Autonomy Global recently published a feature exploring In-Time Aviation Safety Management Systems (IASMS), a NASA-originated framework designed to keep the National Airspace System (NAS) safe as operations become denser, more automated, and increasingly mixed, crewed and uncrewed.
The article frames IASMS as a shift from periodic, human-centered oversight to a continuously aware safety ecosystem, one that can spot weak signals early, understand impact, and support mitigations fast enough for high-tempo operations.
The article notes IASMS has been advanced by companies like ResilienX, reflecting the industry push to operationalize NASA’s framework. This aligns with our work on FRAIHMWORK, our IASMS platform built around a monitor → assess → mitigate loop, supporting in-time system-wide safety assurance (ISSA) as autonomy and operational scale increase.
What is IASMS and how does it relate to the upcoming BVLOS rule?
IASMS extends traditional Safety Management Systems (SMS) into “in-time” operations. The core idea is straightforward: in future airspace, safety depends not only on aircraft performance, but also on the health of the entire ecosystem that aircraft rely on, including surveillance, navigation, communications, weather, UTM services, detect-and-avoid functions, and digital infrastructure.
In the NPRM version of the FAA’s BVLOS rule, much of subpart H’s scope deals with proving that operations can happen safely relies on testing and demonstration. ResilienX knows that with any complex system, change happens: in the environment, in the systems that are in the air and the systems that aircraft rely on, on the ground. This change means that while the FAA isn’t explicitly defining how, but in the requirements dealing with systems and associated elements, operators are responsible for mitigating failures when they happen to prevent them from becoming a hazard and hurting someone.
ResilienX is using IASMS to meet these requirements (108.870, 108.880, and others). Additionally, IASMS is a great way to provide a means to handle reporting, and automate data exchange for reportable occurrences once the FAA establishes its infrastructure to ingest this information.
The three pillars of IASMS
The Autonomy Global piece outlines IASMS as a loop built around three connected capabilities:
Monitor
Get the data, whether:
- a) it is pushed to an IASMS by the things to be monitored, or
- b) the IASMS is capable of retrieving data from the things to be monitored.
Assess
Leverage the data to understand the risk state of the individual pieces of the UAS ecosystem, which could be services, sensors, networks, the environment, or operations.
Mitigate
Do something helpful to reduce the risk state. In some cases, take action early in smaller ways so that it isn’t required to tie up portions of the airspace, or impact your ability to operate.
Why it matters: mixed-performance airspace and BVLOS at scale
IASMS is increasingly relevant because the NAS is trending toward a mixed-performance environment. Small drones, eVTOL air taxis, high-altitude platforms, and traditional air carriers will operate in overlapping regions, with different speeds, capabilities, and risk profiles.
As BVLOS operations scale, human roles also shift from direct control toward supervision. IASMS is one way to close that gap, providing in-time visibility into system health and enabling faster, more consistent responses when something starts to drift off-nominal.
To read the full feature on Autonomy Global here.
Are standards development organizations doing anything with IASMS?
As of January 30, 2026, the drone committee of ASTM (F38) is balloting work item #WK93681, an IASMS standard guide, in its “Drone Operations” subcommittee, F38.02. This standard aims to provide a compendium of approaches for implementing IASMS functionality within UAS.
![[Media Coverage] Commercial UAV News on ORION-X and the path to scalable drone services](https://resilienx.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Media-article-12-19-25-CUN-2.jpg)
