Trump's new drone orders aim to counter threats while encouraging flying cars and supersonic flights

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Associated Press

POLITICS
Trump’s new drone orders aim to counter threats while encouraging flying cars and supersonic flights

BY JOSH FUNK AND DIDI TANG
Updated 6:36 PM EDT, June 6, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump wants to counter the threats drones pose to national security under new rules released Friday, while also aiming to make it possible for Americans to fly faster than the speed of sound and expedite the development of the flying cars of the future.

The three executive orders will encourage the Federal Aviation Administration to expedite rules to allow companies to use drones beyond their operators’ line of sight, while also imposing restrictions meant to help protect against terrorism, espionage and public safety threats.

Drones are already used in a variety of ways, including bolstering search and rescue operations, applying fertilizer, inspecting power lines and railroad bridges, and even delivering packages.

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Trump aims to clear the way for supersonic flights and flying cars

One of Trump’s orders directs the FAA to eliminate the 1973 speed restriction that prohibits flights over Mach 1 and replace it with a noise standard. … New technology in supersonic aircraft can allow the planes to fly faster than the speed of sound without a disruptive sonic boom being heard on the ground, but the regulations still ban those flights over land. A plane developed by Boom Supersonic became the first independently funded jet to break the sound barrier this year.

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JOSH FUNK
Funk is an Associated Press reporter who covers transportation including aviation safety and airlines along with all the major freight railroads. Funk also covers Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, the impact of the ongoing bird flu outbreak, agriculture and other news out of the Midwest.

DIDI TANG
Tang joined the AP Washington bureau in 2023 after spending 11 years in Beijing as a China correspondent. She covers anything related to the Indo-Pacific region with a focus on U.S.-China competitions

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-drones-easing-restrictions-china-bf248d075a5a14c3edf2bb07611922d9

[Girard442]

1. Y'know, some of this could almost be normal governance -- except we know everything he touches turns to shit.