--- title: "A shared sky below 120 metres | Nexus Observatory" description: "Flying beyond visual line of sight turns a drone from a camera on a stick into infrastructure. It needs a command link that holds…" url: https://observatory.global/stories/airspace-drones/ publisher: Nexus Observatory Inc. updated: 2026-10-31 --- [Stories](https://observatory.global/stories/)Place: Airspace and drones # A shared sky below 120 metres Flying beyond visual line of sight turns a drone from a camera on a stick into infrastructure. It needs a command link that holds, an identity others can read and an airspace service that knows who else is flying; regulators on both sides of the Atlantic are writing the rules now12. **Systems**: Command and control links, Remote identification, Airspace services **Toward 2030**: Routine beyond-visual-line-of-sight flight **Figures**: 4, field scene, simulator, systems diagram, timeline to 2030 Go to the references **01** Field scene ## Drones, a dock and the cell that carries them. A drone docked beside a substation flies an inspection route over the line; a cell site carries its command link and video; a sensing radar on the tower sees aircraft that do not broadcast. The cellular standard already specifies support for drones as a class of user3. Figure as text: Drones on an inspection route under a cell site and a sensing radar A wireframe landscape with a power line on three pylons, a cell tower, a sensing radar with a red halo, a drone dock and two drones in flight linked to the tower. - Drone in flight - Cell site, C2 link - Sensing radar - Dock **02** Simulator ## How far the command link can reach. A drone at 120 m sees a 30 m mast at a greater distance than a person on the ground does, which is why aerial users can load neighbouring cells. The radio horizon gives the outer bound; the link budget decides the rest4. Figure as text: Radio horizon from a mast to a drone at 120 m An elevation drawing over the curved Earth with a mast on the left, a drone at 120 m on the right and the red line of sight. | Mast height | 30 m | | --- | --- | | Receiver height | 120 m | | Radio horizon (4/3 Earth) | 67.7 km | | Geometric line of sight | 58.7 km | | Area within the radio horizon | 14,398 km² | **03** Systems diagram ## Who knows the drone is there. Remote identification broadcasts the drone’s identity and position5; an airspace service provider, a U-space service in European terms6, shares flight intent and conflicts. A risk assessment method decides what an operation must prove7. Lose the command link and the drone falls back to its programmed contingency; lose the airspace service and flights are held. Figure as text: Command, identity and airspace services for one flight A four-tier diagram: the drone and its sensors, the links (cellular and direct radio), the operator and the airspace service, and the authority. - **Aircraft** : Drone, Remote ID - **Links** : Cellular C2, Direct radio - **Operations** : Operator, Airspace service - **Authority** : Authority 8 links. Scenarios: Normal operation; Cellular link lost; Airspace service down. **04** Timeline to 2030 ## The rules arrive. Within three years, remote identification became mandatory in the United States, the European U-space framework became applicable, a revised risk assessment method was published, Canada’s rules for lower-risk flight beyond visual line of sight came into force, and the United States proposed its own1. Figure as text: Rules for drones beyond visual line of sight A timeline from 2021 to 2030 of drone rules in North America and Europe. 1. **2023-01** U-space framework applicable (Regulation (EU) 2021/664). Airspace services for drones defined in EU law. 6 2. **2023-09** Remote identification required (14 CFR Part 89). Drones in the United States must broadcast identity and position. 5 3. **2024** Risk assessment method revised (SORA 2.5). Version 2.5 of the specific operations risk assessment. 7 4. **2025-08** Beyond-line-of-sight rule proposed (Proposed Part 108). A proposed rule to normalise routine beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations. 1 5. **2025-11** Canada’s beyond-line-of-sight rules in force. Lower-risk operations beyond visual line of sight and heavier drones. 2 Figure 1 Field scene Figure 1. Drones on an inspection route under a cell site and a sensing radar. A wireframe landscape with a power line on three pylons, a cell tower, a sensing radar with a red halo, a drone dock and two drones in flight linked to the tower. ## References 1. Normalizing unmanned aircraft systems beyond visual line of sight operations (proposed Part 108). United States Federal Aviation Administration, notice of proposed rulemaking, 2025. 2. Regulations amending the Canadian Aviation Regulations (remotely piloted aircraft systems, beyond visual line-of-sight and other operations). Transport Canada, Canada Gazette Part II, 2025. 3. [3GPP TS 22.125: Unmanned aerial system support in 3GPP](https://www.3gpp.org/DynaReport/22125.htm) . 3rd Generation Partnership Project, 2022. 4. [Recommendation ITU-R P.453: The radio refractive index (effective Earth radius factor k = 4/3)](https://www.itu.int/rec/R-REC-P.453/en) . International Telecommunication Union, Radiocommunication Sector, 2019. 5. [14 CFR Part 89: Remote identification of unmanned aircraft](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-89) . United States Federal Aviation Administration, 2021. 6. [Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/664 on a regulatory framework for the U-space](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2021/664/oj) . Official Journal of the European Union, 2021. 7. [JARUS guidelines on Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) version 2.5](https://jarus-rpas.org) . Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems, 2024. ## Related stories [System: Timing and PNT **Time as infrastructure** A 5G cell must hold its phase within 3 µs of its neighbours, ±1.5 µs of a common reference; a synchrophasor’s one per cent vector error leaves room for only…](https://observatory.global/stories/timing-pnt/) [System: Private 5G and AI-RAN **Private 5G with the inference in the radio** A private cellular network gives a site its own coverage, its own security and its own priorities. AI-RAN adds a second idea: the accelerators that run the…](https://observatory.global/stories/private-5g-ai-ran/) [Horizon 2030: 6G and sensing **Networks that sense** The framework for 6G names integrated sensing and communication as one of its usage scenarios: the same radio that carries data also measures range,…](https://observatory.global/stories/sensing-networks-6g/) ## Where this applies [Connectivity](https://observatory.global/connectivity/)[Field services](https://observatory.global/field-services/)[Positioning, navigation and timing](https://observatory.global/#lines)[Security and trust](https://observatory.global/#lines)[Public safety](https://observatory.global/industries/public-safety/)[Transport](https://observatory.global/industries/transport/)[Infrastructure](https://observatory.global/industries/infrastructure/)[Agriculture](https://observatory.global/industries/agriculture/)[Events](https://observatory.global/industries/events/) © 2026 Nexus Observatory Inc. **Legal** [Privacy notice](https://observatory.global/legal/privacy/) · [Terms of use](https://observatory.global/legal/terms/) · [Cookie policy](https://observatory.global/legal/cookies/) · [Accessibility](https://observatory.global/legal/accessibility/) · [Official languages](https://observatory.global/official-languages/) · [Notices](https://observatory.global/notices/) **Company** [About](https://observatory.global/about/) · [Open governance](https://observatory.global/consortium/) · [Contact](https://observatory.global/contact/)