Disappearance of the AeroScope System in the U.S. During the World War II: The Case for a Remote ID Detector

One of the Ruhr University graduate researchers says that the problem is a big one. “You might think your drone transmits its position. Suddenly, it’s sending your position as well. No matter if you are privacy- or conflict-minded, nasty stuff can happen.

There are two reasons why the AeroScope is being discontinued, according to Brendan Schulman, the former vice president of policy at DJI. “It doesn’t make sense to continue supporting a feature that was created to assist US security interests when being constantly attacked by US security agencies,” Schulman writes, while also citing the Federal Aviation Administration’s implementation of Remote ID.

There is a tool that researchers have created that will receive signals from drones through cheaper third party devices, letting them pick up on the location of the pilot without the need for an AeroScope. The engineers working on the project tell Wired they have only tested the tool with drones 15 to 25 feet away, but believe they can track drones from even further away with more testing.

While the product was originally intended for use by law enforcement or other government agencies to monitor drones flying in potentially dangerous areas (like around an airport runway) and to track down their pilots, the technology became a cause for concern in the midst of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Last year, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov blamed DJI for “helping Russia to kill the Ukrainians,” as Russian soldiers allegedly used the company’s AeroScope receivers to find and attack Ukrainian drone operators with aerial strikes. To make matters worse, the signals broadcasted by DJI drones aren’t encrypted — even though DJI initially told The Verge they were — allowing other kinds of receivers to pick them up. The portable version of the AeroScope system was stopped months later after being stopped shipments to Russia and Ukraine because of concerns about weaponization of its products.

The FAA, as well as law enforcement, and other agencies will use this standard to detect and track most drones, giving them information about the drones identity, location, altitude, take-off location, control station location, and more.

Starting on September 16th, 2023, most drone operators in the US will only be able to fly aircraft with built-in remote broadcast capabilities or a retrofitted remote ID broadcast module — essentially what DJI has already been doing with its newer drones and AeroScope. The only time drone operators can use a device that doesn’t emit remote ID signals is if they’re flying in FAA-recognized identified areas.