Summary
Growing interest in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), particularly for homeland
security and law enforcement applications, has spurred considerable debate over how to
accommodate these unmanned aircraft and keep them safely separated from other air traffic.
Additionally, the use of these pilotless aircraft, popularly referred to as drones, for aerial
surveillance and law enforcement purposes has raised specific concerns regarding privacy and
Fourth Amendment rights and potential intrusiveness. These issues have come to the forefront in
policy debate in response to provisions in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (P.L.
112-95) that require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin integrating unmanned
aircraft into the national airspace system by the end of FY2015.