BVLOS in UK, US & Canada

Introduction

Delivery drone in a city environment

Beyond Visual Line of Sight, commonly referred to as BVLOS, represents one of the most significant advancements in modern unmanned aviation. It describes drone operations that take place beyond the direct visual range of the remote pilot. In simpler terms, BVLOS allows a drone to fly far enough that it is no longer visible to the operator with naked eye or even with visual aids such as binoculars. This capability marks a major shift in how unmanned aircraft are deployed, transforming them from tools suited mainly for short range manual missions into strategic assets capable of covering long distances, performing complex automated tasks, and supporting large scale operational goals.

Traditional Visual Line of Sight operations require the pilot to maintain constant unaided visual contact with the aircraft. Extended Visual Line of Sight introduces trained observers who help maintain that visibility once the pilot can no longer physically see the drone.

BVLOS operations go further and rely entirely on advanced technologies such as autonomous navigation systems, telemetry links, high precision satellite positioning, and sophisticated detect and avoid capabilities to maintain awareness of the surrounding environment and ensure safe flight without direct human visual monitoring.

As the global drone industry continues to mature, BVLOS has become a priority area for regulators, technology developers, and operators. BVLOS represents the pathway toward scaled and economically viable drone deployment and is widely recognized as the next major frontier in unmanned aviation.

Global Progress on BVLOS Regulation

Countries around the world are actively shaping regulatory frameworks to enable safe and scalable BVLOS operations, and three major regions are taking notable steps. The United Kingdom is developing a structured roadmap targeting routine BVLOS integration by 2027, supported by airspace modernisation initiatives and sandbox trials to validate technologies such as detect and avoid. In the United States, the FAA has proposed a performance based rule under Part 108 aimed at normalizing low altitude BVLOS operations and accelerating commercial use cases in the National Airspace System. Meanwhile, Canada has implemented a progressive framework under CARs Part IX, with upcoming amendments designed to expand approved BVLOS operations and equipment standards.

Together, these developments reflect a coordinated global effort to enable long range automated drone operations at scale.

Canada’s Progress

Canada has been one of the earliest and most progressive regulators in shaping BVLOS operations for drones, building a framework that supports both innovation and structured safety assurance. 

The national journey began in June 2019 with the introduction of detailed rules under Canadian Aviation Regulations Part IX, which initially concentrated on visual line of sight operations while enabling BVLOS missions only through case based approvals. Progress accelerated after 2023 when Transport Canada prioritized BVLOS within its Drone Strategy to 2025, encouraging routine operations in remote and low risk environments. 

A key regulatory foundation for BVLOS operations is outlined under section 901.87, permitting small and medium remotely piloted aircraft to conduct BVLOS flights in uncontrolled airspace, provided they meet standards for containment, command and control link reliability, detect and avoid capabilities, and requirements for control station design. These standards establish expectations for reliability thresholds, predictable lost link behavior, and advanced collision avoidance performance. 

The latest regulatory milestone arrived in March 2025 with amendments enabling lower risk BVLOS operations for aircraft up to 150 kilograms without requiring individual waivers. These changes took full effect in November 2025 and signalled the transition from trial based permissions toward scalable commercial BVLOS operations.

United Kingdom’s Progress

The United Kingdom is steadily advancing toward mainstream BVLOS operations through a clear, pragmatic roadmap laid out by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). In October 2025 the CAA published the “Future of Flight: BVLOS Roadmap,” establishing 2027 as the target for routine BVLOS integration, and aligning it with the broader Airspace Modernisation Strategy that charts air-space evolution through 2040. 

The regulatory approach is incremental and evidence-driven. Core to this strategy is the policy concept delineated in CAP 2533, “Airspace Requirements for the Integration of BVLOS Unmanned Aircraft”, which introduces Temporary Reserved Areas (TRAs) as interim airspace zones where BVLOS Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) can safely fly alongside conventional traffic under managed conditions. These TRAs may be activated as required and controlled by air-navigation service providers, sometimes including mandatory transponder or radio zones. To validate operational safety, the CAA has opened a regulatory sandbox under CAP 2616 inviting operators to trial BVLOS within TRAs and help shape future regulation. 

With advanced detect-and-avoid, electronic conspicuity, and unmanned traffic management under evaluation, the UK is methodically progressing from segregation to full airspace integration. This roadmap offers a practical path for operators to scale drone services while meeting rigorous safety and airspace compatibility standards.

United States’s Progress

The United States has been actively shaping the regulatory foundation for BVLOS operations for more than a decade, steadily evolving from limited experimental approvals to the current effort to formalize broad commercial scalability. The Federal Aviation Administration began structured integration efforts following the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which directed the agency to determine safe categories of unmanned aircraft operations and establish requirements for their integration into the National Airspace System. Since then, the FAA has pursued a phased and risk based approach by enabling operations through exemptions, waivers, and incremental rule making, while gathering significant data from industry and technology demonstrations.

A major milestone arrived in 2021 with the creation of the UAS BVLOS Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) tasked with recommending a performance based regulatory framework to support scalable commercial use cases. The committee delivered its final report in 2022, recommending consistent acceptable levels of risk, updates to right of way rules in low altitude shielded and non shielded environments, and a regulatory structure that supports third party services for BVLOS operations. 

The current proposed Part 108 rule represents the next decisive step toward normalizing routine BVLOS operations in the United States.

Conclusion

The unmanned aviation landscape is still shaping itself, and every entrepreneur, engineer, regulator, and investor involved is contributing to defining what the future of flight will look like. From navigating regulatory frameworks and demonstrating Beyond Visual Line of Sight safely, to building aircraft that must perform flawlessly in real-world operations, the journey demands resilience on a scale few industries can compare to. Yet, it is precisely this difficulty that makes the pursuit meaningful.

Every step forward in this sector creates the foundation for a safer, more efficient and more connected world. The challenges we face today are the very ones that will enable tomorrow’s autonomous logistics networks, scalable emergency response systems, sustainable urban air mobility, and global commercial drone operations. And while the climb is steep and sometimes discouraging, the progress being made across testing standards, infrastructure development and operational approvals proves that transformation is not a question of if, but when.

Because in aerospace innovation, success is never a sudden breakthrough. It is the accumulation of thousands of quiet iterations.

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Meet Manasa Kavya, an aerospace engineer with a knack for aircraft design and making complex tech easy to understand and over four years experience in UAV design and development. Whether it's building a drone or breaking down how it works, Manasa brings hands-on experience and clear insight.

She’s passionate about making STEM fun and approachable. Her articles aim to do just that, mixing deep know-how with a simple, engaging style, exploring ideas, telling stories and making technical concepts more accessible.