The future of government drone operations is increasingly tied to one question: how do we make Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations scalable?
The Federal Aviation Administration’s proposed Part 108 holds a lot of say in the matter, defining the future of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones in the National Airspace System (NAS) and the role of the Northern Plains UAS Test Site.
Simply put, Part 108 normalizes BVLOS operations across several different categories of UAS activity in the NAS. It also consolidates a fragmented operating environment where UAS service providers have historically had to align with, work around, or seek relief from rules that were originally written for manned aviation and do not always cleanly apply to UAS.
Today, all BVLOS operations are handled through a patchwork of waivers, exemptions, COAs, test site authorities, and operational limitations. That process has worked but has not been scalable or timeline friendly.
Each operator must identify which existing rules apply, build a custom safety case, and usually request relief from certain rules sets for more advanced operations outside of what Part 107 enables and prove that the proposed operation can be conducted safely both in air and ground participants.
Part 108 changes that by creating a performance-based regulatory structure for BVLOS UAS operations. Instead of forcing operators into prescriptive rules that may not keep pace with the technology, Part 108 is intended to define the safety outcomes that must be achieved while allowing industry standards, operational performance, and new technologies to help determine how those outcomes are met.
Reducing Barriers to Future Operations
UAS technology is evolving faster than traditional rulemaking, meaning a performance-based framework gives the FAA and industry more flexibility to scale operations, adopt new detect-and-avoid solutions, integrate automated services, and correct for emerging technologies as they mature. The goal is to avoid locking the industry into outdated requirements that could hinder future UAS operations.
Part 108 would:
- Move BVLOS from a case-by-case environment toward a normalized operating framework through permits or certificates based on the operator or organization
- Consolidate several fragmented rules and approval pathways into a more defined BVLOS framework
- Establish clearer expectations for operators, aircraft, operating areas, crew roles, and risk mitigations
- Rely more heavily on performance-based requirements and accepted industry standards
- Allow new technologies and operational models to mature without requiring the FAA to keep rewriting the rule
- Create a more predictable path for commercial, public safety, infrastructure, logistics, and advanced UAS operations
Analyzing Part 146’s Impact
Additionally, Part 146 works hand in hand with Part 108 by regulating the services that make BVLOS operations possible, repeatable, and scalable. It begins to formalize the service provider side of the equation by introducing Automated Data Service Providers (ADSPs) as the broader umbrella for the services and providers that support advanced UAS operations.
While Part 108 is focused on the operator and how BVLOS flights are conducted, Part 146 is focused on the enabling infrastructure, technology, and data services that allow those operations to scale.
The context here is important. Part 146 stems from the FAA’s Near Term Approval Process (NTAP) framework, where the FAA started evaluating how Supplemental Data Service Providers (SDSP) could support BVLOS operations through surveillance, traffic awareness, conformance monitoring, strategic deconfliction, and other operational data services.
Vantis Meeting the Proposed Framework
Vantis, the NPUASTS-administered BVLOS framework, was the first system to fully work through that NTAP framework and receive an FAA Letter of Acceptance, validation as an SDSP, and a Part 107 BVLOS waiver tied to that service provider model. That proved a third-party infrastructure and data service provider could be evaluated by the FAA and used as part of an operator’s BVLOS safety case.
Part 146 builds on that model by creating service levels for ADSPs. Service Level 1 supports Part 108 operations within the baseline framework. Service Level 2 supports Part 108 operations that need regulatory relief and may become part of an operator’s safety case or means of compliance. Service Level 3 goes beyond Part 108 and supports future aviation use cases such as Advanced Air Mobility, higher-density operations, and services that could enhance manned aviation. Vantis is positioning itself to become one of the first Part 146 ADSPs certified across all three service levels by aligning its existing FAA NTAP and SDSP framework with the full regulatory structure.
While Part 108 will normalize BVLOS operations, Part 146 is what will allow the infrastructure, data services, and third-party support functions that make those operations scalable. For Vantis, this is significant because the system is already positioned to meet the majority of the proposed framework, with the team actively working to close any remaining gaps once the final rule is published.
Vantis gives operators access to a validated ground-based sense and avoid (GBSAA) and detect and avoid (DAA) system that supports BVLOS operations well beyond the traditional low-altitude UAS environment. Vantis has been built around performance-based requirements, industry standards, and FAA-reviewed safety cases to support operations from all levels of airspace.
That operating envelope becomes even more valuable when Vantis is paired with the Northern Plains UAS Test Site’s §44803 exemption. Those authorities allow operators to move beyond typical Part 107 limitations and conduct advanced BVLOS operations with larger UAS, including UAS up to 1,320 pounds.
The bottom line is Vantis is giving operators a way to work in an environment that looks much closer to where Part 108 and Part 146 are headed, without waiting for the final rule or transition period. The future of UAS flight is changing, but Vantis and the NPUASTS are already there.