A Presidential Memorandum established the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP) on October 25, 2017. The nine IPP lead participants accomplished many achievements under the IPP, but there were still challenges to be met, which are detailed in the IPP Final Report. Once the program concluded on October 25, 2020, as mandated by statute, the FAA established a new program called BEYOND to address remaining challenges and continue the partnerships and progress made under IPP.

The BEYOND program launched October 26, 2020, as a four-year initiative. It focuses on working toward operating under established rules rather than waivers, collecting data to develop performance-based standards, collecting and addressing community feedback, understanding the potential and realized societal, economic and community benefits of drone use and streamlining the approval processes for drone integration.

BEYOND Phase 1 concluded in 2024. Over the course of Phase 1, BEYOND achieved 70,563 total flights; 48,383 of those flights took place beyond visual line of sight. BEYOND Phase 2 began in 2025, thanks to the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 that established the second phase of the program and extended it until 2029.  Additional accomplishments for the eight BEYOND Phase 1 Lead Participants are listed below. 

Lead Participants

•    Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
•    Kansas Department of Transportation
•    Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, Tennessee
•    Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), Virginia
•    North Carolina Department of Transportation
•    North Dakota Department of Transportation
•    The City of Reno, Nevada
•    University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF)

Accomplishments:

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

• The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma performed one beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight with a fixed-wing drone to test the new uAvionx C2 links in November 2021.
• The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma performed flights with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Forestry Service on March 3 and March 28, 2022, to aid in watching the fire lines of the two controlled burns to watch for backfires. The flights took place in Atoka County on the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Daisy Ranch and in Pittsburg County near the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Hunting Lodge on the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Daisy Ranch in the Ti Valley area. They used high-resolution thermal cameras to monitor fires obscured by smoke. The drone successfully identified at least three backfires missed by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Forestry service, which allowed them to extinguish the backfires without incident.
• In January 2023, CNO obtained their first Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) waiver without Visual Observers (VOs), employing a layered mitigation approach using ground-based radar and ADSB-in on a combined data display. 
• PBS interviewed CNO in January 2023 for their “Wings Over the Rockies” series. This feature was scheduled to be aired later in 2023.
• In January 2023, CNO received approval for BVLOS operations using uAvionix SkyLine Managed C2 and Detect & Avoid sensors on the Emerging Aviation Technology Center UAS Test Range. Read the full article.
• As of October 2023, CNO has conducted BVLOS flights without VOs up to 28+ miles roundtrip, under one waiver. 
• On October 24, 2023, CNO obtained their first waiver toward their BVLOS Sandbox Proposal. This waiver covers a smaller segment of their Sandbox, from McAlester to Atoka. CNO’s regional BVLOS corridor (Sandbox Proposal) is planned to extend from McAlester to the southern border, 45 miles to the OK/TX state line. Initial use case is medical package delivery for moving test samples between CNO clinics.
• On February 5, 2024, CNO received approval for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) without visual observers (VOs) waiver to conduct infrastructure inspections on CNO’s Daisy Ranch with the Skydio aircraft. CNO’s safety case leveraged shielding as a primary mitigation for obtaining this waiver, which is an amendment that supersedes and replaces the previous waiver, which permitted BVLOS operations with a visual observer.
• On July 24, 2024, CNO received approval for a waiver to part 107.51b, which requested the ability to conduct package delivery operations up to 3500 feet AGL. Maneuvers. This waiver supersedes and replaces the previous waiver for their package delivery ConOps to perform BVLOS medical deliveries and logistics network for the Choctaw Nation Health clinics.
• From August 29 to August 31, 2024, CNO successfully conducted line of sight (LOS) flight operations totaling 20 hours during their Labor Day Festival celebration. The flights, in collaboration with the Lighthorse Choctaw Nation Tribal Police Force, were used for surveillance and crowd monitoring, with no incursions reported. The plan for the next Labor Day celebration is to have these flights conducted at 800 feet above ground level (AGL), with a drone-only temporary flight restriction (TFR) established.
• On September 25, 2024, CNO received approval for an airspace authorization waiver. This waiver is for operational flights near the McAlester Air Force Base for their medical delivery, ConOps

