Mission Classification

How We Classify Every Mission

Keeping Operations Safe and Legal

Before any drone flight, we assess the proposed mission against a structured set of criteria to determine the correct operational category under EASA and UK regulations.

Every operation falls into one of three categories — Open, Specific, or Certified — based on the risk that the mission presents to people on the ground, airspace users, and critical infrastructure.

This classification determines the level of authorisation required before a single motor spins.

The Three Operational Categories

Open Category — Low Risk

A mission qualifies as Open Category when all of the following apply:

The drone has a Maximum Take-Off Mass (MTOM) below 25 kg.
The flight remains within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) at all times.
Altitude does not exceed 120 m (400 ft) above ground level.
No dangerous goods are carried and no materials are dropped.
The remote pilot retains the ability to intervene and retake control throughout the flight
The operation does not take place over or near uninvolved people beyond the limits of the applicable subcategory.

Within the Open Category, the subcategory is determined by the level of proximity to people:

No operational authorisation from the CAA or EASA is required for Open Category flights, provided the pilot holds the appropriate Remote Pilot Certificate and the operator is registered.

Specific Category — Medium Risk

A mission moves into Specific Category as soon as any one of the following applies:

MTOM (Maximum Take-Off Mass) exceeds 25 kg
Flight involves Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations
Altitude will exceed 120 m above ground level
The operation involves dropping materials or payloads
The drone will operate in an urban environment with an MTOM above 4 kg or without a class identification label
The nature of the operation cannot be accommodated within the Open Category limitations — for example, infrastructure inspection close to people, flights over assets in congested areas, or operations requiring bespoke safety mitigations.

Specific Category operations require a Operational Authorisation issued by the Czech CAA or the relevant national competent authority (EU), based on a safety risk assessment. We hold the necessary authorisations and conduct a documented SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment) or use an approved Standard Scenario where applicable.

Certified Category — High Risk

The Certified Category applies only to the highest-risk operations, where the level of risk is comparable to manned aviation. This includes:

Very large unmanned aircraft (typically 3 m or greater in any dimension)
Operations carrying passengers or dangerous goods
Operations over dense assemblies of people with large or high-energy aircraft

This category requires full certification of the aircraft, the operator organisation, and the remote pilot. We do not currently offer Certified Category operations.

Our Mission Assessment Criteria
When evaluating a proposed mission, we work through the following questions in order:

Aircraft weight and class mark — What is the MTOM? Does the aircraft carry a CE/UKCA class identification label?
Operational area — Is the area urban, rural, or industrial? Are uninvolved persons likely to be present? What is the population density?
Proximity to people — Will the aircraft fly over or near uninvolved persons? At what distances?
Visual line of sight — Will the remote pilot maintain direct unaided visual contact with the aircraft throughout the flight?
Altitude — Will the flight remain below 120 m AGL, or is a higher altitude required?
Payload and purpose — Will any goods be dropped? Is the payload a dangerous good or sensitive sensor requiring special handling?
Airspace — Are there controlled airspace restrictions, flight restriction zones (FRZs), or proximity to aerodromes, heliports, or critical infrastructure?
Autonomy — Will the aircraft operate autonomously, or under continuous pilot control?

The answers to these questions determine the category, the required pilot competency, the authorisations that must be in place before flight, and any additional mitigations required.

What This Means for You

Every mission briefing we conduct includes a written record of this assessment. If a proposed flight falls into Specific Category, we will inform you of the authorisation requirements and timeline before any work commences. If a site visit or pre-flight survey is needed to complete the risk assessment, we will arrange this as part of the project scoping process.

Our goal is straightforward: every flight we conduct is legal, documented, and safe — for your assets, your personnel, and the public.

All operations are conducted in accordance with EASA UAS Regulation (EU) 2019/947 and UK CAA regulations (SI 2020/1476 as amended) where applicable.