone technologies and fully integrate UAS into the National Airspace System.”

The two orders come in the wake of Ukraine’s successful drone attacks against Russia and with both the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup coming to the United States next year.

“With large-scale public events such as the Olympics and the World Cup on the horizon, taking action on airspace security has never been timelier,” Michael Kratsios, the head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said as NPR reports.

The “Restoring American Airspace Sovereignty” executive order is multi-tiered and is designed to address the possible threat of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in US airspace. It establishes a Federal Task Force to develop and propose solutions to the possibility of drone threats and tasks the FAA with better restricting drone flights critical infrastructure and large events.

It also calls on the US Attorney General, in coordination with the Administrator of the FAA, to ensure enforcement of civil and criminal laws when a drone operator endangers the public, violates any airspace restrictions, or operates a drone while committing other crimes. With DJI removing geofencing, the move to better enforce airspace laws does make sense, especially with major global sporting events coming to the US soon.

The “Unleashing American Drone Dominance” order is meant to increase the use of drones and expand their development in the United States. Specifically, it calls to “accelerate the safe commercialization of drone technologies” through a variety of channels including streamlining regulation and creating programs that foster the development of relevant technologies. It specifically mentions encouraging the development of much larger electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs, which are sometimes called air taxis.

DJI, the largest drone manufacturer in the world, says it is a proponent of these two executive orders.

“DJI has long advocated for the advancement and growth of the U.S. drone ecosystem. We applaud the administration’s action to boost industry innovation, particularly by expanding routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations for UAS for commercial and public safety purposes and streamlining approval and certification processes, as well as broadening the adoption of Remote ID detection technologies and empowering authorities to protect the public from inappropriate drone use,” a DJI spokesperson tells PetaPixel.

“DJI also welcomes and embraces opportunities to demonstrate our privacy controls and security features. We stand ready to cooperate with any rulemaking processes or investigations. Our position in the industry reflects early innovation and sustained investment in R&D, safety, and security. Our drones feature robust security protocols, are subject to independent audits, and offer industry-leading data privacy controls. As such, DJI believes our products can stand up to any scrutiny,” they continue.”

“DJI has always supported technically grounded minimum security requirements across all UAS manufacturers, regardless of their country of origin. For example, DJI operators have protections that we believe should be industry standards. DJI users can choose not to share data, operate fully offline, deploy on their own private networks, and/or use trusted U.S. or European software alternatives to DJI’s own, giving them added control over their data and operations.

“We look forward to engaging with the appropriate government authorities to ensure that any decisions are made based on the quality and safety of our products.”

Image credits: DJI