CEN and ASD-STAN, the dedicated body for standardization in the aerospace sector, launched the public enquiry for prEN 4709-001 ‘Aerospace series - Unmanned Aircraft Systems - Part 001: Product requirements and verification’. This document provides technical specification and verification method to support compliance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 of 12 March 2019 on unmanned aircraft systems (UAS, popularly known as ‘drones’) and on third-country operators of UAS. This includes compliance with product requirements for all UAS authorised to operate in the ‘open’ category (class C0, C1, C2, C3 and C4 UAS).

prEN 4709-001, prepared by ASD-STAN, is the fourth standard on UAS to go through a public enquiry this year. It lays down technical specifications and verification methods ensuring the compliance with the requirements set by EU Regulation 2019/945.

The development of this series of standards takes place in the context of a specific focus by the European Commission to develop a framework for the safe development of a drone ecosystem in Europe: as part of its Sustainable and Smart Mobility strategy, the Commission expects to adopt a Drone strategy 2.0 in 2022 to develop drones into a vector for the smart and sustainable mobility of the future. For this reason, standards on drones developed by CEN and ASD-STAN can provide valuable support to the policy objectives of the European Commission in the sector.