FAA

The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has released new regulations streamlining the path to supersonic flight testing over US soil, giving a new generation of super-fast aircraft a chance to prove their "boomless cruise" capabilities over land.

America's Federal Aviation Authority has put forth a set of proposed amendments to current drone laws that would allow drone users to fly over crowds and at night under certain circumstances, without needing to file paperwork and obtain exemptions.

Public safety is central to Amazon's drone delivery plans, and a new patent shows the company is thinking outside the square in this regard. It is considering drones that can break apart in midair, to spread the loads of metal and plastic raining down if something goes wrong.​​

Hundreds of thousands of hobbyists have now registered their devices with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). As it turns out, however, they drone registry wasn't well, entirely legal, with an appeals court striking down the rule and leaving the registry dead in the water. ​

A study issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has sought to bring some figures into the discussion around the dangers of drones, finding, among other things, the chances of a head injury from a falling drone to be 0.03 percent.

It's not drone technology that's stopping you from being able to get a burger or a book flown into your back yard by drone – it's aviation law. But this extraordinary piece of technology might just give UAVs the sense-and-avoid ability they need to satisfy the FAA and open up the skies.

New drone rules have cleared the way for photographers, surveyors and realtors to take flight, but unfortunately for Amazon and a number of other players, still leave the notion of drone deliveries off somewhere in the distance.

​Virgin Galactic comes a step closer to heading back into space as the FAA awards the company an operating license for SpaceShipTwo. Coming almost two years after a midair accident that took the life of a test pilot, Virgin Galactic says that is will eventually allow commercial operations to begin.

Newly announced drone laws are set to clear the way for business-related drone flight across the US, with the FAA taking its first significant steps towards integrating small unmanned aircraft into US airspace.

As part of its effort to stop drones flying too close to airports, the US government is trialing a defense system that scans the area for unmanned aircraft before using radio beams to stop them in their tracks.​​

Looking to avert gridlock at altitude, NASA has been working on an air traffic management system for drones, and today is carrying out its first coordinated testing to see just how well it can accomodate flights at different locations across the country.

Following the launch of a mandatory drone registry last year, the US government is now exploring new technologies to detect drones flying too close to airports.