COUNTERING CCP DRONES ACT
By Tyler Dobbs, Senior Director of Government Affairs | tylerd@modelaircraft.org
ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2024, the House of Representatives passed H.R.2864. The Countering CCP [Chinese Communist Party] Drones Act adds telecommunication and video equipment and related services from DJI Technologies to a list of communication equipment and services that pose a risk to the national security of the US. This list is maintained by the Federal Communications Commission under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019. This bill essentially bans UAS produced by DJI from operating on the communications infrastructure within the US.
It is important to remember that this bill has only passed one chamber and would require many additional steps before becoming law. AMA will provide updates regarding this bill if the Senate decides to take up this issue in the future. AMA will continue to meet with Congress and the Department of Defense regarding threats to the national airspace, aiming to find common-sense solutions to hopefully reduce the legislative burden on our modeling community.
TRUST and FAA Registration
AMA has recently received many inquiries regarding who needs to take The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST) and obtain FAA registration, and the answer is all recreational/educational UAS users, which includes model aircraft pilots who fly aircraft heavier than .55 pounds (250 grams) within USC 44809: Exception for limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft (AMA members).
TRUST is free to take, is impossible to fail, and only takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete. FAA registration is simple to complete as well and only costs $5 for three years, regardless of the number of aircraft you own. The AMA Government Affairs blog, at https://amablog.modelaircraft.org/amagov, has a step-by-step tutorial about how to obtain your FAA registration number.
Wishing You Success and Happiness in Your New Job
I want to thank Chrystal Pearson, previously AMA’s director of government relations, for her hard work and dedication throughout the last five years. Chrystal was instrumental in many of AMA’s recent successes, including altitude and Remote ID waivers, educational protections in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, positive changes to the 2024 FAA Reauthorization, developing and managing the controlled airspace 7711 Airspace Authorization process, and coordinating FAA Safety Risk Management Panels.
In September, Chrystal accepted a new position outside of AMA and is currently in that new role. I wish Chrystal the very best and congratulate her on her amazing opportunity.
To remain current with the most recent government-related news, regularly visit the AMA Government Affairs blog. If you have any further questions or concerns, contact the Government Affairs department at (765) 287-1256 or amagov@modelaircraft.org.
