# FAA drone integration and UAS development > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/faa-drone-integration-and-uas-development > Updated: 2026-09-14T16:50:08.000Z. Sources: 10. Developments: 2. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expanding its BEYOND program into a second phase to accelerate the integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the U.S. National Airspace System. This expansion aims to double the program's scale by adding up to eight new state, local, tribal, and territorial entities to test complex operations, such as Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) missions, under real-world conditions. While the program utilizes data from over 70,000 initial flights to develop regulatory standards that are “safe, scalable, and based on real-world data,” the advancement of drone technology is simultaneously creating new security challenges. Emerging threats include inexpensive unmanned systems that complicate traditional counter-UAS defense costs, as well as autonomous or fiber-optic-guided drones that can bypass conventional radio-frequency jamming and detection methods. ## Timeline ### 2026-09-14: FAA expands drone integration program amid rising counter-UAS challenges The FAA is expanding its BEYOND program to integrate more drones into US airspace, while new autonomous and low-cost drone technologies challenge existing counter-UAS defense systems. 5 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/faa-expands-drone-integration-program-amid-rising-counter-uas-challenges ### 2026-08-31: FAA expands BEYOND program to accelerate drone integration The FAA is launching Phase 2 of its BEYOND program to expand drone integration in the U.S. airspace, doubling participants to improve BVLOS operations and regulatory standards using real-world flight data. 5 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/faa-expands-beyond-program-to-accelerate-drone-integration --- Cite as: FAA drone integration and UAS development. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/faa-drone-integration-and-uas-development