Kansas Department of Transportation

• In July 2022, Kansas' DOT partner Evergy Energy received a statewide part 107 waiver to allow BVLOS flights under the following conditions: within Evergy transmission line easements, lower than 300 feet AGL, in sparsely populated regions of Class G airspace.
• On February 10, 2023, Areion (Spright) received a nationwide BVLOS waiver without VOs for utility inspection work in Class G airspace.
• On January 8, 2024, KDOT and their partner KSU were granted a part 107 waiver for 107.31 and 107.33 to allow sUAS Skydio X2E remote dock OPS for construction project monitoring and campus security situational awareness on the Salina, Kansas, campus. This waiver is significant due to the close proximity of the KSLN Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and the successful level of coordination required between AUS, AFS and ATO.
• On February 28, 2024, KDOT partner, Hylio, was granted a 44807 exemption for agricultural operations with the AG-230 platform. Hylio will conduct multiple UAS operations at night with a VO.
• On March 3, 2024, KDOT partner Hylio was issued a 44807 blanket certificate of authorization (COA) that would allow Hylio to operate up to three Hylio AG-230 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) weighing over 55 pounds, simultaneously, by a single pilot in command (PIC) without the services of a VO, during night VLOS, in visual meteorological conditions, providing commercial agricultural-related services in the United States. This blanket waiver will be used throughout industry as the standard template for all 44807 blanket COAs. Hylio is the first company to receive this particular COA.

Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority

• In March 2022, the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority (MSCAA) and partner FedEx received a waiver that approved flying BVLOS with (VOs) at a facility off-airport. The waiver allowed for testing BVLOS flights for their concepts of operations (ConOps). The goal was to conduct similar future operations on-airport.
• In September 2022, FedEx sought and received an expansion of its visual line of sight (VLOS) on-airport operations to fly BVLOS with VOs with airspace authorizations for the entire airport. FAA issued an updated airspace authorization on October 11, 2022, to work in concert with the new waiver. On October 26, 2022, Memphis airport flew their first BVLOS-with-VOs flights on airport property.
• In October 2022, FedEx received their Airspace Authorization, allowing them to effectively fly in Areas 4-8, effectively across the entire Memphis airport.
• In October 2022, FedEx completed their first BVLOS with Visual Observers (VOs) flight on-airport at Memphis Shelby County Airport.
• On April 12, 2023, FedEx submitted a part 107.31 waiver for BVLOS without VOs. This waiver allows FedEx to advance their multi-mission goals started during IPP including airport surface and perimeter surveillance. 
• In August 2023, FedEx received their airspace authorization to fly BVLOS without VOs for the entire airport. FedEx also completed their first BVLOS without VOs flight on-airport at Memphis International Airport in August.
• On August 21, 2023, FedEx submitted a part 107.39 and part 107.145 waiver for BVLOS Operations Over People (OOP) and Operations Over Moving Vehicles (OOMV). This waiver allows FedEx to advance their multi-mission goals started during IPP, including airport surveillance and payload delivery.
• On October 25, 2023, FedEx received approval for their BVLOS without VOs waiver demonstrating the repeatability of BVLOS operations on airport. This waiver supersedes their previous BVLOS without VOs waiver by amending it to include OOP and OOMV. The previously existing airspace authorization was amended to include authorization for flights.
• In February 2024, FedEx completed eight operational flight requirements, demonstrating the BVLOS operations without VOs on airport.
• On March 15, 2024, FAA approved FedEx for a RID part 89 Exemption Request, which grants FedEx relief from the requirements of a Standard Remote ID for use with a DJI M600 and DJI M210v2 for BVLOS flights. It also allows for the use of a broadcast module along with established operating requirements to satisfy the FAA RID requirements.
• On March 29, 2024, FedEx, received a 107 waiver adding the Skydio X10 platform to their BVLOS operations.
• On August 7, 2024, FedEx received a 107 waiver adding the FedEx headquarters building to their existing waivers.  

Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), Virginia

• In November 2020, Virginia Tech led a survey of Christiansburg, Va., residents to study public perception of drone delivery a year after the launch of Wing’s service. The team found remarkably high support for the program: 87 percent of residents reported that they liked the idea of drone delivery and 89 percent reported that they would be likely to use the service. These results are significantly more positive than surveys have found in the general population, suggesting that experiencing drone delivery may improve public perception and help dispel concerns.
• In December 2021, Virginia Tech received approval for the first FAA-accepted Means of Compliance (MOC) to the Operations Over People Rule. This allowed them to continue using their developed test methods to demonstrate compliance for flying drones over people.
• In November 2020, Virginia Tech led a survey of Christiansburg, Va., residents to study public perception of drone delivery a year after the launch of Wing’s service. The team found remarkably high support for the program: 87 percent of residents reported that they liked the idea of drone delivery and 89 percent reported that they would be likely to use the service. These results are significantly more positive than surveys have found in the general population, suggesting that experiencing drone delivery may improve public perception and help dispel concerns. 
• Dominion Energy received a waiver in April 2022 permitting BVLOS inspections of more than 40 power generation facilities across seven states, allowing them to conduct the frequent inspections of these facilities require more efficiently and safely. The waiver leveraged the sophisticated obstacle-avoidance capabilities of a drone manufactured by Skydio, which allowed Dominion to safely fly the drone close to structures. 
• In October 2022, the first drones passed Virginia Tech's means of compliance for the FAA's 2021 rule on operations over people. The aircraft, three models in AgEagle's eBee X series, met the threshold for Category 3, becoming the first drones in the U.S. to be declared compliant. Virginia Tech's tests, developed by the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership in collaboration with researchers in the university's College of Engineering, remain the only performance-based means of compliance for this landmark rule. 
• Dominion Energy received Close Proximity Low Altitude (CPLA) BVLOS waiver to conduct drone-in-a-box full-remote fixed site inspections on February 2, 2023, to perform critical infrastructure inspections at generation facilities in six states.
• In July, Virginia Tech/Wing hosted a STEM camp for middle-school-aged (11-12 years old) students to teach hands-on experience on building drones and how they operate. The camp focused on diversity in underrepresented and underserved populations; participants received their FAA TRUST certificate at the completion of the event.
• On August 29, 2024, Dominion Energy received an approved 107 waiver to conduct on-airport Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) inspections of their solar farm with the Skydio X2E. The 835-acre solar farm surrounds the departure end of Runway 30 at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).
• On August 29, 2024, Dominion Energy also received an approved 107 waiver to conduct BVLOS inspections of their energy substations with the Skydio X2 sUA.  Operations will include both day/nighttime remote operations in three areas, under VMC conditions. Operations will also include shielded operations using ADS-B In and without VOs.

