The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) has published its comprehensive final comments in response to the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) proposed beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) rule. AUVSI worked with its member companies, partner associations, standards bodies and public-safety stakeholders to develop the comments, which it delivered to the FAA on October 6.
“The message from across the ecosystem is clear: the BVLOS rule must move from potential to practical,” AUVSI said. “It must protect safety and unlock economic opportunity by providing clear, scalable, and performance-based pathways for commercial, public-safety and civic-interest missions alike.”
AUVSI said the FAA’s proposal gets a lot right, singling out the recognised need for a performance-based, scalable framework; two operational pathways; an integration of consensus standards; and use of real-word data from thousands of successful BVLOS operations.
“These strengths form a solid foundation,” AUVSI said. “But without targeted refinements, the final rule risks introducing new uncertainty and administrative friction just as the industry is ready to scale.”
AUVSI makes a number of recommendations for these “targeted refinements”, as follows:
- Ensure a Predictable Transition for Existing Operators
Public-safety agencies, infrastructure inspectors, and delivery providers have collectively logged tens of thousands of safe BVLOS flights. The final rule must credit that experience and operational data toward Part 108 authorization and establish a clear transition timeline so ongoing missions aren’t grounded while new processes are stood up. - Clarify the Boundaries Between Permits, Certificates, and Fleet Thresholds
The NPRM lacks clarity on how operators move from a permit to a certificate, or what metrics trigger the shift. The FAA should define objective thresholds for fleet size, frequency, and operational complexity to give operators the predictability needed for business planning and investment. - Codify Shielded Operations as Operate-by-Rule
AUVSI’s comments urge the FAA to formally recognise shielded BVLOS operations (those conducted near structures or terrain) as operate-by-rule under standardised mitigations like geofencing and altitude limits. These flights have proven exceptionally efficient across powerline, rail, and infrastructure inspection missions, and codifying them would immediately reduce regulatory bottlenecks. - Streamline Approvals for Emergency and Civic Payloads
Drones are delivering AEDs, naloxone and blood products today, but current rules make it hard for public-safety and civic operators to act quickly in emergencies. In parallel, the FAA and PHMSA should update outdated hazardous-materials rules to allow routine carriage of low-risk consumer goods using standardised Means of Compliance suited to small UAS operations. - Keep Security Proportionate and Practical
The TSA’s proposed airport-style vetting and “Limited Security Program” requirements are disproportionate to risk and inconsistent with the agency’s own layered, risk-based approach. AUVSI calls for these provisions to be removed from the final rule and replaced with a coordinated security framework that builds on existing FAA oversight, company security protocols, and TSA’s established General Aviation model. - Recognise Global Equivalencies to Maintain US Competitiveness
The FAA should recognize foreign approvals and Means of Compliance that demonstrate equivalent safety such as those under the EU’s JARUS SORA or Transport Canada’s SFOC framework. This would streamline certification for global manufacturers, reduce duplication, and align US policy with international best practices. - Clarify the Scope and Role of Automated Data Service Providers (Part 146)
Automated Data Service Providers are essential to enabling UTM and deconfliction services. The final rule should ensure that certification is risk-scaled, optional for low-risk missions, and does not inadvertently regulate upstream infrastructure providers that aren’t delivering flight-safety services. Interoperability and change-management standards must be transparent and consistent across all ADSPs. - Modernise Right-of-Way and Enable Shared Visibility
AUVSI urges the FAA to modernise right-of-way rules to reflect how aircraft actually share low-altitude airspace. Crewed aircraft that broadcast cooperative signals should retain priority, while uncrewed aircraft operating safely BVLOS should have right-of-way below 500 feet when crewed aircraft are unequipped. This approach encourages shared visibility, improves safety, and avoids the complexity of population-based right-of-way changes, which are impractical and unsupported by data. Modernising right-of-way in this way will make low-altitude airspace safer, more predictable, and ready for scaled BVLOS operations.
As AUVSI points out, other areas of the world already allow routine BVLOS in defined corridors. “The longer the US delays finalising Part 108, the greater the risk that investment, jobs and leadership migrate elsewhere. The US has spent nearly a decade proving that uncrewed flight can be safe, reliable and transformative. Now it’s time to codify that progress.”
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