What is ConOps? The Document Every Complex Drone Operation Starts With

Before a drone operator can get authorization to fly a Specific-category operation, an authority needs to understand one thing clearly: what exactly are you planning to do? That’s the job of the ConOps, short for Concept of Operations, the foundational document that describes an operation in enough detail for an authority to actually evaluate its risk.

What ConOps Actually Is

ConOps isn’t a pitch or a summary. It’s a structured, detailed description of how an operation will be carried out: what the goal is, where it will happen, with what drone, with what personnel, under what conditions, and how abnormal situations will be handled. If a risk assessment (like SORA) is the analysis, ConOps is the input that makes that analysis possible. Vague or incomplete descriptions don’t just weaken the file, they can stall the entire authorization process.

What a Solid ConOps Needs to Cover

A complete ConOps typically includes:

• The purpose of the operation: the intended outcome and the phases of the mission, from takeoff to landing.
• Location details: coordinates, maps, terrain, obstacles, and any sensitive infrastructure nearby.
• Population exposure: population density, the presence of involved and uninvolved persons, and how exposure changes over time (a field at noon looks very different from the same field during a weekend market).
• Airspace context: nearby aerodromes, heliports, flight routes, and other relevant aeronautical activity.
• Flight geography: the operational volume, contingency volume, ground risk buffer and the surrounding adjacent area.
• Flight parameters: altitude, speed, distances, duration, schedule, and weather conditions.
• Flight mode: whether the operation is VLOS, EVLOS, or BVLOS, and whether observers are used.
• The UAS itself: the control unit, the command-and-control (C2) link, navigation, payload, and safety functions.
• The team: roles, responsibilities, and communication methods.
• Procedures: normal, contingency, and emergency procedures.
• External services: and their expected performance levels.
• Assumptions and limitations: the conditions under which the analysis remains valid.

Planning for When Things Go Wrong

A strong ConOps doesn’t just describe the ideal flight, it describes what happens when the system doesn’t behave as expected: loss of the C2 link, GNSS degradation, deteriorating weather, unexpected manned traffic, or an uninvolved person entering the flight area. For operations repeated across multiple locations, ConOps also needs a formal process for evaluating and approving each new site, rather than assuming the original assessment automatically applies.

Why It’s the Starting Point, Not a Formality

ConOps sits at the center of a SORA-based operational authorization application. The SORA analysis, Operations Manual, technical documentation, and supporting evidence all need to remain consistent with the operation described in the ConOps. A mismatch between what the ConOps says and what the rest of the file shows  different altitudes, different population assumptions, different procedures  is one of the fastest ways to hold up an authorization.

In short: before an operator can prove an operation is safe, they first have to describe it properly. That’s what ConOps is for.