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Carbonix has reached a major milestone, becoming the first Australian company to achieve an official safety integrity certification for a drone.
The Sydney-based uncrewed aerial system (UAS) company announced on Monday, 6 July 2026, that they are the first company in the country to receive the Safety Assurance Integrity Level III certification for a long-range UAS.
This certification assures the “maturity, reliability and engineering” features of the drone and works towards classifying UAS’ as other essential aircraft needing to be validated.
To be certified, the company was required to show the safety, reliability and function of their drones’ structure, propulsion, communication, supply chains and documentation.
“Australia has developed some of the world’s most advanced drone technology and this milestone shows what can be achieved when industry and regulators work closely together,” Carbonix founder and CEO Dario Valenza said.
“It creates an important pathway toward safe, scalable autonomous aviation operations in Australia.”
Delivered with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Carbonix said the certification represents a major step in how long-range drone operations are assessed in the future.
The company said this is one of the world’s first achievements in drone approvals and shows that UAS operations are being increasingly seen as legitimate aviation systems rather than “experimental technology requiring repeated case-by-case approvals”.
Following this achievement, Carbonix has additionally received approvals to continue drone operations for major projects that would typically be conducted by helicopters, ground crews and other aircraft.
This is because the certification ensures services are being delivered to the highest degrees of safety and efficiency.
“Replacing crewed aircraft with long-range autonomous drones significantly improves safety, reduces fuel burn and delivers faster, higher-quality data for infrastructure operators,” Valenza said.
The company expects this achievement to accelerate “persistent aerial monitoring at scale” for a range of operations.
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