FAA's August 27, 2026 BEYOND Phase 2 expansion: what changes for the program

The FAA announced on August 27, 2026, that it plans to expand BEYOND Phase 2 by selecting up to eight additional lead participants. The agency says those participants may be state, local, tribal or territorial entities working on drone-integration challenges.

The announcement date is not Phase 2's start date. Although the FAA release uses the phrase “launching Phase 2,” the agency's BEYOND program page says Phase 2 began in 2025, and other FAA program evidence shows Phase 2 activity before August 27. This article therefore treats the event as an expansion announcement, not the day Phase 2 first began.

For ordinary operators, the central boundary is simple: the August 27 announcement itself does not grant a waiver, airspace authorization or permission for a specific flight.

What changed

FAA says it intends to add up to eight lead participants to BEYOND Phase 2. “Up to eight” is a ceiling in the announcement, not a statement that eight entities have already been chosen. The release identifies state, local, tribal and territorial entities as the participant categories.

FAA says the expansion will focus on remaining integration challenges, including beyond visual line of sight operations, public-safety operations, on-airport operations and operations in other complex airspace. Those focus areas describe the program announcement; they do not establish that a particular flight, aircraft or operator has been approved for any of them.

Separate statutory text in Section 920 continues the BEYOND program and allows expansion considerations involving automation, BVLOS operations and societal or economic factors. That statute is context for the program's continuation; the August 27 announcement does not identify selected participants or grant permission for a specific operation.

Program chronology

Reading the two official FAA accounts together supports an expansion-only chronology: the August 27 release announced a Phase 2 expansion while the program itself already had Phase 2 activity. It would be inaccurate to turn the release's “launching” wording into a first-start date.

What changes — and what does not

This article does not provide an application deadline, eligibility determination, award term or submission instructions. Consult a readable official solicitation and any amendments before relying on application information; do not substitute a peer-reported date or instruction.

What ordinary operators should take away

BEYOND is a program-level integration effort. The August 27 announcement does not replace the rules, waivers, authorizations, registrations, Remote ID duties, airspace checks, temporary restrictions, local site permissions or safety planning that may apply to a real operation. Use the FAA's Part 107 overview for background, then check the current governing sources for the requirements of a specific operation.

Before planning a flight, use the Drone Preflight Authority Map and Checklist to organize current official-source checks. That guide is not flight clearance either.

What to watch next

A material update would include an FAA or DOT correction, an official announcement naming additional lead participants, an official solicitation or amendment, a change to FAA's program history or roster language, or a superseding FAA/eCFR rule action that changes the operating-rule boundary. Until one of those records is verified, do not infer selection results, funding, deadlines, application steps, new operating rights or rule timing.

Related reading

• Latest drone news
• Archived FAA medical-transport context — a separate historical integration-pilot event, not this participant expansion.
• Drone news source and deadline ledger — historical source tracking, not confirmation of BEYOND coverage or current application deadlines.

Official sources

• FAA expansion announcement, August 27, 2026 — event, expansion ceiling, participant categories and announced focus areas.
• FAA BEYOND program page — program history and the statement that Phase 2 began in 2025.
• DOT OIG BVLOS audit, June 30, 2025 — historical audit background only; not proof of the 2026 expansion or a current rule.
• FAA Part 107 overview — general background on Part 107, not evidence of flight permission granted by this announcement.
• Public Law 118-63 compilation — Section 920 continuation and expansion context; not a notice of selections or permission granted by the August 27 announcement.
• FAA UAS test-site locations — program/test-site context, not a complete Phase 2 roster.

Disclosure: Drone Home has no affiliate, referral, provider or commercial relationship to disclose for this report.

Disclaimer: This news report is general information, not legal advice, operational authorization or flight clearance. It does not determine whether a person, organization, aircraft or operation qualifies for BEYOND participation or may conduct a particular flight.