Regulation 2019/945 on UAS and third-country operators of UAS

Regulation 2019/945 on UAS and third-country operators of UAS

COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2019/945 of 12 March 2019 on unmanned aircraft systems and on third-country operators of unmanned aircraft systems - text published in the Official Journal of the European Union

Subject Matter and Scope

This Regulation defines:

  • requirements for the design and manufacture of unmanned aircraft systems ("UAS") intended to be operated under the rules and conditions defined in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 and of remote identification add-ons.
  • the type of UAS whose design, production and maintenance are subject to certification.
  • rules on making UAS intended for use in the "open" category and remote identification add-ons available on the market and on their free movement in the Union.
  • rules for third-country UAS operators, when they conduct a UAS operation pursuant to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 within the single European sky airspace.

This Regulation applies to:

  • UAS intended to be operated under the rules and conditions applicable to the "open" category (except privately built UAS), and bearing a class identification label of the UAS class it belongs to.
  • remote identification add-ons.
  • UAS operated under the rules and conditions applicable to the "certified" and "specific" categories of UAS operations.
  • UAS operators that have their principal place of business, are established, or reside in a third country, if the UAS are operated in the Union.

This Regulation does not apply to UAS intended to be exclusively operated indoors.

Summary

The categories of UAS operations are defined in Regulation 2019/947 - "open", "certified" and "specific".

Requirements for UAS intended to be operated in the "open" category and remote identification add-ons

The Regulation details the obligations of manufacturers, their authorized representatives, importers and distributors.

Products must only be made available on the market if they satisfy the requirements for the "open" category and do not endanger the health or safety of persons, animals or property. Before placing a product on the Union market, a conformity assessment must be done and appropriate technical documentation should be drawn up. The relevant procedures are detailed in the Annex to this Regulation. By drawing up the EU declaration of conformity, the manufacturer assumes responsibility for the compliance of the product with the Regulation requirements. If there is reason to believe that a product on the market is not in conformity with these requiremets, an evaluation of the product concerned is carried out and, if necessary, corrective measures must immediately be taken to bring the product into conformity, to withdraw it or recall it. If the non-compliance persists, the Member State concerned must take all appropriate measures to restrict or prohibit the product being made available on the market or ensure that it is withdrawn or recalled from the market.

In order to ensure product conformity, conformity assessment bodies are established. They must be independent of the organizations being assessed and must not be the designer, manufacturer, supplier, installer, purchaser, owner, user (except for assessment purposes) or maintainer of the product which they assess. Their work is to be governed by the principles confidentiality, objectivity and impartiality and the remuneration of their personnel must not depend on the number of assessments carried out or on the results of those. A transparent and accessible appeal procedure against the decisions of the conformity assessment bodies must be available.

Requirements for UAS operated in the ‘certified’ and ‘specific’ categories

The design, production and maintenance of UAS must be certified if the UAS meets any of the following conditions:

  • has a characteristic dimension of 3 m or more, and is designed to be operated over assemblies of people;
  • is designed for transporting people;
  • is designed for the purpose of transporting dangerous goods and requiring a high level of robustness to mitigate the risks for third parties in case of accident;
  • is used in the ‘specific’ category of operations and the operational authorisation issued by the competent authority, following a risk assessment, considers that the risk of the operation cannot be adequately mitigated without the certification of the UAS.

A UAS subject to certification must comply with the applicable requirements set out in Commission Regulations (EU) No 748/2012, (EU) 2015/640 and (EU) No 1321/2014.

Unless it needs to be certified, a UAS used in the "specific" category must feature the technical capabilities set out:

  • in the operational authorisation issued by the competent authority, or
  • in the standard scenario defined in Appendix 1 to the Annex of Regulation 2019/947, or
  • as defined by the Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC).

Third-country UAS operators

UAS operators that have their principal place of business, are established, or reside in a third country, must comply with Regulation 2019/947 for the purpose of UAS operations within the SES airspace.

The competent authority for the third-country UAS operator is the competent authority of the first Member State where the UAS operator intends to operate.

A certificate of the remote pilot competency or UAS operator may be recognised by the competent authority for the purpose of operation within, to, and out of the Union provided that:

  • the third country asked for such recognition;
  • the certificate of the remote pilot competency or the UAS operator's certificate are valid documents of the State of issue; and
  • the Commission, after consultation of EASA, has ensured that the requirements on the basis of which such certificates have been issued provide the same level of safety as this Regulation does.

Annex to the Regulation

The Regulation is complemented by an Annex, containing details on various aspects of its provisions. It comprises the following parts:

  • Part 1. Requirements for a class C0 Unmanned aircraft system
  • Part 2. Requirements for a class C1 Unmanned aircraft system
  • Part 3. Requirements for a class C2 Unmanned aircraft system
  • Part 4. Requirements for a class C3 Unmanned aircraft system
  • Part 5. Requirements for a class C4 Unmanned aircraft system
  • Part 6. Requirements for a direct remote identification add-on
  • Parts 7, 8 and 9 - Conformity assessment procedures and requirements
  • Part 10. Contents of the technical documentation
  • Part 11. EU declaration of conformity
  • Part 12. Simplified EU declaration of conformity (a simplified EU declaration of conformity contains the exact internet address where the full text of the EU declaration of conformity can be obtained)
  • Part 13. Noise test code
  • Part 14. Indication of the guaranteed sound power level

Amendment

This Regulation was amended in 2020 by Regulation 2020/1058. Two new classes (C5 and C6) were introduced in the "specific" category and some existing provisions were updated.

Entry into Force

The Regulation entered into force in July 2019.

Regulation 2019/945 on UAS and third-country operators of UAS (OJ, 11.06.2019, amended by Regulation 2020/1058 of 27.04.2020)

Further Reading

European Commission

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