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Air Strike Drone Services UAS Exemption Petition for Agricultural Operations

Favicon for www.regulations.gov Regs.gov: Federal Aviation Administration
Published January 15th, 2026
Detected April 2nd, 2026
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Summary

Air Strike Drone Services has petitioned the FAA for an exemption under 49 U.S.C. § 44807 and 14 C.F.R. Part 11 to conduct commercial agricultural UAS operations with aircraft weighing 55 pounds or more. The petition requests authorization for daytime autonomous operations without an FAA-issued airman medical certificate, and a speed increase to 50 mph.

What changed

Air Strike Drone Services filed a petition requesting FAA exemption to conduct commercial agricultural UAS services using unmanned aircraft systems weighing 55 pounds or more. The petition seeks the most recent and newly approved exemptions available, specifically authorization for daytime autonomous operations without requiring an FAA-issued Airman Medical Certificate, and operations at speeds up to 50 mph.

The FAA is seeking public comment on this petition. Interested parties should review the filing and submit supporting or opposing comments through regulations.gov. The petition references special authority under Title 49 U.S.C. § 44807 for certain unmanned aircraft systems. This is not yet an approved exemption - it represents a request for regulatory relief that the FAA will evaluate.

What to do next

  1. Review the petition filing at regulations.gov document FAA-2026-3731-0001
  2. Submit public comments supporting or opposing the exemption request before the comment period closes
  3. Monitor FAA's decision on this petition which may establish precedent for 55lb+ autonomous agricultural UAS operations

Source document (simplified)

Comment

Summary Grant Petition for Exemption to Conduct Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Operations Allowed by Special authority for certain unmanned aircraft systems, Title 49 U.S.C. § 44807, and 14 C.F.R. Part 11. Request Commercial Agricultural- Related Services with UAS Weighing 55 Pounds or More for all the Most Recent and Newly Approved Exemptions Available, Including Operations Without an FAA-Issued Airman Medical Certificate for Daytime Autonomous Operations, as well as the Speed Increase to 50 mph.

Attachments 3

44807-letter-template Air Strike Drone Services

Download

confidential-44807-info-template Air Strike Drone Services

Restricted: Confidential Business Information

Aircraft registration Air Strike

Download

CFR references

14 CFR Part 11 49 U.S.C. § 44807

Named provisions

Special Authority for Certain Unmanned Aircraft Systems Commercial Agricultural-Related Services Autonomous Operations without Airman Medical Certificate

Classification

Agency
FAA
Published
January 15th, 2026
Comment period closes
February 15th, 2026 (closed 47 days ago)
Instrument
Consultation
Legal weight
Non-binding
Stage
Consultation
Change scope
Substantive
Document ID
FAA-2026-3731-0001
Docket
FAA-2026-3731

Who this affects

Applies to
Manufacturers Agricultural firms Technology companies
Industry sector
3364 Aerospace & Defense 1111 Crop Production 4811 Air Transportation
Activity scope
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations Autonomous UAS Operations Commercial Agricultural UAS Services
Threshold
UAS weighing 55 pounds or more conducting commercial agricultural operations
Geographic scope
United States US

Taxonomy

Primary area
Aviation
Operational domain
Compliance
Topics
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Agriculture Autonomous Operations

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