The US Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), part of the Executive Office of the President, is now reviewing the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) proposed “Normalizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations” rule.
According to the OIRA: “This action proposes performance-based regulations enabling the design and operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) at low altitudes beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and for third-party services, to include UAS Traffic Management (UTM), that support these operations. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 directs the development of this proposed rule. This proposed rule is necessary to support the integration of UAS into the national airspace system (NAS). This proposed rule is intended to provide a predictable and clear pathway for safe, routine, and scalable UAS operations that include package delivery, agriculture, aerial surveying, civic interest, operations training, demonstration, recreation, and flight testing.”
According to the Crowell & Moring law firm:
“As we previously reported, the FAA’s proposed rule represents a significant shift in how commercial drones may operate within the U.S. The rule is centered on allowing routine BVLOS operations, moving away from the previous case-by-case exemption framework that greatly limited widespread commercial drone activities. Key components of the rule focus on establishing new safety, performance, and operational standards for BVLOS flights, including requirements for remote identification, detect-and-avoid capabilities, operator certification, and integration procedures for airspace access. If adopted, these changes will enable UAS operators to conduct a range of missions, such as package delivery, infrastructure inspections, and emergency support, without the logistical and regulatory constraints previously in place.”
There are, say experts, two contentious issues which will need to be resolved for all airspace users to be happy with the outcome: right-of-way ( “Under the proposed changes, Part 108 UAS operators would be granted the presumptive right-of-way over manned aircraft, with several key exceptions…” says Crowell & Moring) and detect-and-avoid (the FAA wants unmanned aircraft operating in higher-risk environments to be equipped with means to detect and avoid “non-cooperative” aircraft).
The proposed rule also introduces regulations for third-party service providers, such as communication and UAS traffic management, to support routine BVLOS flights.
The OIRA review is one of the final stages of rule-making before official publication.
For more information
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202510&RIN=2120-AL82
https://www.crowell.com/en/insights/client-alerts/faa-invites-fresh-input-on-expansive-drone-rule
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