American autonomous systems solutions provider ResilienX has announced that it recently received a Certificate of Waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), authorising routine beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations without the requirement for visual observers.
The waiver will be in effect until September 30, 2029.
“The ability to fly BVLOS, remotely, and over people is the last regulatory hurdle we needed to clear to launch our ORION-X on-demand drone service in our back yard, here in the Syracuse region.” said Andrew Carter, Chief Executive Officer of ResilienX.
Enabled through the use of FAA-accepted surveillance infrastructure network operated by NUAIR, ResilienX said their waiver demonstrates how shared, FAA-accepted infrastructure can accelerate deployment while maintaining the highest safety standards in the national airspace.
Under the waiver, all BVLOS operations conducted by ResilienX are constrained to areas fully covered by NUAIR’s FAA-accepted cooperative and non-cooperative surveillance network in Central New York, which currently encompasses 1900 sq miles.
Operations are permitted only when surveillance coverage is confirmed active and sufficient, ensuring continuous low-altitude airspace awareness and tactical deconfliction capability.
“This isn’t just a win for ResilienX and NUAIR — it’s a proof point for the entire industry,” said Ken Stewart, President and CEO of NUAIR.
“NTAP was designed to demonstrate that shared, FAA-accepted infrastructure can safely enable BVLOS operations at scale. Approvals like this one feed directly into the FAA’s standard-setting process, and that means the path we’re building here in Central New York is the path that opens the national airspace.”
A foundational element of the FAA’s approval is ResilienX’s use of NUAIR’s Automated Data Service Provider (ADSP) capability, which operates under an FAA Letter of Acceptance (LOA) issued through the Near-Term Approval Process (NTAP). NTAP is the FAA’s mechanism for evaluating and accepting third-party infrastructure services as safety mitigations that operators may rely upon when seeking waivers for advanced operations.
“NUAIR has provided the infrastructure and now the FAA has given us the green light,” Carter said.
We are excited to get flying!”
The waiver supports multiple operational modes, including field-piloted BVLOS flights and dock-based, remotely supervised operations, while preserving the same approved safety architecture. Initial operations conducted under the waiver support aerial photography, roof inspections, and property-related missions for residential and commercial customers.