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Balloon Location and Identification Pronouncement Study Act

H.R. 4229 · 118th Congress · Jun 20, 2023 · Lineage

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a study and submit a report on the effects of unmanned free balloons on aviation safety.

Section 1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the “Balloon Location and Identification Pronouncement Study Act” or the “BLIPS Act”.

Sec. 2 Study and report on effects of unmanned free balloons on aviation safety

(a)
Study—
(1)
In general— The officials concerned shall conduct a study on the effects on aviation safety of domestically launched unmanned free balloons that do not emit an electronic or radio signal that is able to be located or tracked by the owner of the balloon or by civil or military airspace authorities.
(2)
Elements— The study described in paragraph (1) shall include an analysis of—
(A)
how flights of the balloons described in paragraph (1) have or could affect aviation safety;
(B)
how such balloon flights have contributed or could contribute to misidentified threats to civil or military air vehicles or infrastructure; and
(C)
how such balloon flights have impacted or could impact defense readiness and air traffic control operations.
(b)
Report—
(1)
In general— Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this section, the officials concerned shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report detailing the results of the study described in subsection (a)(1).
(2)
Discussion and recommendations— The report described in paragraph (1) shall include discussion and recommendations pertaining to—
(A)
the efficacy, feasibility, technical specifications, and potential civil and military impacts of mandating that each domestically launched unmanned free balloon be equipped with an electronic or radio emitter that can be tracked with near real-time, geolocational, and altitudinal precision, and which can transmit identifying information of the balloon or its owner; and
(B)
how the officials concerned can collect and use the data of such emitters for airspace deconfliction and maintaining a safe airspace picture by integrating the data into a real-time or near real-time digital system that supports the operations of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense.
(c)
Definitions— In this section:
(1)
Appropriate congressional committees— The term appropriate congressional committees means—
(A)
the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives;
(B)
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives;
(C)
the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; and
(D)
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
(2)
Officials concerned— The term officials concerned means the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.