Entities designated for the training of UAS pilots in the ‘specific’ category under an operational authorisation

General information

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 on the rules and procedures for the use of unmanned aircraft entered into application on 31 December 2020. This regulation establishes in section d) iii) of UAS.SPEC.050 that those remote pilots who carry out operations with UAS under an operational authorization, must receive remote pilot training specific to the intended operations. 

The training that UAS remote pilots must be included within the operational authorization and must be given in cooperation and coordination with an Entity Designated by AESA, as the competent authority in Spain. That is why remote pilots who wish to operate in a specific category under an operational authorization regime must comply with the requirements established in the operational risk assessment granted to the UAS operator. These will be described in the SORA 2.0 security goals, specifically in OSOs #9, #15 and #22. 
 
In Spain, Section 2 of Chapter IV of Royal Decree 517/2024 on the civilian use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) sets out the special conditions that the Designated Entities must comply with in order to carry out the training activity in the ‘specific’ category under an operational authorisation.

Procedure for the declaration of Designated Entities

All natural or legal persons wishing to carry out the training activities and the examination of theoretical knowledge and the training and assessment of practical skills of remote pilots for UAS operations in the ‘specific’ category under an authorisation must first submit a responsible declaration addressed to AESA via the following link.

The following guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to correctly file the declaration of a Designated Entity, as well as the declaration of students in the modules in which you wish to declare.

Guidance for the submission of a Designated Entity to conduct "specific" category training under an Operational Authorisation.

The Designated Entities may not be of a single-member character, due to the fact that the following figures are required in their constitution; 

• Responsible manager of the entity; must act as the legal representative of the Designated Entity.
• Training Officer; shall hold the remote pilot instructor, examiner and evaluator certificate issued by AESA and shall be responsible for the correct fulfilment of the remote pilot training requirements.
• Security Officer; responsible for the security policies of the Designated Entity and their correct maintenance.
• Instructors, examiners and evaluators of remote pilots, who may not be evaluated by trainers who have provided more than 25% of the training in practical skills.
• Responsible for the quality management system; responsible for supervising compliance with the entity’s requirements for compliance with the Quality Management System. This figure must be independent of any remote pilot training activity, and independent of the figures described above, unless audits of the quality management system are carried out by an external company.

From the moment the application is submitted through the website, the entity may start acting as Designated and provide training in the ‘specific’ category under an operational authorisation. In those cases where the request is not correct for any reason, it will be resolved with a resolution for non-compliance and a new application must be submitted.

The list of designated entities declared to EASA to provide training in the «specific» category under operational authorisation (periodic update) is provided below.

Documentary records

Delivery of training accreditations: 

Upon successful completion of each theoretical training and, subsequently, practical remote pilot training, the Designated Entity shall provide remote pilots with a certificate of theoretical knowledge and an accreditation of practical skills for the conduct of UAS operations in the ‘specific’ category subject to an operational authorisation, which shall include the following aspects; 

• Remote pilot identification data,
• Remote pilot's own identification number,
• Type of operation in which it has been trained, examined and evaluated,
• Date of issue of certificates,
• Identification and signature of the person in charge of the issuing entity and the remote pilot UAS. 

Designated Entities shall have 15 calendar days from the completion of the training described above to provide the remote pilot accreditation in the ‘specific’ category subject to an operational authorisation. 

Student declaration: 

The Designated Entities are obliged to communicate and send monthly to the State Aviation Safety Agency, the certificates that have been issued to the students for this type of training. 
 
The procedure is carried out through electronic headquarters, in which the following data must be provided;

• Name and surname of the student.
• Identification data of the NIE/NIF/PASSPORT.
• Type of training that has been passed.
• Date of delivery of the accreditation.
• Personal encoding of the accreditation provided by the entity or the UAS operator.

Instruction Manual for Designated Entities; 

The Designated Entities that carry out the training and examination of theoretical knowledge and training and assessment of practical skills of remote pilots for UAS operations in the "specific" category under an authorisation, must have an Instruction Manual, as provided for in Article 26 of Section 2 of Chapter IV of Royal Decree 517/2024, specifying at least the following points;

• Staff in charge of training, examination and evaluation,
• Examination and evaluation training procedures, with the training programme corresponding to theoretical and, where appropriate, practical training. 
• Description of UAS, equipment or tools used in training and assessment of practical skills,
• Description of facilities, physical location and description of flight areas and their location, if practical training is provided. 
• Format of the evaluation template. 

