The most common misreading of Opinion No 06/2026 is to assume that, the day it is adopted, every drone of 100 g or more will broadcast a frame. EASA says the opposite for a large part of the existing fleet: fitting an identification module on a very light aircraft is not realistic. Detection has to be sized for that period, not for the world after it.
What the opinion calls a legacy drone
- An open-category UAS placed on the market before 1 January 2024, when the UAS Regulation became applicable.
- A UAS marked C0 or C4 and placed on the market before the future regulation enters into force.
- A specific-category UAS covered by an authorisation issued before the amendment is adopted and enters into force.
Three transition rules
The delays below are those proposed in the opinion. They run from entry into force, which has no date. They are not current law.
Any UAS placed on the market before twelve months after entry into force would be exempt from the function that prevents take-off without an operator number. Fitting it requires a major modification.
At 900 g or below, those aircraft would also be exempt from adding a Direct Remote ID module. EASA considers retrofit technically unrealistic on very light UAS.
Above 900 g, a compliant module would have to be installed within forty-eight months after entry into force.
In the specific category, an authorisation or LUC issued before the twelve-month mark would allow continued operation without Direct Remote ID and without take-off prevention, including if it is extended, until the forty-eight-month mark, as long as the UAS model does not change.
What does not wait
EASA does not propose a transition for lowering the registration threshold to 100 g, nor for identity verification. Those duties clarify or lower an obligation that already exists above 250 g. They could therefore apply from entry into force.
A mini-drone operator could thus be registered and identified in the registry, while the aircraft already sold still broadcasts nothing. For a site, the registry does not replace detection.
What this means for a detection plan
New drones placed on the market after the transition window should broadcast. Minis, light FPV racers and a large share of leisure aircraft already sold under 900 g will not, for years, if the exemption is adopted as drafted.
A system that only read Remote ID would therefore miss most current small-drone overflights, and a still significant share after entry into force. The cooperative path widens. It does not replace listening to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth links, nor radar where silent or modified aircraft are plausible.
The DECTYR RX-5 is built for both: Remote ID frames when they exist, radio signatures of common consumer drones when they do not.
Official source: EASA — Opinion No 06/2026, transitional provisions for UAS already placed on the market
FAQ
Will a DJI Mini already purchased have to broadcast?
Not automatically. If it weighs 900 g or less and was placed on the market before the twelve-month deadline, the opinion exempts it from an add-on Direct Remote ID module. That remains a proposal, not a duty in force.
Are home-built drones above 100 g in scope?
Yes for new aircraft or those outside the transitional regime. The opinion refuses to take them out of Direct Remote ID merely because they are privately built. Clubs may be covered by a specification the State puts in their authorisation.
Should we wait until retrofit ends before equipping a site?
No. The transition is precisely when the most drones will stay non-cooperative. That is when mixed detection is most useful.