THE GAP
Most operators can't see their own airspace
Unauthorized drones over energy facilities, refineries, chemical plants, and utilities are routine now. Most operators have no visibility into what enters their airspace, no record of incidents, and no way to distinguish a contractor's survey flight from activity that warrants a call to law enforcement.
Section 2209 creates a federal process for addressing that. It does not create the visibility.
WHAT THE RULE ESTABLISHES
What the proposed Part 74 rule actually does
The FAA published its Section 2209 NPRM on May 6, 2026, creating a new 14 CFR Part 74 and a designation called an Unmanned Aircraft Flight Restriction, or UAFR.
The comment period closed August 5, 2026 with roughly 1,800 comments. The FAA is now drafting the final rule, which is likely to stand for years once published.
Restrictions do not apply automatically. Owners petition site by site, and eligibility is not approval. The FAA expects more than 9,000 applications over five years.
Eligible: all 16 critical infrastructure sectors
Energy Production & Transmission
Chemical & Oil Refineries
Water & Wastewater
Transportation & Rail
Nuclear
WHAT A UAFR DOES NOT GIVE YOU
A restriction creates a list, not visibility.
art 74 designations confer no counter-UAS authority. A restriction is not permission to interfere with an aircraft. Permitted operators can still transit a UAFR if they broadcast Remote ID, cross in the shortest practicable time, and notify your facility. That notification gives you a known-authorized baseline, which only helps if you can see what is actually overhead.
WHERE SKYSAFE FITS
Built for the environments Part 74 is designed to protect.
SkySafe's passive RF platform gives critical infrastructure operators continuous low-altitude airspace visibility without jamming, GPS disruption, or interference with authorized operations.
Every detection is logged with timestamp, classification, drone identifier, and operator location, the record that supports an incident investigation, a law enforcement referral, or a stronger application. When a threat is confirmed, SkySafe connects to your existing response infrastructure.
95%
Detection accuracy. Passive by design. Always on.
The rule is still being written. Your record isn't.
Download the full breakdown: qualification thresholds, application requirements, what changes after approval, and five steps worth taking before the final rule publishes.