North Carolina Department of Transportation

• Zipline, BEYOND team member to North Carolina DOT and Partnership for Safety Plan (PSP) partner, received its part 135 certification in June 2022. FAA authorized Zipline to complete the longest-range on-demand commercial drone deliveries in the U.S., with operations covering the largest area and greatest distance of any commercial drone delivery system in the country. This was the first part 135 certification issued under BEYOND, and the first fixed-wing drone to receive part 135 certification in the U.S.  Read Zipline’s press release. 
• Matternet’s M2 drone achieved type certification in September 2022. This was the first non-military unmanned aircraft to achieve Type Certification in the U.S. Type Certification will allow Matternet to scale drone delivery operations in the U.S. and gives the company a strong competitive advantage in the drone delivery market. Read Matternet’s press release.
• In January 2023, Flytrex’s longtime partner Causey Aviation Unmanned was granted standard part 135 Air Carrier Certification, to operate and complete long-range on-demand commercial drone deliveries in the U.S. Causey Aviation Unmanned is the fifth UAS company to obtain part 135 certification since August 2020.
• In February 2023, the FAA approved Zipline’s change submission to enable the DAA software within the mode-c veil. This allows Zipline to collect data to support their goal of BVLOS.
• On March 2, 2023, Aerial Vantage received a BVLOS part 107 waiver for nationwide Class G operations, which allows for operations across the United States in sparsely populated areas with low ground and airspace risk.
• In April 2023, partner AeroX signed an agreement to receive two SRC Radars and will operate under Project ATLAS (Air Traffic Low Altitude Surveillance). The focus will be on providing surveillance data on non-cooperative aircraft to fill a known gap and enable BVLOS.
• On July 28, 2023, NCDOT was issued a statewide BVLOS waiver. NCDOT utilizes this waiver for their construction sites with the Skydio X2 platform in class G airspace. 
• On October 26, 2023, Causey Aviation Unmanned was granted FAA authorization to conduct beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) package delivery. They join other North Carolina partners - Zipline and UPSFF - who are two of four initial companies to receive BVLOS exemptions released in September 2023. These approvals are key to scaling package delivery operations across the United States.  Read more about the UPS Flight Forward  and Zipline approvals.
• On July 12, 2024, NCDOT’s Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for Drone Package Delivery in North Carolina was completed with a Mitigated Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The PEA allows part 135 operators wanting to operate within areas addressed in the PEA to complete a substantially shorter National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review.

North Dakota Department of Transportation

• In November and December 2021, North Dakota and industry partners conducted two live demonstrations for key FAA stakeholders to display the surveillance and communications systems of North Dakota's Vantis network to support UAS operations. The team demonstrated the capability of the Mission Network Operations Center (MNOC) to provide air traffic situational awareness to the UAS remote operator via ground-based sense and avoid (GBSAA) radar and automatic depend on surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) antenna.
• In June 2022, North Dakota held a ribbon-cutting event for the grand opening of the new Vantis Mission and Network Operations Center (MNOC) at Grand Forks, ND. Vantis is the first-of-its-kind statewide network that supports UAS operations in North Dakota beyond visual line of sight. The ribbon-cutting event for the MNOC included representatives from the FAA, legislature, congressional delegation, North Dakota Department of Commerce and Department of Transportation, the UAS industry, the Northern Plains UAS Test Site and Thales, the Vantis system integrator.
• In early 2023, uAvionix received a multiyear waiver approval to conduct BVLOS UAS flights leveraging the Vantis Network in North Dakota. uAvionix, with support from the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, demonstrated to the FAA that it established adequate risk mitigations to satisfy the required safety standards for the specified BVLOS operation within the national airspace system.
• North Dakota received a 44803(c) waiver on March 23, 2023, which enables civil aircraft operations for flight testing in furtherance of UAS certification and integration into National Airspace. 
• On April 20, 2023, Grand Sky received BVLOS approval enabling operations up to 9,000’ MSL with the Meteomatics Meteodrone. Weather data collected will yield more accurate and precise forecasts and a better understanding of current weather conditions. As a next step, Grand Sky has submitted a request to expand these operations up to 16,900’ MSL. 
• On September 6, 2023, North Dakota partner uAvionix was issued grant of exemption No. 21097 enabling part 91 BVLOS operations with the Rapace UAS leveraging the Vantis Network for the purpose of research and development. In the exemption, the FAA recognized Vantis as a third-party service provider and determined that the Vantis System meets the applicable requirements of industry consensus standards, or an alternative set of requirements that ensure safe integration of BVLOS UAS operations in the NAS. Read the FAA’s press release.

