SORA: A blueprint for faster military drone regulation in the UK
James Richmond is the Head of Advanced Air Mobility at professional services and project management firm AtkinsRéalis, which leads the Air Mobility Ecosystem Consortium. James is part of a dedicated team whose mission is to help decarbonise aviation and enable new modes of transportation to realise the future of flight. His roles have spanned aerospace engineering, project management and client management.
United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced last month his plan to “cut red tape” to “unleash American drone dominance” – complete with a memo-carrying drone and Metallica backing music. The theatrics prompted fresh discussions about whether regulation is hindering uncrewed air systems (UAS) development – an issue facing UK defence too.
Using more understated language, the UK’s Strategic Defence Review said: “The RAF must stay at the leading edge of combat air’s evolution… with a mix of crewed, uncrewed, and increasingly autonomous platforms” yet later acknowledging, “Technological advancements are outpacing the development of regulatory frameworks to govern many of the most potentially disruptive technologies.”
Throughout, the landmark SDR recommends radical reform to unlock greater innovation, highlighting the challenge for regulatory bodies such as the UK Military Aviation Authority (MAA): balancing the drive for innovation and speed with the essential requirements of airworthiness and flightworthiness.
The solution for the UK may already exist in civil aviation regulations. At present, a lack of guidance on military drones creates uncertainty, potentially hindering investment in UK drone development and potentially pushing innovation offshore.
However, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and industry increasingly benefit from dual-use innovation (technology that serves both civilian and military purposes), with some commercial-off-the-shelf equipment being adapted for military purposes. Effective guidance would allow developers to align with regulations before investing in UAS that meet defence needs.
SORA as a blueprint for military drone regulation
Moving from more rigid certification requirements, one potential route for the UK to address these challenges is for the MAA to consider Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) for its basic regulation for UAS, following the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) successful approach.
SORA provides a structured method for assessing drone operation risks and identifying appropriate safety measures, essentially creating a proportional regulatory response based on actual risk levels.
Although used in some UK applications, it isn’t universally adopted across defence and doesn’t provide bespoke guidance to address specific defence-related issues. A drone designed to carry weapons in the military context is very different to one designed to carry a parcel or survey a building and needs different kinds of certification and assurance.
Although a strong blueprint, SORA is currently generic, so a ‘Military SORA’ would need to balance the nuances of the operational landscape while being “as civil as possible, as military as necessary”.
Specific guidance will be required, for example, on how SORA’s classification of air risk can be applied to military airspace, and how classification of ground risks can be applied to the integrated battlefield (where multiple military systems operate simultaneously).
SORA currently deals with civilian airspace, but around military airports, or areas where the military would fly, airspace is managed differently. To classify ground risks, an understanding of how military-specific requirements – such as weapons – are viewed by the MAA is essential, together with an understanding of how these requirements will influence the risks.
The CAA has invested time and effort in adapting SORA into a framework that is specific to the UK market. It has engaged industry throughout the process, introducing a scheme to help drone developers understand if they meet regulations, with AtkinsRéalis and other independent assessors appointed to assess initial applications and streamline the approval process. This has given industry the clarity and tools needed to invest and collaborate in the commercial UAS sector.
Other nations are also reducing regulatory hurdles: Sweden has aligned its civil and military research and development for dual-use regulation, Germany is developing adaptive certification frameworks for modular drone development, and France allows ‘provisionally regulated’ UAS operations during certification.
How the UK can lead in military drone regulation
While the Pentagon may favour bold announcements and Whitehall a more measured approach, both acknowledge the same fundamental challenge: technological advancements are outpacing regulatory frameworks, hindering military UAS development and deployment.
By leading in the application of SORA principles to the military domain, the MAA can establish itself as an exemplar to other nations’ aviation authorities. A military-adapted SORA framework would provide the regulatory clarity that UK industry needs to invest confidently in defence applications, moving beyond the current uncertainty that constrains innovation.
Through deeper alignment between industry and regulation, and additional engagement with the UAS community, the MAA can develop guidance that balances innovation with appropriate safety standards.
In fostering innovation that builds upon the CAA’s success, the UK can give its drone industry the confidence to become ‘defence ready’, developing concepts and products that will meet regulatory approval and can be brought to operation efficiently.
Recognising this good practice could drive increased UAS exports and position the UK as a leader in both drone technology and the smart regulation that enables it.
