Certification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems – from product safety to type certificate – a review about the operation of the EU safeguard processes

Abstract

Significant changes are emerging in the market of unmanned aircraft systems since 2019 through the publication of two specific regulations that regulate all steps of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in detail. With the implementation of the new EU drone regulations, the role of the notified bodies and the certification agencies will be more important from the viewpoint of product safety and the official certification required by the EU and national aviation authorities. The product safety chain consists of two major parts. One part belongs to the production phase, where the manufacturer has to prove the functionality (it is called the conformity assessment) and another part belongs to the distribution market, where the authorities assess the fulfilment of the conditions of the distribution (it is called the market surveillance). The first pillar concern to the design and manufacturing and the second to the distribution. Each segment is presented in this article and the authors introduce the different control approaches of these segments. It has to be taken into consideration that the drones are representing a special market with notable safety risks that have to be handled during the whole lifepath of the products from the design through the distribution until the aerial operations.