Consultants Blast UK drone IDs (RID) enterprise justification

One other smashed it out of the park FOIA by Ian Hudson (https://x.com/UAVHive), this time exposing the backward considering and cash already spent on RID within the UK, that is wasteful expenditure. Let’s hope the brand new UK labour Authorities picks up on this and stops it in its tracks.

This assertion irked me, the UK has already fallen properly behind different international locations RID is just not a magic bullet.

I’ve reached out for feedback from educated of us and can add their ideas to this.

By doing nothing, the UK will fail to fulfill the regulatory requirement to implement RID throughout the UK. There will likely be impacts on security, safety, and progress of the drone sector throughout the UK.

RID is the best snake oil thus far, I’ve seen many concepts come and go however this one is seeming to be profitable world wide. It is going to do nothing for security and safety, unhealthy actors received’t fly with RID. However it’s going to put up extra limitations to entry for younger mannequin plane flyers and proceed the decline of aviation engineering abilities in younger of us.

I get too offended fascinated about this, Ian has emailed me his ideas, as ever he has completed a marvellous job of shining a light-weight on issues completed in massive companies curiosity.

That is an American concept purchased in by American distributors (Amazon, Wing) who should not have any seat at any UK regulators desk.

I’m ranting, over to Ian –

Whereas this doc is from September 2022, and a few particulars could also be outdated, it raises questions in regards to the CAA and House Workplace’s plans for the Distant Id (RID) scheme.

• Publicly, each companies have denied any intention to monetize RID. Nonetheless, this doc suggests in any other case from the very starting.
• The redacted directorate and division accountable for this doc are notably fascinating, as they may present clues about who was concerned in these potential monetization plans.

I discover it very fascinating the directorate and division have been redacted:

They’ve used part 23, safety our bodies, I’ve gone again to argue that.

This doc appears to disregard current applied sciences like AeroScope and the nationwide drone array. This omission raises considerations in regards to the doc’s accuracy in assessing the true capabilities of the Distant Id (RID) scheme.

• The doc presents RID as a brand new resolution, however current techniques already present among the functionalities it claims.
• Since most drones within the UK are made by DJI, which could have already got identification options, the urgency and justification for RID as introduced right here could also be overstated.

There are an estimated 350,000 drones in use within the UK. Drone operators are required to register with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), however there is no such thing as a method for an exterior get together (comparable to regulation enforcement) to learn this registration remotely.

That is an absolute lie:

In follow, drones successfully fly anonymously

This line suggests the info is being shared past regulation enforcement:

RID would additionally present data and knowledge for the CAA, Police, DfT and different authorities to hold out their jobs extra successfully.

£1.8 for six months work from consultancies?  That’s a pleasant slice of taxpayers money…

Feels like bullshit to me…

There are not any different suppliers in a position to present this service

About the one true factor within the doc is that this, which everyone knows is the actual cause it’s being pushed for:

Right here is the beginning of the doc, the complete factor under

This Enterprise Case is for £600k to contribute to the programme of labor to implement Distant ID (RID) for drones within the UK, to fulfill the regulatory requirement by 1 January 2026.

There are an estimated 350,000 drones in use within the UK. Drone operators are required to register with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), however there is no such thing as a method for an exterior get together (comparable to regulation enforcement) to learn this registration remotely. In follow, drones successfully fly anonymously. Some use is careless, thoughtless or prison, with 13,000 incidents reported to-date, together with smuggling, illicit images, harassment, and infringement of delicate websites.

RID will take away this anonymity, and thus present important safety advantages, permitting police to establish malicious and/or incompetent operators, resulting in reeducation, fines, or convictions. RID is due to this fact analogous to quantity plates and Computerized Quantity Plate Recognition (ANPR) for highway autos. Crucially RID permits the police to establish and tackle illegal behaviour on the earliest alternative. RID would additionally present data and knowledge for the CAA, Police, DfT and different authorities to hold out their
jobs extra successfully.

CAA estimate the fee to totally implement RID is c. £10-15m over 18-24 months. The design part will value £1.8m to finish, which can embrace technical, business and regulatory/legislative design.

£600k from the House Workplace will likely be paired with £1.2m from DfT, making up the £1.8m required to run the design part. This part consists of:

• Full design of technical parts, requirements and interfaces (e.g. RID knowledge, Drone
  and Mannequin Plane Registration and Schooling Service’ (DMARES) improvement).
• Full design of latest regulation and laws to offer CAA powers to function RID, and place obligations on producers and customers
• Draft wording of regulation and
  laws
• Preliminary scoping on the best way to purchase
  related parts, making certain
  worth for cash
• Engagement with suppliers – Set up a brand new work programme,
  together with reporting, governance,
  RAID administration and planning.
• Draft and ship the Define
  Enterprise Case and Full Enterprise
  Case, consistent with HMT Inexperienced Guide
  rules
• Key design choices finalised

Right here is the doc in full –