Balloon Location and Identification Pronouncement Study Act

Balloon Location and Identification Pronouncement Study Act or the BLIPS Act

This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to study the effects on aviation safety of domestically launched unmanned free balloons that do not emit a trackable electronic or radio signal.

DOD and the FAA must submit a report to Congress on the study. The report must include a discussion and recommendations on

• the efficacy, feasibility, technical specifications, and potential civil and military impacts of mandating that domestically launched unmanned free balloons 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
• how DOD and the FAA can collect the data and integrate it into a real-time or near real-time digital system that supports the operations of DOD and the FAA.