By Paloma Pinto Ribeiro Coelho
Brazil has spent years building a regulatory framework for drones. In June 2026, it took another significant step, replacing its previous rules with a new risk-based system designed to accommodate a wider range of civil uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) operations.1
But regulation is only one part of integrating drones into the airspace; enforcing those regulations is the other. What happens when operators do not follow the rules? Do authorities have the tools and coordination needed to respond? Brazil is now dealing with both sides of that equation.
A new approach to drone oversight
In June 2026, Brazil’s national civil aviation agency, Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC), approved RBAC 100, replacing the previous RBAC-E 94 framework. The new regulation moved away from a system primarily based on drone weight and introduced three categories based on the risk of the operation: open, specific and certified.1
The open category covers lower risk operations, including flights of aircraft weighing up to 25 kg, within visual or extended visual line of sight and up to 120 metres above ground level, subject to defined conditions. Operations that do not meet the requirements of the open category fall into the specific category and require either compliance with a standard scenario established by ANAC or an operational authorisation based on a risk assessment. The certified category covers higher risk operations where certification may be required.1
ANAC’s regulatory analysis identified the consolidation of the UAS market and the need for requirements covering areas including airworthiness, operations, maintenance, training, pilot qualifications and registration. It also proposed a performance-based approach intended to provide greater flexibility as technology and applications develop.2
For operators, the result is a framework intended to accommodate more varied operations without treating every flight in the same way. But a regulatory pathway only works if authorities can oversee what happens once the aircraft are in the air.
Regulation meets enforcement
Depending on the operation, drone users must also comply with requirements from other public authorities, including the Department of Airspace Control (DECEA) and the National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL).1
That makes enforcement a shared responsibility. A regulation can establish where and how a drone may operate. Enforcement requires authorities to know when an operation is taking place, determine whether it is authorised and, where necessary, identify the aircraft and operator and take action.
Brazil has established sanctions for aviation violations, while the new regulation gives ANAC inspection powers over UAS operations.3
But the practical challenge becomes greater when an unauthorised drone is difficult to detect or identify.
That issue is particularly visible around airports, where a drone that is not following the rules can affect an environment in which the consequences of an unauthorised operation can be immediate.
Guarulhos brings the issue into focus
In September 2026, Brazil’s Ministry of Ports and Airports established guidelines for the implementation of a system to detect, monitor, mitigate and neutralise drones at São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport. The airport will be the first in Brazil to receive specific guidelines of this kind.4
The airport was selected in part because of its history of drone incidents, highlighting the need to move beyond defining the rules towards developing the capabilities needed when those rules are not followed.4
Under the guidelines, the airport concessionaire will be responsible for acquiring and operating the detection, monitoring, mitigation and neutralisation capabilities, as well as providing the first response and communicating incidents to the relevant authorities. DECEA will participate in defining protection areas and procedures for suspending and resuming flight operations, while equipment will need to be approved by ANATEL. ANAC, the federal police and federal revenue service will also be involved according to their respective responsibilities.4
The arrangement highlights the complexity of drone enforcement. The questions extend beyond whether a drone is allowed to fly. Who detects it? Who determines whether it is authorised? Who identifies the operator? Who decides whether it represents a threat? And who has the authority to intervene?
The wider South American picture
Brazil’s experience raises a question that extends beyond its borders.
Chile, for example, has its own regulatory framework requiring relevant operators to hold pilot credentials, register their aircraft and obtain operational authorisation from the country’s civil aviation agency, Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (DGAC).5
The authority has also acquired detection technology capable of identifying up to 11 drones simultaneously within a three-kilometre radius, while working with Chile’s investigative police on coordinated inspection activity.6
The approaches are different, but the underlying challenge is similar: Regulation, detection, oversight and enforcement all need to work together if drones are to be integrated safely into the airspace.
Brazil’s new framework defines what increasingly capable drones can legally do. The harder test may be making sure authorities can see what happens when they operate outside those boundaries.
Image: AI generated
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1 Source: Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC), RBAC 100 EMD 00: Requisitos gerais para aeronaves não tripuladas de uso civil, 16 June 2026.
2 Source: Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC), Nota Técnica 37: Consulta Pública 09/2025, 2025.
3 Source: Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC), Resolução 803, 25 May 2026.
4 Source: Ministério de Portos e Aeroportos, Ministério de Portos e Aeroportos estabelece diretrizes para implantação de sistema antidrones em Guarulhos, 11 September 2026.
5 Source: Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (DGAC), DGAC y PDI realizaron ejercicio de fiscalización en AD Tobalaba, 26 August 2026.
6 Source: Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (DGAC), ¿Cómo operar un dron en Chile?, 25 August 2025.