The City of Reno

• In December 2021, Drone America received a Special Airworthiness Certificate – Experimental Category (SAC-EC) for two of their aircraft to conduct durability and reliability testing. The ability to conduct market survey R&D with the aircraft was granted in July 2022 for operations in limited COA areas for the purpose of proving effective use of the aircraft and sensors, and to develop workflows which will eventually be used for public and commercial operations. This was a major milestone for the operator as it allows them to conduct and learn from tailored research, train their crew, survey the market, and advance their planned operations. As of June 2023, Drone America has successfully completed internal durability and reliability testing and market survey R&D enabling them to apply to begin commercial operations.
• Under the BEYOND program, Iris Automation received two BVLOS waivers without the requirement for human visual observers. On March 2, 2022, Iris Automation flew 107 miles in one day in honor of part 107, using its Casia X 360° onboard detect-and-avoid system as the sole mitigation for identifying and avoiding traffic. The waiver enables small drones to fly BVLOS within authorized airspace in rural, unpopulated areas south of Reno. Just one month later Iris received a second waiver this time using its Casia G ground-based collision avoidance system. Casia G creates a stationary perimeter of monitored airspace allowing drones to safely perform missions within that area.
• A third BVLOS approval using two Casia G nodes was granted to Iris Automation in October 2022, creating a protected 'corridor' of airspace to simulate the river the Reno Fire Department hopes to perform search and rescue operations over. 
• Iris Automation has used the experience through BEYOND to support other use cases:
  • Iris gained approval for Casia G as an alternate means of compliance for the Pearland Police Department's drone as first responder true BVLOS COA, granted in March 2023.
  • Iris’ customer Avisight was awarded a waiver on June 1, 2023, to operate a Harris H6 drone under contract to Shell BVLOS without visual observers using Iris’ on-board Casia X device. This approval allows Avisight to patrol the Falcon pipeline within the Mode C veil of Pittsburgh International Airport.
• Drone America received a temporary COA on January 13, 2023, to respond to a critical situation in Nevada, where there were widespread power outages due to extreme winter storms in the area; the terrain includes several high mountains with impassable roads from the winter storms, leaving many public citizens with no electricity. Drone America conducted operations to determine in a timely manner where the infrastructure was damaged.
• In April 2024, Drone America was granted a Special Airworthiness Certificate Experimental Category (SAC-EC) for research and development, crew training and market survey operations.
• On May 13, 2024, Drone America was granted a 44807 exemption for the Yamaha Fazer SAR platform for aerial data collection operations.
• On October 29, 2024, Drone America was granted exemption No. 22999 to operate their Yamaha Fazer SAR, weighing over 55 lbs., for crew training, research and development and market survey.

University of Alaska Fairbanks

• A Letter of Agreement (LOA) was signed between the FAA, Fairbanks International Airport, and the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) for drone operations departing from the general aviation runway. From UAF: “An unmanned aircraft owned and operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks flew from the general aviation area of Fairbanks International Airport in May 2022, a historic feat in the effort to safely incorporate such aircraft into controlled airspace. The flight was the first civilian large drone operation from an international airport in Alaska.”  To learn more, read the rest of the UAF article.
• Alaska received a 44083C waiver on February 6, 2023, for civil operations within a test area. This waiver supports aircraft manufacturers and operators in proving the safety of their drones so they can be certified for flight in the national airspace system.
• On March 16, 2023, the Alaska team received a COA to conduct Public Aircraft Operations (PAO) for avalanche mitigation within Class E and G airspace using the Freefly Alta X platform.
• In September 2023, the Alaska team completed their SeaHunter flights back and forth between Fairbanks International Airport and Nenana Municipal airport, demonstrating the airport-to-airport concept of operations after months of planning.
• In October 2023, the FAA approved a BVLOS waiver for an operator partnered with the Alaska team to conduct drone operations supporting oil and gas platform facility infrastructure inspections and water sample deliveries.
• On April 22, 2024, UAF was granted a BVLOS without VOs waiver, which allows partner Furie to deliver water samples from an oil rig offshore back to land.
• On July 10, 2024, Furie conducted BVLOS testing for water sample delivery from the Cook Inlet to the Nikiski Oil Platform, which is about 17 miles.