Unmanned drones. Photo: Shutterstock The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is launching Phase 2 of the BEYOND program, expanding efforts to safely integrate drones into the National Airspace System (NAS) while supporting continued aviation innovation in the United States.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the next phase, which will double the current size of the program. The FAA plans to select up to eight additional state, local, tribal and territorial entities to serve as lead participants.
The expansion is designed to support more advanced drone operations and help address regulatory and operational challenges that remain before routine drone flights can be scaled across the national airspace.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said BEYOND Phase 2 will focus on partnerships and real-world operations needed to address challenges involving beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights, public safety missions, on-airport operations and other complex airspace environments.
The FAA aims to develop a regulatory framework for drones that is safe, scalable and based on operational data.
The program follows the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program, launched in 2017, and the first phase of BEYOND, which began in 2020.
Together, the programs established a model for cooperation between federal, state, local, tribal and territorial governments and the drone industry.
BEYOND Phase 1 generated significant operational experience. Participants completed more than 70,000 flights, including over 48,000 BVLOS operations.
The data collected during the program has helped inform the FAA's upcoming BVLOS rule and contributed to a shift away from case-by-case waivers toward clearer, performance-based regulatory standards.
With Phase 2, the FAA intends to expand participation and gather additional real-world data as increasingly sophisticated drone operations are developed and tested.
The agency said new lead participants will help tackle the remaining challenges involved in safely integrating routine drone operations into the National Airspace System.