FAA Part 108: Shaping the Future of BVLOS UAVs

What will define the next generation of UAV leaders?

As the FAA moves toward routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, manufacturers that prepare early could gain an advantage in the rapidly expanding drone market.

FAA Part 108 is a proposed rule designed to create a standardized, performance-based framework for BVLOS operations in the United States. Published in August 2025, it aims to reduce reliance on mission-specific waivers and exemptions while enabling safe, repeatable drone operations at scale.

For UAV manufacturers, Part 108 is more than a regulatory change. It could directly influence aircraft architecture, propulsion systems, reliability testing, data collection, and long-term product support.

Why Does BVLOS Matter?

VLOS requires a remote pilot to maintain direct visual observation of the aircraft. BVLOS operations go beyond that range, relying on onboard systems, communications, automation, and safety technologies.

BVLOS is critical to applications such as powerline and pipeline inspection, package delivery, agriculture, mapping, railway monitoring, public safety, and defense.

The market opportunity is significant. MarketsandMarkets projects the global BVLOS UAV market to grow from $15.36 billion in 2025 to $25.32 billion by 2030, representing a 10.5% CAGR.

Today, many BVLOS operations require individual regulatory approvals, making expansion slower and more complex. Part 108 is intended to provide a more scalable pathway.

What Would Part 108 Change?

The proposed framework introduces several important changes:

• Risk-based approval: Lower-risk operations could operate under an Operating Permit, while more complex operations would require an Operating Certificate with additional oversight and a Safety Management System.
• Larger aircraft: The proposal accommodates UAVs up to 1,320 pounds, with lateral dimensions up to 25 feet and operating speeds up to 87 knots, subject to applicable limitations.
• Organizational accountability: Responsibility increasingly shifts from individual pilots toward structured operational roles, including an Operations Supervisor and Flight Coordinator.
• Standards-based compliance: Manufacturers would demonstrate compliance through FAA-accepted Means of Compliance (MoC) and a Declaration of Compliance (DoC).
• Greater emphasis on safety: Requirements address detect-and-avoid, cybersecurity, reliability, flight-data recording, quality systems, and continued operational safety.

The FAA has also proposed Part 146, establishing a framework for Automated Data Service Providers that could support strategic deconfliction and other data services for BVLOS operations.

Who Benefits From FAA Part 108?

Routine BVLOS unlocks value across nearly every sector that inspects, delivers, or monitors over distance. Once Part 108 is in force, operations that today require numerous waivers become repeatable business activities:

Part 107 vs. Part 108

Why Propulsion Matters?

Part 108 could have a major impact on UAV propulsion design.

Proposed requirements in §108.840 and §108.845 address power and propulsion-system safety, reliability, durability, and failure consequences. For manufacturers, this increases the importance of fault tolerance, redundancy, fault isolation, and motor-out controllability.

The proposal also includes a function and reliability testing framework involving at least 150 flight hours without specified safety-critical failures.

This means propulsion systems must demonstrate more than peak performance. Motors and ESCs need to deliver consistent performance over extended operation while withstanding thermal, mechanical, and electrical stresses.

Telemetry Becomes Part of the Safety Case

Modern ESCs can provide valuable operational data, including current, voltage, RPM, temperature, and fault history.

This information can support aircraft health monitoring, maintenance, anomaly investigation, and continued operational safety. As BVLOS operations become increasingly automated, propulsion telemetry can become an important source of evidence for demonstrating system health and reliability.

What Should UAV Manufacturers Do Now?

Part 108 remains a proposed rule, and the final requirements may change. The FAA reopened its comment period in early 2026 on issues including electronic conspicuity and right of way.

Manufacturers should therefore focus on the broader direction of the regulation rather than designing around individual provisions.

That means building reliability, redundancy, diagnostics, telemetry, cybersecurity, and compliance documentation into UAV development from the start.

For propulsion suppliers, competitive advantage will increasingly depend not only on power density and efficiency, but also on validated reliability, fault tolerance, health monitoring, and data integration.

Conclusion

FAA Part 108 could transform BVLOS from an operation requiring case by case authorization into a more standardized and scalable part of commercial and defense aviation.

While the final rule is still evolving, one message is clear: future UAVs will need to demonstrate not just performance, but safety, reliability, resilience, and measurable operational health.

For UAV manufacturers, propulsion systems will be an increasingly important part of that equation. Companies preparing today will be better positioned for the next generation of routine BVLOS operations.

Note: FAA Part 108 is still a proposed rule as of August 31, 2026. Requirements are subject to change.

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Author Bio

Author: Mohammad Faheemul Islam, Senior Market Research Analyst, ePropelled

Faheemul is a Mechanical Engineer with a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering and 7+ years of experience spanning drone systems, market research and business development. He brings hands-on engineering knowledge, commercial insight, and market research expertise, with a focus on emerging unmanned systems and next-generation autonomous platforms.

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