The Department of Defense, NASA and the General Services Administration have extended the comment period for an interim rule that seeks to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement a prohibition on the purchase and operation of unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, from covered foreign entities.
According to a Federal Register notice published Monday, interested stakeholders have until Jan. 27 to comment on the proposed rule.
The three agencies initially set a Jan. 13 deadline for public comments on the interim rule, which was first issued in November.
The proposed rule intends to implement the American Security Drone Act of 2023 in the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. The measure seeks to ban the use of federal funds for UAS and the acquisition and operation of such systems prohibited by the Federal Acquisition Security Council, or FASC, to protect UAS-collected data from cyberthreats and other vulnerabilities.
Questions for Responders
DOD, NASA, and GSA are asking commenters about potential challenges related to complying with contemplated disclosure and reporting requirements and whether additional details regarding “federal funds” could help achieve compliance with the prohibition on the use of such funds in the operation or procurement of FASC-prohibited UAS.
Responders can also provide suggestions on how government customers can mitigate risks associated with FASC-banned unmanned systems.
