The Specific category was established for drone operations that do not fall under the Open category criteria, requiring a more stringent risk assessment and authorisation procedures. For example, B-VLOS flights, drones with MTOM > 25 kg, flights above 120 m from the ground, operations with swarms of drones, release of materials and spreading of substances are included. (Regulation EU 2019/947)

Operating under the Specification category always requires an operational authorisation, unless the operation is carried out according to a European Standard Scenario (STS). When an UAS operator decides to operate in the specific category, it is responsible for developing an operations manual: the manual is always required, both for operations under Standard Scenarios and for operations under Operational Authorisation.

Flights may be made according to:

• Standard Scenarios;
• Operational Authorization (SORA or PDRA);
• LUC.