Amazon Technologies got a U.S. patent Tuesday for a method and system of detecting the “hostile takeover” of drones and returning them to friendly hands. As use of commercial and recreational drones increases, "so does the likelihood” of hostile takeovers, whether stealing drones and “payloads,” intentionally crashing them or otherwise causing “disruption” of operations, said the patent, based on an August 2016 application and naming Glen Larsen, an Amazon hardware and systems architect, as its only inventor. “Using these attacks, nefarious individuals and/or systems may be able to obtain control” of the drones by hacking the communication signals being sent to and from them, it said. Such attacks could cause the drones “to operate unsafely and could also result in considerable financial loss for their operators,” it said. It envisions a system for a drone to operate in two “modes.” During normal-operating “mission” mode, the drone receives a “heartbeat signal from a controller,” it said. If a preset timer expires without the drone receiving a new heartbeat signal because it was hacked, the drone automatically switches into a “safety” mode in which it “performs one or more preprogrammed actions designed to reestablish communication with the controller,” or lands in a “safe location,” said the patent.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center lacks standing to compel the FAA to create drone privacy rules, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday. In its 2016 lawsuit against the FAA, EPIC said the FAA Modernization Act identified "privacy as an important issue to address" in a comprehensive plan to integrate drones into the national airspace (see 1702280006). “The speculative nature of the injury alleged means that EPIC has failed to show that these rules caused either a substantially increased risk of harm or a substantial probability of harm in light of that increased risk,” wrote Judge David Sentelle in the opinion with Judges Merrick Garland and Raymond Randolph. “The FAA has not impaired or injured EPIC’s activities.” EPIC will keep pushing for drone privacy safeguards at the agency, the group said Tuesday. "The ruling speaks for itself," an FAA spokesperson said.

The Aerospace Industries Association petition for technical and operational rules for using the 5030-5091 MHz band for unmanned aircraft systems controls can't be the basis for an NPRM, CTIA replied in RM-11798. In April, the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau sought comment on the petition. Initial comments were mixed (see 1805300049). CTIA saw general consensus. “Commenters agree that the AIA Petition lacks clarity and cannot be acted upon,” CTIA said. “A diverse set of UAS stakeholders, from those with interests in small UAS, to large stratospheric platforms, to AIA members themselves, are puzzled by the ambiguity.” CTIA disputed Boeing statements no bands other than 5030-5091 MHz are available for control-non-payload communications: “Many other spectrum bands are suitable for UAS command and control functions, including the commercial wireless bands that enable 4G LTE and 5G.” AeroVironment, which makes small UAS for DOD and other customers, disagreed. In the initial comment round, six of eight commenters supported releasing an NPRM, the company said. “Within the rulemaking process, opposition to, or alternatives for, committing 5030-5091 MHz to safety or regularity of flight can be debated in detail,” AeroVironment said. AIA asked the FCC to act on the NPRM, saying it has "no expectation” the band is the only one that would be used by UAS. “A variety of spectrum bands and frequency assignment mechanisms are currently being contemplated for different UAS use cases,” the group said. “The participation of multiple industry stakeholders serves to reinforce the view that the time is right for the FCC to act.” Rockwell Collins "fully agrees" with Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon seeking prompt action.

The FCC proposed a $2.8 million fine against drone seller HobbyKing for selling devices that “could apparently transmit in unauthorized radio frequency bands, including some that could also operate at excessive transmission power levels,” said a release. The notice of apparent liability approved by commissioners concerns 65 “models of devices used to relay video from drones to amateur drone operators,” the release said. HobbyKing “represented that its transmitters operated in designated amateur radio bands” but that wasn't true, and it didn’t respond to FCC inquiries, the NAL said. “Such unlawful transmissions could interfere with key government and public safety services like aviation systems and weather radar systems,” said the release. HobbyKing is the trade name for a group of companies based in Hong Kong and the U.S., all associated with Anthony Hand, the NAL said. HobbyKing and Hand didn’t comment. The Enforcement Bureau also issued an advisory Tuesday warning against noncompliant drone transmitters. Because audio/video "transmitters are intentional radiators, retailers may not advertise or sell them, and no one may use them, unless the FCC has approved such transmitters under its equipment authorization process," the advisory said. “Anyone advertising or selling noncompliant AV transmitters should stop immediately and anyone owning such devices should not use them.” The NAL was approved by the full commission, including Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who said last month she was leaving the agency but has remained in office (see 1805180042).

