WASHINGTON DC — President Donald Trump signed a memo Wednesday establishing a pilot program to better integrate unmanned aircrafts into national airspace to deal with more than one million drones now in the hands of hobbyists and pressure from major eCommerce players like Amazon that want to deliver packages using the unmanned aerial devices.

The memo directs the Department of Transportation to create the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Integration Pilot Program, with the goal of bringing state, local, and tribal governments a “voice and stake” in developing federal regulation frameworks for drones.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao praised Trump’s “commitment to foster technological innovation” in a statement Wednesday. Uses for drones could include “assessing damage from natural disasters such as the recent hurricanes and the wildfires in California,” she suggested.

The pilot program consists of three parts. State, local, and tribal governments will propose and evaluate new models for integrating commercial drones into their communities, with the help of the Department of Transportation, FAA, and White House Science and Technology Office. Those proposals could include operating drones in ways currently restricted by current regulations, including flying beyond visual line of sight, nighttime flight, and flights over people.

One city could propose a package delivery option that would involve drones flying between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursdays, a senior administration said. Another could focus on using these drones as a new tool for first responders.

Data from the programs, which the memo directs should begin within a year, will be used to assess what works, what doesn’t and how future regulatory frameworks can better include drones going forward.