Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations NPRM Announced

In a press conference held on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) focused on drone operations, entitled “Normalizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations.” The proposed rule was published on the heels of Executive Order 14307, “Unleashing American Drone Dominance,” signed by President Trump in early June. The order was enacted in part to accelerate the rulemaking surrounding the integration of UAS into the National Airspace System and mandated that a final rule on BVLOS to enable commercial and public safety drone operations be published by February 2026. 

The 600-plus page NPRM proposes changes to manned flight operations, particularly Part 91 right-of-way rules. The proposal has a 60-day comment period following the date of its publication to the Federal Register. EAA Advocacy staff is actively reviewing the NPRM and will provide an analysis of the rule and its effects on general aviation as soon as possible and will be submitting comments on behalf of its members.