GB42590 Safety Requirements for Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems

　　GB 42590-2023, titled Safety requirements for civil unmanned aircraft system, is a critical mandatory national standard in China that establishes the fundamental safety baseline for the design, manufacture, and testing of civil unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It came into effect on June 1, 2024.

　　This standard applies to micro, light, and small civil unmanned aircraft, excluding model aircraft. It is a cornerstone of China's regulatory framework for low-altitude aviation, ensuring that drones entering the market meet strict safety criteria to protect the public and property.

　　Key Safety Requirements

　　The standard mandates 17 specific safety requirements. Below are the most significant provisions:

　　1. Geofencing: UAVs must be equipped with geofencing capabilities to detect geographic boundaries. Upon approaching or entering a restricted area, the system must trigger a notification/warning to the operator or automatically execute a pre-programmed flight action (e.g., hovering, landing, or returning to home).

　　2. Emergency Handling: The system must include contingency logic to manage unexpected situations, such as data link interruption or low battery/power levels. Required capabilities include hovering, automatic return-to-home (RTH), or safe landing.

　　3. Remote Identification: To improve airspace management, these UAVs are required to actively broadcast identification information via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth during flight and submit data to the national integrated supervision service platform.

　　4. Structural Integrity & Design:  Strength: The airframe must withstand a load of 1.33 times its maximum take-off weight without critical deformation or damage.

　　 Safety Features: Designs must eliminate sharp edges that could cause harm. Propeller designs must minimize the risk of lacerations to personnel (e.g., through non-metallic materials or specific blade geometry).

　　5. Durability and Impact Safety: A "whole machine fall" test is required for micro and light UAVs with lithium-ion batteries. After a 10-meter vertical free-fall drop at 30% battery capacity, the device must not explode or catch fire.

　　6. Fool-proof Design: Mechanical interfaces (for batteries, propellers, and motors) must be designed to prevent incorrect assembly or connection.

　　7. Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC): UAVs must operate safely within their intended environment without causing or being susceptible to harmful electromagnetic interference.

　　Importance of the Standard

　　GB 42590-2023 serves as the technical counterpart to the Interim Regulations on Unmanned Aircraft Flight Management. Its primary goals are:

　　1. Uniformity: It provides a unified, mandatory benchmark for manufacturers, replacing disparate voluntary standards with consistent compliance criteria.

　　2. Risk Mitigation: By mandating features like "Sense and Avoid" and automated RTH, it significantly lowers the probability of accidents in populated areas.

　　3. Regulatory Integration: It enables the effective operation of China's low-altitude monitoring infrastructure by ensuring every compliant drone is "visible" to the regulatory platform via remote ID.

　　Compliance Summary

　　For manufacturers and importers, adherence to this standard is not optional for the specified classes of civil UAVs. Compliance is verified through rigorous testing, including mechanical stress tests, environmental simulations, and software performance evaluations.

　　Would you like more detailed information on a specific section of the standard, such as the technical test methods or the classification definitions for micro vs. light vs. small UAVs?