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VIRTUAL COURSE

UAS-SORA 2.5 (Specific Operations Risk Assessment for Unmanned Aircraft Systems)

Introduction

The risk-based regulatory framework for UAS that is endorsed by ICAO, recommended by JARUS for worldwide application, and promulgated by the European Commission (i.e. EU 2019/947) under a proposal by EASA, is based on three risk-based categories of operations: Open, Specific, and Certified.
To operate in the specific category, operators shall normally submit a Risk Assessment to the CAA for evaluation and approval. The Specific Operation Risk Assessment (SORA) methodology has been developed by JARUS (Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems) primarily aimed indeed at the specific category.
V2.0 of this methodology is currently recommended for use in Europe by EASA (AMC1 to Art. 11 of EC 2019/947).

In 2024 JARUS published a new version of SORA, namely SORA v2.5, which has introduced significant innovations and may be applied anywhere in ECAC and in the world, including in EU/EASA as an alternative MoC, before being transposed by the Agency.

The course will focus on:
• Safety Assessment methodologies in UAS Regulations
• SORA 2.5 approach for the evaluation of the Ground Risk
• ‘old’, but still applicable approach v2.0 for Ground Risk
• SORA 2.5 approach for the evaluation of the Air Risk (unchanged in relation to v2.0)
• SORA 2.5 Annexes, including Operation Safety Objectives (OSOs) and supporting documentation

The course aims at providing a deep overview of the SORA methodology (both v2.0 and v2.5) and also practical examples of application and exercises to enable participants to apply such methodology in their everyday job, as applicants or inspectors.

The course consists of 11 lectures of about 50 minutes, plus 9 group exercises. In total, 20 activities distributed over 3 consecutive days.

The 11 lectures include:

  • Course introduction and objectives
  • Background (OPS categories, why SORA 2.5 and main differences with SORA v2.0)
  • SORA Introduction (objectives, applicability, terminology, structure)
  • SORA Process – Collection of relevant information
  • Intrinsic Ground Risk model in v2.0 and in v2.5
  • Mitigations to reduce the Intrinsic Ground Risk in v2.0 and in v2.5
  • SORA Process - Air Risk Model
  • Strategic and tactical mitigations to reduce the Initial Air Risk
  • SORA Process – SAIL and Containment requirements
  • SORA Process - Operational Safety Objectives
  • Full example of application of SORA process to a real scenario

Course Content

After completing the course to be able to:

  • Explain the SORA (v2.0 or v2.5) process to colleagues.
  • Apply autonomously SORA v2.0 or v2.5 to develop a risk assessment for their intended UAS operations.
  • Explain SORA v2.0 and v2.5 methodology to stakeholders and effectively assess the received applications for authorisation to operate UAS in the specific category.

Learning Objectives

After completing the course to be able to:

  • Explain the SORA (v2.0 or v2.5) process to colleagues.
  • Apply autonomously SORA v2.0 or v2.5 to develop a risk assessment for their intended UAS operations.
  • Explain SORA v2.0 and v2.5 methodology to stakeholders and effectively assess the received applications for authorisation to operate UAS in the specific category.

Who should take this course

Aviation professionals, CAA Inspectors, Operators, and Manufacturers who feel the need to learn how to apply the SORA methodology to develop or evaluate safety assessments for operations in the Specific category.
The assessment is always required in this category, in case of either a standard scenario, an application for authorisation, or internal records of the certified UAS operator.

The target group includes:

  • Middle managers, policy advisors, rulemaking officials, developers of pre-defined risk assessments (PDRA), and inspectors of CAAs;
  • Middle managers of the UAS industry, remote pilots, instructors, and other aviation professionals desiring to receive training on the SORA methodology to prepare for future application in the “specific” category;

Personnel of Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) wishing to better understand how SORA deals with the interaction between UAS and other traffic in the airspace.

Pre-requisites

Essential:

Essential:

  • Good command of the English language; and
  • University graduation (bachelor), or 3 years of experience in traditional aviation, or 1 year of experience on drones.

Desirable:

  • Good understanding of the respective roles of institutions, agencies, and other entities involved in developing the regulatory framework for drones; and having attended the course UAS-OPS.