Comment Re:Don't worry (Score 1) 294
They'd still show up on radar without a transponder and it would make no sense at all to not have a $200 transponder on $200,000 drone.
Or they would if raw RADAR returns were actually displayed to Air Traffic Controllers.... they don't see anything but a computer generated screen populated with traffic based on IFF transponder returns...
The FAA isn't stupid when it comes to safety (you might even say they're borderline paranoid). They won't give arbitrary exceptions to safety-related regulations.
True enough, which is why nothing flying in "commercial" air traffic lanes will be allowed there without an IFF device...
OTOH, Drones of the sort that have been getting popular with law enforcement tend to be smaller units that loiter over alleys or even sit on a roof monitoring activitiy...
Having ONE drone capable of flying at 30,000 feet with an amazing telescope just might not be as useful as a few dozen little rotor bugs that can peep into windows and send back a grainy 640x480 video that shows where the Bad Guys are lurking...