Part 3: Unmanned aircraft
This part of the notes provides an overview of the background to the policies relating to Unmanned Aircraft (UA) being taken forward in the Act.
	The Act provides that "unmanned aircraft" means any aircraft operating or designed to operate autonomously or to be piloted remotely without a pilot on board. Drones and model aircraft are the most commonly used types of UA. These Explanatory Notes also use the term "tethered small unmanned aircraft" ("tethered small UA") where it is relevant. This is a term defined in the Air Navigation Order 2016 8 ("ANO 2016") as an unmanned aircraft- (a) having a maximum take-off mass (MTOM), within the meaning of Article 2 of the Unmanned Aircraft Implementing Regulation, of not more than 1kg; and (b) which is flown within limits imposed by a restraining device which attaches the aircraft to the surface or to a person on the surface. In the ANO 2016, "Unmanned Aircraft Implementing Regulation" means Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 of 24 May 2019 on the rules and procedures for the operation of unmanned aircraft. 9 This EU Regulation is also referred to in the Act, but as the "UK Implementing Regulation". In these Explanatory Notes this Regulation is simply referred to as the "Implementing Regulation". The term "UAS operator" is also used in both the Act and these Explanatory Notes. UAS operator is defined in Schedule 1 to the ANO 2016 as any person operating or intending to operate one or more UAS. The term "UAS" is used in both the Act and these Explanatory Notes and means unmanned aircraft system. This refers to a UA and the equipment used to control it remotely.
	UA are used to great effect across a range of industries and sectors. Our emergency and search and rescue services use them to help keep people safe, and they reduce risks to people working in hazardous sectors such as the oil and gas industry. They are used across many other global industries, the public sector and charities to drive more efficient ways of working, to monitor environmental change, to deliver medicines, and to assist infrastructure inspections and construction.
	The misuse of UA has increased in recent years, which poses safety and security concerns. In particular, the number of incidents of UA coming within unsafe proximity of manned aircraft increased from six incidents in 2014 to 125 in 2018. The number of incidents slightly decreased to 91 in 2019 and the figures for 2020 were naturally impacted by the pandemic. The significant disruption to operations at London Gatwick Airport in December 2018 was a stark example of the large economic and operational impacts UA can have when used with malicious intent.
	To tackle this growing misuse of UA, the Act makes provision for the following:
New powers for constables to allow them to better enforce offences relating to UA in the ANO 2016 and certain offences in the Prison Act 1952, the Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953, the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 and common law offences in Scotland. These include powers to require a UA to be grounded, to stop and search persons or vehicles in specific circumstances, to enter and search premises under warrant, to require production of evidence and information, to inspect UA and to issue fixed penalty notices ("FPNs") in certain situations.
An amendment of the Police Act 1997 to enable the use of counter-UA technologies to prevent the use of UA to commit certain ANO 2016 offences, certain Prison Act 1952 offences, certain Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953 offences, certain offences at common law in Scotland, certain Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 offences and an offence in the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990.
	Prohibitions and offences relating specifically to the operation of UA are set out in the ANO 2016. Most of the substantive rules to which those prohibitions and offences relate are in the Implementing Regulation (now retained EU law). The Implementing Regulation became applicable on 31 December 2020 and considerable amendments were made to the ANO 2016 in December 2020 as a result. 10
	The Implementing Regulation creates a new risk-based framework and lays down detailed provisions for the operation of UA in three different risk-based categories. This new regulatory framework is now reflected in the provisions of the ANO 2016. The basic features of the regulation of UA flights in the Implementing Regulation and the ANO 2016 are that a UA must not be flown without the consent of the CAA if the flight would be:
within the flight restriction zone of a protected aerodrome;
beyond the visual line of sight of the remote pilot;
above 120m from the closest point of the surface of the earth;
conducted with a UA which has a maximum take-off mass of 25kg or more;
close to uninvolved people, over assemblies of people and (depending on the mass of the UA) close to residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas;
conducted while carrying any dangerous goods or dropping any material.
	The Implementing Regulation contains a number of different registration requirements for UAS operators and competency requirements for remote pilots. The related offences are set out in the ANO 2016. The ANO 2016 also applies some of the registration and competency requirements in the Implementing Regulation to flights by tethered small UA. Under the ANO 2016 it is also an offence to recklessly or negligently endanger an aircraft (not a UA), and doing so can lead to an unlimited fine or a five-year prison sentence or both.
	Finally, in the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990:
	It is an offence to intentionally use a device (which can include a UA) to commit an act of violence which causes or is likely to cause death or serious personal injury, and endangers or is likely to endanger the safe operation of an international aerodrome or persons at the aerodrome. If a person is found guilty this can attract a sentence of life imprisonment.
It is an offence to intentionally use a device (which can include a UA) to disrupt services at an international aerodrome, in such a way as to endanger or be likely to endanger safe operation of the aerodrome or persons at the aerodrome, and this offence can attract a sentence of life imprisonment.
	Two public consultations have informed the contents of the Act: "Taking Flight: The Future of Drones in the UK" 11 , which ran between 26 July 2018 and 17 September 2018, and "Stop and search: extending police powers to cover offences relating to unmanned aircraft (drones), laser pointers and corrosive substances", 12 which ran between 9 September 2018 and 22 October 2018.
	The following legislation is referenced in Part 3 of the Act:
Prison Act 1952;
Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953;
Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980;
Magistrates’ Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981;
Civil Aviation Act 1982;
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984;
Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989;
Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989;
Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990;
Criminal Justice Act 1991;
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994;
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995;
Police Act 1997;
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000;
Criminal Justice Act 2003;
Energy Act 2004;
Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010;
Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015;
Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2015;
Air Navigation Order 2016;
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016;
Investigatory Powers Act 2016;
Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2016;
Data Protection Act 2018;
Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on common rules in the field of civil aviation;
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 on unmanned aircraft systems and on third country operators of unmanned aircraft systems; and
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 on the rules and procedures for the operation of unmanned aircraft.