BY MARK DAVIS
Deputy Laboratory Director for Operations
Los Alamos National Laboratory

The appeal of aerial perspectives, cutting-edge technology, and the simple joy of flight make flying a drone exhilarating. As every drone operator knows, before each flight it’s important to be aware of the restrictions about where you can fly your drone. In Los Alamos, those restrictions include the airspace over the Laboratory. Drone flights that don’t adhere to these restrictions not only are against the law, but they directly affect our nation’s security.

We need the community’s help to ensure the Lab can carry out its mission without the disruption of unauthorized drone flights.

What drone pilots need to know
Since 2018, the Laboratory has been working with the NNSA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to protect the Laboratory against unauthorized unmanned aircraft system (UAS) flights over our restricted airspace and additional FAA-designated “No Drone Zones.”

Here’s what this means for you:

• Before you fly, learn Laboratory airspace restrictions.
  
• Know the consequences: If you fly over Lab property, you assume complete risk
  for your drone’s loss.
  
• Understand the penalties: Violating restricted airspace may result in significant
  civil and criminal prosecution. As well, your drone may be seized, damaged, or
  destroyed.
  
  A call to responsibility
  The next time you’re tempted to launch a drone for that spectacular view, please
  remember the boundaries. This Airspace Link map  shows the Lab’s restricted airspace.
  For more information, visit the unmanned aircraft system (https://www.faa.gov/uas) webpage on the FAA’s official website (https://www.faa.gov/). From here you can find a wealth of information on UAS and counter-UAS measures.