Transport Canada has issued a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) to Volatus Aerospace Inc., authorizing the company to conduct beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations using MatrixSpace’s radar technology integrated with Kongsberg Geospatial’s IRIS Terminal platform.
The certification allows Volatus to use MatrixSpace‘s compact, low-power radar system that can detect smaller aircraft including other drones. The technology is integrated with Kongsberg’s airspace awareness software and operated through Volatus’ remote Operations Control Center.
The system enables automated drone-in-a-box networks, distributed monitoring operations and autonomous services that require continuous detect-and-avoid capabilities. Market research indicates the global drone-in-a-box sector was valued at approximately $1 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $5 billion to $9 billion by the early 2030s, representing annual growth rates of 20% to 23%.
Volatus previously held nationwide SFOCs for BVLOS operations in low-risk airspace, atypical airspace, high-altitude missions and nighttime operations. The new certification expands the company’s ability to provide automated drone services for infrastructure security, utilities monitoring, industrial inspection, forestry operations, wildfire monitoring and environmental oversight.
The company has previously conducted approved BVLOS medical delivery operations at Halton Healthcare in Ontario. According to the comapny, the new certification builds on those capabilities by incorporating the detect-and-avoid system for broader commercial deployment.
Transport Canada has approved Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to operate Percepto’s drone-in-a-box solution beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) at McConnell Lake Control Dam without a visual observer on site. A BVLOS Special Flight Operations Certificate was issued for the Percepto Air Max autonomous drone-in-a-box for the remote inspection.
The approval enables remote inspection of the dam as a part of a pilot project, which started in January. Since Canadian power utilities are seeking to ensure their power grid and stations are resilient, the OPG facility will gain actionable insights from the remote inspection.
Percepto’s automated drone-in-a-box has been deployed by other electric utilities to monitor the durability of power grid infrastructure and quickly detect problems, enabling faster response times and restoring power quicker after storms and natural disasters.
An aviation industry coalition is voicing concern to Transport Canada about elements of a proposed mandate that will require aircraft flying in Canada to be equipped with the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), also called the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen.
ADS-B uses GNSS technology to calculate an airplane’s precise location, speed and direction. This information is transmitted twice per second, providing greater situational awareness for air traffic controllers.
The mandate in Canada requires aircraft to implement 1090ES ADS-B in two phases over the next four to five years. It takes effect for Class A and B Canadian airspace (above 12,500 feet) on Feb. 23, 2023, and Class C, D, and E airspace no earlier than 2026.
Space-Based Transceivers
The proposed mandate will also require antennas capable of communicating with both ground-based and space-based transceivers (referred to as antenna diversity). The United States uses ground-based ADS-B stations, which are confined to line-of-sight reception between the aircraft and ground receivers.
Space-based ADS-B does not have this limitation, but requires antennas on top of the aircraft to provide the required fidelity to allow for air traffic separation.
“This would constitute an equipage mandate for most U.S. operators wanting to fly to Canada, most of which have recently equipped to meet U.S. requirements,” said Jim McClay, director of airspace, air traffic and security for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). “To comply, many operators will need to install new antennas on top of their aircraft as well as possibly replace their ADS-B units. The costs of complying will be significant and would be borne only by aircraft owners.”
A recent AOPA survey of members in border states revealed that most U.S. operators are unaware of the coming mandate and almost half of respondents who regularly fly to Canada indicated they would cease flying to Canada altogether in the face of the mandate.
Lack of Installers
The industry coalition also agrees that it is highly doubtful that there are enough avionics installers to complete the needed upgrades in time to meet the mandate’s deadlines.
“Due to these concerns, AOPA is urging a delay of the Nav Canada equipage mandate until a determination can be made on the cost impact to purchase and install the required equipment and discussions on potential alternative solutions are held,” McClay said.
Other Countries
According to Nav Canada, the equipage requirements of Canada’s ADS-B mandate are in line with those of a growing number of other countries in the world. “The adoption of satellite-based surveillance technology ensures long-term alignment with the global aviation system,” the company stated. Nav Canada provides services to Canadian airspace such as air traffic control and weather advisories.
Members of the coalition include the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Garmin, the Canadian Business Aviation Association, AOPA and others.
Coalition members share concerns that the mandate being pursued by Nav Canada and Transport Canada does not appear to be going through the full consultative process, and will submit their concerns over the next several weeks.
A Canadian drone pilot flies a UAV over a field. (Photo: Onfokus/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images)
360iSR and Canadian UAVs have agreed to jointly offer comprehensive unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations training on the market globally.
The joint training offering leverages the partnership’s detect-and-avoid technology, which is available for multiple platforms and approved by Transport Canada, a branch of the Canadian government. The center will provide end-to-end UAS training solutions in alignment with NATO Standard ATP-3.3.8.1 requirements.
The initiative will provide access to comprehensive UAS operations training in these areas:
operational airworthiness
airmanship
general UAS information
detect-and-avoid systems and procedures
the integration of UAS in non-segregated airspace
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) procedures.
Canadian UAVs is a Transport Canada registered training company with a proven track record providing UAV training to the Department of National Defense. The company has highly qualified UAS personnel who hold Transport Canada Advanced small RPAS Pilot Certificates (including those with Flight Reviewer ratings) and is authorized to provide beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) UAS Operations Training at Foremost UAS Test Range in Foremost, Alberta, Canada.
360iSR offers end-to-end ISR support with an experienced team to deliver all aspects of ISR. 360iSR has worked on projects ranging from counter-poaching in Southern Africa to large-scale security events such as the London Olympic Games.
MVT Geo-solutions, in partnership with Iris Automation, has been granted the first beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) by Transport Canada using only onboard detect-and-avoid (DAA) systems.
The approval was granted based on the utilization of Iris Automation’s DAA system, called Casia, which provides commercial drones with automated collision avoidance maneuvers.
The waiver permits flights within the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Center of Excellence’s controlled airspace Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) test range in Alma, Quebec. This is the first BVLOS flight at the location leveraging only onboard DAA for air risk mitigation, and does not require ground-based observers or radar.
BVLOS flights unlock autonomous drone use for economically beneficial commercial applications including infrastructure inspection, mining, mapping, agriculture, emergency response and package delivery.
“Achieving the first BVLOS approval in Canada further validates our technology alongside multiple permissions we have already received from regulators in the U.S. and South Africa,” said Iris Automation CEO Alexander Harmsen. ”This technology is critical to safely integrate drones into the airspace along with manned-aircraft, and we look forward to unlocking commercial operations for our customers in Canada.”
Iris Automation’s onboard computer-vision DAA system is an effective, scalable and cost-effective technology to enable commercial BVLOS operations.
“The UAS Center of Excellence is looking forward to leveraging Iris Automation’s DAA system and existing flight expertise within our network to conduct BVLOS flights with MVT Geo-solutions,” said UAS Center of Excellence Director William de Keiser. “We will continue to develop our partnership with Iris Automation to provide training to local operators and enable BVLOS flights in Canada.”
The first BVLOS flights are scheduled to take place within weeks. The resulting data will inform more complex BVLOS operations in the future.
