LAANC for Industry

How does LAANC benefit Industry?

The FAA is dedicated to ensuring drones are able to operate safely in the same airspace with manned aircraft. The LAANC capability offers industry the opportunity to work with the agency as we develop a UAS Traffic Management System (UTM). Companies approved to provide LAANC Services are known as FAA Approved UAS Service Suppliers (USS). This year there is one notable change to the LAANC onboarding process. New LAANC USSs may apply through this process to become approved providers of the B4UFLY Service.

To enable applicants to determine if they can meet the program criteria, we recommend potential respondents must read and understand the following documents:

Upon successful completion of all onboarding activities, the FAA will sign the MOA and the USS will receive notification that it may begin providing LAANC services.

Note: Applicants should have a mature product at the time of application or have the capability to develop it before Formal Onboarding.

graphic depicting a timeline showing the LAANC onboarding process and three decision points at July 7, 2024, August 9, 2024, and October 11, 2024

Application Period (05/01/2024 – 05/31/2024):

  • USS onboarding application submission must include:
    • Completed USS Application Package
    • Signed LAANC Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)
    • Signed B4UFLY Addendum to the LAANC MOA (if applicable)

FAA Submission Review (06/03/2024 – 07/05/2024):

  • FAA has 30 days to respond whether the applicant meets requirements to continue in the process.
  • During review, the FAA may ask applicants for additional information based on submitted materials

Technical Interviews (07/08/2024 – 08/09/2024):

  • FAA invites applicants that pass the review to demo & discuss their product.
  • If product meets the USS Performance Rules proceed to the formal testing phase

Formal Testing (08/12/2024 – 10/11/2024):

  • Applicants proceed to system integration with the LAANC Automation Platform in a staging environment
  • Applicants must demonstrate successful execution of validation scenarios to show compliance with the LAANC USS Performance Rules
  • Applicants have two attempts to pass the compliance demonstrations/tests
  • Applicants applying to offer B4UFLY will schedule a third separate session.
  • MOA countersigned by FAA upon successful completion of all onboarding activities

LAANC Go-Live (10/14/2024 – 11/13/2024):

  • FAA countersigns MOA upon successful completion of all onboarding activities
  • FAA grants production LAANC credentials to applicant
  • Applicant provides active production LAANC services within 30 days of finalizing the MOA
  • FAA grants production B4UFLY credentials to applicant (if applicable)
  • Applicant provides B4UFLY services within 30 days of finalizing the MOA

Interested parties should note:

  • Any information pertaining to the application period is hosted on this website, and through the FAA's digital channels.
  • This is not a regular government acquisition; there is no Screening Information Request (SIR) or Request for Proposals (RFP) related to this effort.
  • The FAA is not seeking or accepting unsolicited proposals outside of this application process.
  • The FAA will not pay for any information received or costs incurred at any point in the onboarding process.
  • Vendor participation in any informational session during the application process is not a promise for future collaboration with the FAA.
Last updated: Wednesday, March 27, 2024