Elefante Group, developing a stratospheric-based communications and IoT-enabling system, petitioned the FCC to amend part 2 and 101 rules to allow deployment of stratospheric-based communications services (SBCS). Friday's petition seeks "a new model of spectrum access" where SBCS systems "will exhibit compatibility by design," and it wants co-primary access to the 21.5-23.6 GHz band for uplinks, 25.25-27.5 GHz band for downlinks and the 71-76 and 81-86 GHz bands for feeder links. It said its proposed stratospheric platform stations will operate at nominally fixed locations at 65,000-feet altitudes and allow SBCS services of 1 Tbps in both directions between the stations and user terminals. The company said each airship would have a coverage area of 6,000 square miles. Elefante said SBCS applications include 5G deployment and commercial communications services such as 4G and 5G backhaul and residential broadband. The petition asks for a co-primary allocation in the 26 GHz band, SBCS technical and operational rules for the 22-23 GHz and 26 GHz bands, rules allowing SBCS feeder links the 70/80 GHz bands and licensing rules for non-exclusive assignments to SBCS operators based on regional economic area. It asks the agency to start a rulemaking within a year and complete it within two years.

Commenters disagreed on the merits of a February petition by the Aerospace Industries Association asking the FCC to act on technical and operational rules for using the 5030-5091 MHz band for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) controls (see 1802090049). In April, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau sought comment on the petition in RM-11798. CTIA said the FCC needs to do more thinking before releasing an NPRM. “The vague nature of the AIA Petition makes it unclear if AIA is suggesting either: (a) an overly broad approach that would require all UAS to utilize the 5030-5091 MHz band for command and control links under Part 87 rules; or (b) an extremely narrow approach, based on standards developed by the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA), reserving this band only for UAS that are transitioning in and out of Class A airspace, above 18,000 feet,” CTIA said. There's no "one-size-fits-all" solution on spectrum for drones, CTIA said. UAS makers largely supported the petition. Boeing said AIA makes some important recommendations, concurring "with the AIA that the Commission should prohibit non-safety-of-life communications in the 5030-5091 MHz band.” The company "agrees with the AIA petition the Commission should modify the U.S. Table of Frequency Allocations to reflect this allocation of the 5030-5091 MHz band for UAS safety-of-life transmissions.” Boeing backed a “dynamic frequency-assignment process.” The company supported AIA recommendations the FCC develop a licensing framework aligned with FAA flight certification requirements. Lockheed Martin backs the petition. Ensure “adequate spectrum resources are implemented to support dedicated command and control frequency channels for the safe and reliable operation of larger unmanned aircraft,” the company asked. Raytheon also supported the petition. “The regulatory framework described in AIA’s Petition represents a good starting point for the adoption of licensing and operational rules for UAS” command and control, said Elefante Group, which plans to deploy persistent, unmanned stratospheric airborne platforms as part of U.S. communications networks.

The Small UAV Coalition opposed a February petition by the Aerospace Industries Association asking the FCC to act on technical and operational rules for using the 5030-5091 MHz band for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) controls (see 1802090049). In April, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau asked for comment on the petition in RM-11798. The proposal requires further study, the coalition said. “The narrowness of the band may make it impractical for UAS operations in uncontrolled and low altitude air space,” the group said. “The petitioner’s arguments for expedition are not persuasive and indeed make the case for more analysis and due diligence.”

The FAA should establish a means for ensuring its management of small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) safety risks follow the applicable principles and requirements in the agency's policies, GAO said in a study Thursday. It said the FAA is only partially following principles of safety risk management in its policies on analyzing and assessing safety risks of UAS, implementing controls of those risks and monitoring the effectiveness of those controls. It said better risk management practices would help the agency decide whether more steps are needed to ensure airspace safety. It said the FAA lacks reliable information about the extent of unsafe use of small UAS, since the thousands of reports of potentially unsafe use it has collected offer limited information, though the agency also is trying to improve its data. In a letter dated March 9 included in the report, Assistant Transportation Department Secretary Keith Nelson said the FAA agrees it could improve documentation of its safety risk management activities for small UAS operations, and it concurred with the recommendation.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao named 10 state, local and tribal governments Wednesday to participate in the agency’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program, as expected (see 1805080059). “Data gathered from these pilot projects will form the basis of a new regulatory framework to safely integrate drones into our national airspace,” said Chao.

The Senate Aviation Operations, Safety and Security Subcommittee scheduled a hearing on unmanned aircraft systems at 10 a.m. May 8 in 253 Russell, the subcommittee announced Tuesday.