This bill, H.R. 1501, sponsored by Representative Michael Guest (R-MS-3), is also known as the Unmanned Aerial Security Act or the UAS Act.
This bill prohibits the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from operating, financing, or procuring unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or UAS operating, detection, or identification systems that are manufactured in certain foreign countries or by corporations domiciled in such foreign countries.
Applicable foreign countries include those identified as foreign adversaries in the intelligence community’s latest annual threat assessment and other countries designated by DHS.
DHS retains the authority to waive the prohibition on a case-by-case basis, considering certain circumstances. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, situations where it is determined to be in the national interest of the United States, for counter-UAS surrogate research, testing, development, evaluation, or training purposes, or for intelligence, electronic warfare, or information warfare operations, testing, analysis, and training. Such waivers enable DHS to carefully assess and evaluate specific scenarios where the benefits outweigh the potential risks associated with using UAS or UAS-related systems manufactured in designated foreign countries.
An office or component of DHS may continue to operate a UAS or system in its inventory that would otherwise be prohibited until DHS grants or denies a waiver or until one year after this bill is enacted, whichever is later.
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Post Image- Drone flying in the desert (Image Credit: envatoelements by TDyuvbanova)
