Last week, the uncrewed aviation industry came together in Las Vegas for Commercial UAV Expo to once again gather around the table to exchange ideas and to gain momentum as we rapidly move towards the official regulation that would allow flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), not only in the U.S., but around the world.
On Thursday, during the keynote to close out the final day of the event, Mr. Robert Reckert, Acting Division Manager, Emerging Technologies Division, Flight Standards Office of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), expressed confidence that the final Part 108 rule is approaching.
“We are very confident that we believe we have the right rule moving forward, and we are hoping that we’ll see that rule published by the end of the calendar year.”
In the summer of 2016, when the FAA issued Part 107, the entire world received a set of guidelines from the largest civil aviation authority, which was to be emulated (to certain geographical extents) worldwide. Ten years later, we have similar, but not copy/paste, rules for flights within the visual range of the operator (VLOS) all over the world.
Now, with the forthcoming issuance of Part 108 and the authorization for BVLOS flights, the civil aviation authorities’ community is holding its breath to see what the U.S. is doing. The FAA's rule will be studied carefully, and undoubtedly some provisions will be emulated while others are ignored across different geographies worldwide. Ultimately, though, it will be the beginning of unification.
The big difference between Part 107 and Part 108, apart from the obvious VLOS vs. BVLOS, is that, for the first time, international border crossing would be possible for non-piloted or remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS). Of course, that requires organization and coordination between neighboring authorities, and those talks will likely happen under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
For more than seven decades, ICAO has been the quiet architect behind the world’s most seamless transportation system. Crewed aviation works because ICAO made it work with standardized phraseology, harmonized procedures, interoperable licensing, and a shared operational language that lets a pilot depart from one continent and land on another without ever encountering a change in how aviation is conducted. Today, as uncrewed aircraft move from local operations into long‑range, autonomous missions, ICAO is once again being called to perform the same miracle, this time for drones.
The industry is bracing for a shift that will redefine what drones can do. Under Part 108, operators and their aircraft become aviation participants, capable of flying long distances, integrating with airspace systems, and eventually crossing borders. Once that happens, harmonization becomes the backbone of global scalability.
At Commercial UAV Expo, the growing presence of international regulators and operators clearly showed that the world understands this. The industry is already converging around shared terminology, shared expectations, and shared safety logic. ICAO is the institution positioned to turn that convergence into a unified global system.
The Architecture of Global Integration
ICAO’s work on uncrewed aviation did not begin with BVLOS. More than a decade ago, the organization laid the groundwork with its RPAS Standards and Recommended Practices, centered around the Manual on Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (Doc 10019).
This document established the first global principles for integrating drones into the aviation ecosystem. It defined how remote pilots should be licensed, how command‑and‑control (C2) links should perform, how detect‑and‑avoid (DAA) systems should behave, and how RPAS should interact with traditional air traffic management. In essence, it created the global equivalent of Part 107, a baseline that member states could adapt while maintaining interoperability.
However, BVLOS flights require a digital ecosystem that can manage high‑density drone operations without relying on traditional air traffic control. This is where ICAO’s Uncrewed Traffic Management (UTM) Framework enters the picture.
Now in its fourth edition, the framework outlines how these systems should function, exchange data, and integrate with conventional Air Traffic Management (ATM). It is intentionally flexible, allowing countries to build UTM systems tailored to their needs while maintaining global compatibility. Europe, Canada, Australia, Latin America, and Africa are already using it as a blueprint.
In many ways, the UTM Framework is the global precursor to Part 108. It provides the architecture for BVLOS operations at scale, ensuring that drones can be managed safely, efficiently, and consistently across borders.
Toward a Unified Future: ICAO’s Push for BVLOS Harmonization
The most significant development in ICAO’s recent work is the growing recognition that guidance alone is not enough. As BVLOS operations expand, national UTM systems risk evolving independently, creating fragmentation that could hinder cross‑border operations. ICAO has responded by moving toward more formal, binding standards. A recent Assembly working paper called for creating SARPs or PANS specifically for UTM, establishing a dedicated study group for UTM–ATM integration, and coordinating regional pilot projects to accelerate harmonization.
This shift reflects a broader truth: BVLOS is inherently international. Pipelines cross borders. Power grids span regions. Emergency response corridors link neighboring countries. Logistics networks operate globally. Once drones begin flying these missions autonomously, they will need the same level of interoperability that crewed aviation has enjoyed for decades.
Part 108 will accelerate this process. Manufacturers will design aircraft to meet FAA performance requirements. Operators will build BVLOS programs around FAA safety logic. Other countries will adopt similar frameworks to remain interoperable. ICAO’s role will be to take these national systems and unify them into a single global architecture.
To achieve this, ICAO must deliver three critical elements: binding BVLOS and UTM standards, global performance requirements for DAA and C2, and a unified UTM–ATM integration model. These are the uncrewed equivalents of ADS‑B, TCAS, and standardized radio phraseology, the tools that make crewed aviation seamless worldwide.
The momentum is already visible. International attendance at Commercial UAV Expo reflects a shared understanding that harmonization is not a distant goal but an immediate necessity. As BVLOS operations expand and Part 108 reshapes the U.S. regulatory landscape, ICAO’s harmonization efforts will become the foundation for a worldwide uncrewed aviation system.
Just as ICAO unified crewed aviation, it is now building the world’s first seamless, interoperable framework for uncrewed aircraft. The future of BVLOS is global; ICAO is already paving the runway, and Commercial UAV Expo is where we're discussing it as we approach the next phase of our promising industry: the era of global business and profitability. I can’t wait for Commercial UAV Expo 2027!
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