Key Updates in SORA 2.5 for Drone Operations
SORA 2.5 updates the Specific Operations Risk Assessment, streamlining it to 10 steps, introducing a quantitative ground risk model and standardised documentation, improving clarity for operators and regulators across Europe.
Key facts
- SORA 2.5 reduces the assessment steps from 11 to 10, enhancing clarity.
- A new quantitative model for ground risk assessment replaces qualitative estimates.
- Operators must now submit a Comprehensive Safety Portfolio with detailed documentation.
2 minute read
The Specific Operations Risk Assessment underpins authorisations in Europe’s Specific category. SORA 2.5 makes it more predictable and simpler to run. It embeds the summary, separates guidance from requirements, and reduces the workflow to ten steps. A staged approval that fixes assumptions before evidence cuts rework. Standardised dossiers, from the Operations Manual to the compliance matrix and application form, should speed national reviews and align decisions across borders, vital for public safety and defence tasks.
Ground risk is the pivot. SORA 2.5 introduces a quantitative model tied to population density and maximum speed, decoupled from VLOS or BVLOS labels. The critical area concept and EASA’s CAAT tool let operators evidence lower real risk, unlocking denser environments when mitigations are credible. Mitigations refocus on sheltering, operational limits, ground observation and impact energy reduction, with emergency plans moved into OSOs. The framework rewards engineered containment and disciplined operations, enabling urban civil protection and dual use defence missions.
Operational Safety Objectives drop from 24 to 17 with clearer allocation to operator, manufacturer and training provider. The Comprehensive Safety Portfolio formalises evidence and adds Service Level Agreements for external providers, including U space services. Programmes shift to contracted safety performance and measurable assurance. Earlier containment classes, with Low, Medium and High levels linked to aircraft performance and adjacent populations, privilege technical containment and support scalable fleets and NATO aligned procurement.
Air risk largely holds until a quantitative model arrives in SORA 3.0, expected in 2027. Transition rules from SORA 2.0 are unclear, so organisations should adopt the new documentation and the ground risk method now and engage authorities early. Europe is laying the regulatory rails for interoperable unmanned operations that will shape modern warfare.
