BVLOS · BVLOS
TSA Plans Closed-Door Part 108 Security Talks After the Rule Lands
TSA is recruiting hand-picked operators for closed BVLOS security roundtables that run only after the Part 108 final rule publishes. Deadline October 19.
BVLOS
News, deep dives, and analysis — every BVLOS story, newest first.
273
Articles
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Beats covered
6
Reporters on beat
Sep 4
Last updated
BVLOS — beyond visual line of sight — is the single capability the whole industry is waiting on, because nothing scales while a human must see the aircraft. Delivery, docked security patrols, inspection, drone-as-first-responder: all of it is BVLOS, and all of it currently runs on exceptions.
The rule that would change that is Part 108, and its story is a clock. Executive Order 14307 gave the FAA 240 days; the deadline passed February 1, 2026; the text has sat in White House review since July 10. DOT says the delay is deliberate — better slow than obsolete — while operators say the uncertainty freezes investment.
Meanwhile the exceptions have become an economy. The FAA cleared 1,000+ agencies for DFR flights in ten months and cleared drone delivery’s environmental path nationwide over sixteen state attorneys general. The ambition riding on routine BVLOS is not small: our drone delivery guide covers a market where Uber and Zipline talk about a million deliveries a day.
We track the rulemaking, the waivers and the operations in one place — they are one story with three fronts. The FAA desk carries the wider regulatory picture. Every BVLOS article lands in the feed below.
Key facts
- What BVLOS is
- Beyond Visual Line of Sight — flying past where the pilot can see, the capability every serious drone operation needs
- The rule everyone waits for
- Part 108, which would make BVLOS routine instead of waiver-by-waiver; in White House review since July 10, 2026, past its executive-order deadline
- Who flies it today
- 1,000+ public-safety agencies under expedited waivers, and delivery operators under exemptions — Uber and Zipline are targeting a million deliveries a day
- The stated reason for delay
- DOT says it is deliberate — avoiding writing today's technology into a decade-long rule
Start here
- DOT Says the BVLOS Delay Is Deliberate, and Zipline Warns the Uncertainty Freezes Drone Investment — August 1, 2026
- FAA Clears Drone Delivery's Environmental Path Nationwide, Overriding 17 State Attorneys General — July 31, 2026
- FAA Cleared Over 1,000 Agencies for Drone First Responder Flights in 10 Months, and the Full List Is Now Public — August 7, 2026
Last updated September 4, 2026 — the feed below updates with every new story.
UAV EXPO
Pilot Institute Warns Of A Drone Hiring Cliff In Two To Three Years
Greg Reverdiau told Commercial UAV Expo the affordable drone that created this industry is disappearing, and aviation already ran this experiment once.
Industry
SwissDrones CEO Exits On LinkedIn As Leadership Splits Three Ways
Ulrich Amberg is stepping down as SwissDrones CEO after six years, and the company is dividing his job among three executives as it pushes into the US.
FAA
FAA Doubles BEYOND Drone Program While the BVLOS Rule Sits Unfinished
The FAA will add up to eight new BEYOND participants to test larger cargo drones, longer flights, and operations above 400 feet as Part 108 stays stuck.
EVENT
Commercial UAV Expo Opens As FCC And Tariff Deadlines Hit Mid-Show
Commercial UAV Expo runs September 1-3 at Caesars Forum. The FCC import comment window closes on day two and Section 232 tariffs start on day three.
Drone Delivery
Michigan Ford Dealer Flies Auto Parts By Drone On $740,000 Grant
Jack Demmer Ford launched a state-funded drone parts delivery network in metro Detroit, flown by an aircraft that cleared both the FAA and the FCC Covered List.
DRONE DELIVERY
Uber and Zipline Target 1 Million Drone Deliveries a Day, 230 Times Today's Rate
Uber and Zipline aim for one million drone deliveries a day by the end of 2029, roughly 230 times Zipline's current global rate, while Part 108 sits unpublished at OIRA.
DFR
FAA Cleared Over 1,000 Agencies for Drone First Responder Flights in 10 Months, and the Full List Is Now Public
A FOIA release names 1,000+ agencies the FAA cleared for drone first responder flights in 10 months, more than in the previous seven years combined.
Frequently asked questions
What does BVLOS mean?
Beyond Visual Line of Sight: operating a drone past the point where the pilot can see it. Almost everything the industry wants to scale — delivery, docked patrols, infrastructure inspection, drone-as-first-responder — is a BVLOS operation, which is why one acronym carries so much weight.
Is BVLOS legal in the US?
With authorization, yes — through waivers and exemptions granted case by case. More than 1,000 public-safety agencies were cleared in ten months, and delivery operators fly under their own exemptions. What does not exist yet is routine BVLOS by rule.
What is Part 108 and when does it arrive?
The FAA rule that would turn BVLOS from a waiver into a routine authorization. Executive Order 14307's deadline expired February 1, 2026; the text reached White House review July 10. DOT calls the delay deliberate — writing today's tech into a decade-long rule is the failure mode they say they are avoiding. Operators say the uncertainty freezes investment. Both are right.
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