New Regulations for the Sale of U.S. Drones

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February 18, 2015

    On February 17, 2015, The Department of State released protocols for the sale of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), which are commonly known as drones.  The new regulations build upon the Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act, which are designed to control the sale of U.S. military products overseas.  The new regulations state that the drones may only be sold “through the government-to-government Foreign Military Sales program.”  The sale will be overseen by the Department of Defense Technology Security and Foreign Disclosure protocols.  The recipient of the UAS must “agree to end-use assurances as a condition of sale or transfer” and adhere to “principles for proper use.”  Any government entity receiving the UAS must follow the Privacy Act of 1974 and cannot “use military UAS to conduct unlawful surveillance or use unlawful force against their domestic populations.”  Recipients must follow international humanitarian and human rights laws as well as surveillance regulations.  In a press release, the Department of State reported that the new regulations will “enhance[e] the operational capabilities and capacity of trusted partner nations, increase[e] U.S. interoperability with these partners for coalition operations, ensur[e] responsible use of these systems, and eas[e] the stress on U.S. force structure for these capabilities.”

    These regulations follow proposed rules set forth by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on February 15, 2015 that would allow “routine use of certain small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in today’s aviation system, while maintaining flexibility to accommodate future technological innovations.”  Under these rules, the FAA would allow small UAS under 55 pounds to be sold for “non-recreational operations.”

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