The FAA has approved three more DJI drones for compliance with the new Remote ID mandate, bringing the total number of approved drones to 10 for the tech giant. Interestingly though, two of these drones are yet to be released.
DJI has a product launch event coming up on Tuesday, September 27, at 9 a.m. ET. The company is expected to release two new commercial drones at this event.
Leaks suggest the new models could be built on the Mavic 3 platform and go by the name of Mavic 3 Enterprise (DJI M3E) and Mavic 3 Thermal (DJI M3T).
The FAA website, which lists the aircraft in compliance with the Remote ID rule, added three more DJI drones last week. One of these is the M300 RTK, DJI’s flagship enterprise drone designed to operate in extremely challenging environments. But the other two drone models are simply labeled as M3E and M3T, indicating that the unreleased DJI drones could be the first to launch with pre-approved Remote ID compliance.
Read: Inside DJI’s new headquarters that took 6 years to build (photos)
FAA’s drone Remote ID rule
Remote ID refers to the ability of a drone in flight to provide identification and location information that can be received by people within the range of local radio signals. The FAA likens it to a “digital license plate” for a drone.
The FAA’s Remote ID rule will apply to all drone operators in the US starting September 16, 2023, with the following exemptions:
- You fly a drone that weighs less than 250g, such as the DJI Mini 3, and you fly it only for recreation purposes.
- You fly a drone at an FAA-Recognized Identification Area (FRIA). These FRIAs will be your traditional model airplane fields where hobbyists have gathered and flown safely for decades.
FAA asserts that Remote ID will help law enforcement and other federal agencies find the control station when a drone appears to be flying in an unsafe manner or where it is not allowed to fly. Remote ID will also lay the foundation of the safety and security groundwork needed for more complex drone operations such as Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) missions and package deliveries.
In addition to the three drones listed above, the seven other DJI drones that have been approved for Remote ID mandate are:
- DJI Mini 3 Pro
- DJI Avata
- DJI Air 2S
- DJI Mavic 3
- DJI Mavic 3 Cine
- DJI Matrice 30 (M30)
- DJI Matrice 30 Thermal (M30T)
The drone maker says it will provide firmware updates before September 16, 2023, to get most of its modern aircraft ready for Remote ID compliance. However, some older drone models may require a separate, add-on Remote ID module.
Read: FAA is pushing back Remote ID compliance date for drone makers
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