UK5 Is Now Referenced in UK SORA, but Where Are the UK Standard Scenarios?

When UK5 and UK6 class marks took effect on 1st January 2026, the UK had no operational Standard Scenarios linked to them.

The equivalent European classes, C5 and C6, are used for EU STS-01 and STS-02. An operator that meets all the conditions of one of those Standard Scenarios can submit a declaration instead of applying through a bespoke SORA.

The UK introduced UK5 and UK6 as product classes but did not introduce equivalent operating rules. Neither class gave a UK operator access to a declaration route, a simplified authorisation or the Open Category. A UK5 or UK6 aircraft still had to be used under an appropriate Specific Category Operational Authorisation.

That remains the position, but the CAA has now referred to UK5 directly within UK SORA.

Decision No. 60 introduces revised Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material that applies from 1st October 2026. Its containment material includes an example involving a UK5 class-marked multirotor, a UK type-examination certificate and a flight termination system designed to BS EN 4709-006.

This is the first time the CAA has set out how evidence associated with UK5 may be used in a UK SORA assessment.

UK5 still grants no operational privilege. The change concerns the evidence an applicant may use to support a containment claim.

The UK5 containment example

Containment concerns the measures used to prevent an unmanned aircraft from leaving its operational volume and entering an adjacent area or adjacent airspace.

The worked example in Decision No. 60 concerns a UK5 class-marked multirotor operating at residual SAIL II, with an adjacent-area Ground Risk Class greater than 4. The operator uses a qualitative assessment to demonstrate low containment.

The aircraft has a UK type-examination certificate issued by a UK-approved conformity assessment body. Its flight termination system is designed to BS EN 4709-006.

The certificate and the supporting design information may be used as evidence for the applicable containment criteria. Where an aircraft does not have the relevant certificate, the example requires the operator to obtain additional compliance evidence from the designer.

The practical difference is therefore in the amount and source of technical substantiation available to the applicant. A suitably documented UK5 aircraft may already have assessed design evidence that can be used in the UK SORA application. An operator using an aircraft without that evidence may need to obtain equivalent information separately.

What the class mark does not prove

The UK5 label is not enough on its own.

The operator must establish that the certificate and supporting documents apply to the aircraft being used. The installed flight termination system must match the assessed configuration, and any relevant hardware, software, installation and maintenance conditions must be met.

The operator must also consider whether the system can contain the aircraft within the volumes and buffers used in the SORA.

Relevant factors include the time between activation and termination, the distance travelled during that period, the remaining trajectory after termination and the effect of wind. The operator must also understand whether the termination system depends on other aircraft systems that could fail at the same time.

A UK5 aircraft may therefore provide useful evidence, but the CAA must still assess whether that evidence supports the containment claim for the proposed operation.

The class mark does not grant an Operational Authorisation, permit an STS declaration, authorise BVLOS or satisfy the rest of the UK SORA requirements.

Why the flight termination system is relevant

UK5 includes requirements for a means of terminating the flight.

A flight termination system is used when allowing the aircraft to continue flying would create an unacceptable risk. Depending on its design, the system may stop propulsion, initiate a descent, deploy a recovery device or otherwise prevent further flight outside the assessed area.

Decision No. 60 refers to a system designed to BS EN 4709-006. The purpose of referring to a defined standard is to provide evidence about how the system has been designed and assessed, rather than relying only on an operator or manufacturer stating that an emergency function exists.

The standard does not remove the need to assess the system in the context of the operation. A termination method that is suitable for one aircraft, height or environment may not be suitable for another.

UK6 remains without an equivalent example

Decision No. 60 does not include a comparable worked example for UK6.

UK6 continues to have product-law functions covering its design requirements, class identification, technical documentation, conformity assessment and Direct Remote ID. It can also be used as an aircraft in a UK SORA application.

What it does not have is a UK6-specific operating privilege or a published UK SORA example comparable to the new UK5 containment example.

This reflects the wider absence of a UK equivalent to EU STS-02. A predefined BVLOS scenario would require more than a class-marked aircraft. It would also have to address air risk, command and control performance, electronic conspicuity, detect and avoid, visual mitigation or other traffic-separation measures.

UK5 and UK6 still do not provide an STS route

The European purpose of C5 and C6 is clear because each class is connected to a Standard Scenario.

C5 supports STS-01, which covers defined VLOS operations over a controlled ground area. C6 supports STS-02, which covers defined BVLOS operations with airspace observers over a controlled ground area in a sparsely populated environment.

The UK product classes closely follow that structure, but the corresponding UK operational provisions have not been introduced.

As a result, buying a UK5 aircraft does not allow an operator to conduct the UK equivalent of STS-01, because no such UK scenario exists. The same applies to UK6 and STS-02.

An operator must still use an existing Operational Authorisation route, whether based on a PDRA or a UK SORA assessment.

Why introduce the classes without the scenarios?

UK5 and UK6 give the UK a product framework for aircraft intended for operations beyond the Open Category.

This framework defines the technical features, documentation and conformity obligations associated with each class. It also means that the product-law structure is already available if the UK later introduces class-linked operating rules.

The CAA has referred to Standard Scenarios as a possible area of future development. No UK Standard Scenario has yet been published, and Decision No. 60 does not announce one.

Even so, the decision to introduce UK5 and UK6 is difficult to separate from their original purpose. The equivalent C5 and C6 classes were designed to support STS-01 and STS-02. Introducing the UK classes preserved the option of creating comparable UK routes later.

The new UK5 containment example is the first indication of how the CAA may use that product evidence within its own operating framework.

It does not confirm that UK Standard Scenarios will follow. It does show that UK5 is no longer confined to product and Remote ID requirements when considering a UK SORA application.

What future UK Standard Scenarios might look like

Any future UK scenarios would not necessarily copy the EU rules word for word.

The UK now has its own UK SORA methodology, Remote Pilot Competence framework, RAE(PC) system, RAE(F) system and SAIL Mark scheme. Work is also continuing on electronic conspicuity, BVLOS integration and UAS Traffic Management.

A future UK scenario could draw on these systems and still use UK5 or UK6 as the required aircraft class.

A UK5 scenario could cover a defined VLOS operation with containment and controlled ground-area requirements. A UK6 scenario could cover a limited form of BVLOS, although it would need additional requirements for air risk and traffic management.

Those possibilities remain speculative. The current rules provide no STS declaration route, and operators should not plan an operation on the assumption that one will be introduced.

The current position

UK5 and UK6 remain Specific Category product classes without class-specific operating privileges.

From 1st October 2026, UK5 gains a more direct role in UK SORA because Decision No. 60 identifies how a UK5 class-marked multirotor and its supporting conformity evidence may be used in a low-containment assessment.

The aircraft must still be covered by an Operational Authorisation, and the operator must still demonstrate that the evidence applies to the aircraft and operation.

UK6 has not been given equivalent treatment in the revised containment material.

The introduction of both classes, the CAA’s references to possible future Standard Scenarios and the new UK5 example leave open the prospect of UK5 and UK6 being used for future class-linked operating routes. For now, UK5 can support evidence within UK SORA, but neither class unlocks an operation.