FAA

To prevent a drone-related disaster, and perhaps an act of goodwill in light of the FAA's tightening rules around unmanned flight, DJI has started rolling out a new geofencing system designed to block its aircraft venturing into restricted airspace. ​​

Since launching its mandatory registry on Monday, some 45,000 drones have already been logged with the FAA's online database, which is now undergoing temporary maintenance to deal with an anticipated Christmas Day rush.

After first flagging its intentions in October, the Federal Aviation Administration has today announced its drone database which requires owners of small unmanned aircraft to register their vehicles or face very steep penalties, which could include time in prison.

The USDoT Secretary Anthony Foxx announced today that Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in the United States will soon be subject to federal registration. A task force will be established to provide recommendations on how to best implement a registration process.

The Federal Aviation Administration has teamed up with private firm CACI to test out technology that detects drones and their pilots buzzing around airports, in hope of preventing potential collisions with manned aircraft. ​

To help dispel confusion surrounding drone flights, the US FAA is beta testing its B4UFLY smartphone app, which tells users about any restrictions on unmanned aircraft they might want to fly in a particular area.

In further evidence of the growing popularity of drones for commercial purposes, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) this week revealed it has granted more than 1,000 exemptions to existing drone laws.

In the rural area of Wise County, Virginia, Startup Flirtey has teamed up with NASA to conduct the first government approved exercise to deliver medical supplies by drone.

Amazon's ambitious plans to deliver small parcels by drones just took another little jump towards reality, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launching a new program to study the use of drones beyond the operator's line of sight.

Earlier this year we saw the first example of a 3D-printed jet engine, now GE has announced the first 3D-printed part certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for a commercial jet engine. and will be retrofitted to over 400 GE90-94B jet engines on Boeing 777 aircraft.

Last month, Amazon was given permission to test a delivery drone prototype in the US, but there was a hitch – the vehicle cleared for use had already become obsolete. Now the agency has granted Amazon a green light to put its current models to the test.

Amazon has taken its Prime Air operations north of the US border to develop its delivery drones with greater regulatory freedom. A report in The Guardian on Monday revealed that the company has been testing its drones for the last few months at a top secret site in British Columbia, Canada.