As an aid to the Designated Entities, a Guide Material has been developed for the preparation of the Instruction Manual, which includes the essential aspects required in Section 2 of Chapter IV of Royal Decree 517/2024, so that interested parties can adapt the content of the document to their Instruction Manual specific to their training. 

• Material Instruction Manual Guide Designated Entities

Designated Entity Management System

Designated Entities that declare themselves to provide the training and assessment of practical skills of remote pilots for UAS operations in the ‘specific’ category under an operational authorisation shall have in place a Management System setting out a safety policy describing the general safety principles and philosophies of the organisation, defining the means and methods used to identify hazards, as well as a risk assessment and the effectiveness of the mitigation measures that the Designated Entity has incorporated into its safety policies. 

The management system must be formulated in such a way as to ensure that the training, examination and evaluation activities are in accordance with the provisions of the implementing regulations. This management system must define a quality system that guarantees the requirements of the training of the students, demonstrate its operation through documentary supervision procedures and the description of the personnel responsible for compliance with the management system. In addition, the Responsible Manager, the Security Manager and the Quality Manager must be independent of all training activities. 
 
The Management System must have a system of quality system reviews implemented by the Designated Entity, adopting as many corrective measures as necessary for its proper functioning.

The following Guide on the requirements applicable to the specific Management System for Designated Entities provides all the information regarding the minimum and conditioning requirements that the Designated Entities must establish to develop their Management System.

Type of Training

The necessary training that accredits the UAS pilot to perform operations in the ‘specific’ category subject to an operational authorisation shall consist of the following parts; 

Theoretical training in ‘specific’ category under operational authorisation; 

Theoretical training intended for the "specific" category under an operational authorisation will require prior self-training in practical skills in subcategory A2, for which it is necessary to be in possession of the Online Training Pass Test issued by AESA, obtained after passing the training course and exam for operations in subcategories A1/A3. 

Upon completion of the training in the ‘open’ category, the remote pilot must receive generic theoretical training as described in Annex I of the Training Guide under authorisation. Depending on the concept of operation described in the operational authorisation, specific training in addition to the concept of operation approved in the operational authorisation shall be available. To do this, you must comply with Annex 3 of the same Training Guide under authorization.

The student must pass the theoretical knowledge exam prior to the completion of any assessment of practical skills, and must be provided, within 15 days after completion of the training, a certificate of theoretical knowledge describing the identification details of the remote pilot, the identification number of the remote pilot, the type of operation in which it has been trained, the date of issue and the identification and signature of the person in charge of the entity that has issued it. 

The Designated Entity must establish the training, examination and evaluation procedures, including the training program that covers the competencies of the theoretical training requirements of each pilot according to the concept of operation in which it is formed. 
 
Practical training in the ‘specific’ category under operational authorisation;

Once the pilot has satisfactorily passed the examination and assessment of theoretical knowledge, both generic and specific to the concept of operation in which they wish to train, the remote pilot must receive practical training specific to the concept of operation, as described in the operational authorisation, if this is required. 

Where the remote pilot is required to have practical training in the ‘specific’ category under operational authorisation, the remote pilot shall take account of the generic practical training described in Annex 2 to the Training Guide under authorisation. 
 
In addition, depending on the operation described in the training specific to the concept of operations, the practical training of remote pilot in the "specific" category under operational authorization must be complemented by the particular training indicated in Annex 3 of the Training Guide under authorization.

Upon completion of the practical skills test, the Designated Entity shall provide the pilot, within 15 days of completion of the practical training, with a certificate of practical knowledge describing the identification details of the remote pilot, the remote pilot’s own identification number, the type of operation in which it was trained, the date of issue and the identification and signature of the person in charge of the issuing entity. 

Practical training should be carried out, whenever possible, by means of a flight simulation based on the Concept of Operation intended. Where simulation as part of practical training is not possible, such training shall be carried out under the operational authorisation granted to the UAS operator. 

Contact AESA UAS Division: 
 
In case of doubt or special situations related to the ‘specific’ category training, under operational authorisation and the Designated Entities, you can address your query to the drone mailbox (formaciondrones.aesa@seguridadaerea.es).