Part Of The Defense Authorization Bill Signed By President Trump Tuesday

President Donald Trump has signed the Defense Authorization Bill that includes a reinstatement of the FAA's drone registry that was invalidated by a federal judge in May.

TechCrunch reports that the language was included in the $700 billion National Defense Authorization Act.

The FAA released a statement to Techcrunch supportive of the language in the bill. "We welcome the reinstatement of registration rules for all small unmanned aircraft," the FAA said. "Ownership identification helps promote safe and responsible drone operation and is a key component to full integration."

The D.C. Court of Appeals had ruled that the FAA did not have the authority to regulate model aircraft. When it was first instated, the agency said that it had put the registration and operational regulations in place "to ensure that drones are operated in a way that is safe and does not pose security and privacy threats. We are in the process of considering our options and response to the decision.”

Under the new rules, drones weighing between .055 and 55 pounds are again required to be registered with the federal government.

(Image from file)

FMI: Original Report, FAA Drone Guidelines