Question ID 1 Question Answer

1 Period of performance end date and milestone horizons. The Period of Performance section states that the BEYOND Phase 2 OTA begins on the date of award and terminates on September 30, 2028, subject to extension by subsequent updates to the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. Table 1, Criterion 7 instead asks Offerors to demonstrate feasibility of completing all submitted goals prior to September 30, 2029.

The OTA Period of Performance in the SIR has been updated to reflect that if the FAA receives authorization to extend the program then the OTA will terminate on September 30, 2029. If the FAA does not receive an extension, or receives extensions that susnet prior to September 30, 2029, then the FAA will be terminating the OTA when the authorization sunsets. Proposed goals and milestones should fall within the updated OTA period of performance. FAA removed references to a BEYOND Phase 2 lifecycle in Table 1 criterion 7. An updated SIR will be posted to SAM.

2 Which date governs the period of performance for an OTA awarded under this SIR — September 30, 2028 or September 30, 2029?

See answer to Question 1. The OTA Period of Performance thas been updated to terminate on September 30, 2029. An updated SIR has been posted to

SAM.

3 If September 30, 2028 governs, the period of performance from the notional October 12, 2026 award date is approximately 23.5 months. Criterion 7 requests long-term milestones at 2–4 years, and KPI 1 defines long-term milestones as 2–3 years with 90% cumulative completion. Neither band fits within 23.5 months. How should Offerors define and schedule long-term milestones so that timelines are evaluated as complete and coherent rather than as extending beyond the agreement term?

See answer to Question 1. The OTA Period of Performance terminates on September 30, 2029. For purposes of constructing a timeline, see note below, also added to revised SIR). Milestones should span the lifecycle of the goals proposed.

Added note to SIR - "Short Term and Long Term Milestone timeframes are for internal FAA program metrics. Offerors are not expected to define milestones as short or long term in their proposals."

4 Should Offerors treat the milestone bands in Table 1, Criterion 7 (short-term 1–2 years, long-term 2–4 years) or those in KPI 1 (short-term 1 year, long-term 2–3 years) as controlling for the purpose of structuring the timeline?

See answer to Question 3.

5 Will proposals containing milestones scheduled after September 30, 2028 be evaluated as not achievable within the BEYOND Phase 2 lifecycle, or will such milestones be accepted as contingent on statutory extension of the program?

Proposed goals and milestones should fall within the updated OTA period of performance ending September 30 2029. FAA removed references to a BEYOND Phase 2 lifecycle in the revised SIR.

6 Whether the Criterion 1 narrative counts toward the 26 pages. Criterion 1 (Applicant Eligibility) is marked "no page limit," and §9.1 excludes letters of attestation from the page count. If an Offeror includes a brief narrative eligibility statement and point-of-contact table in the body of the PDF ahead of the Executive Summary, does that narrative count against the 26-page limit, or is Criterion 1 considered satisfied entirely by the excluded attestation letter?

"Applicant Eligibility" is TSP Criterion 1 and will be evaluated based on information presented in the required letter of attestation. Information provided in criteria 2 - 7 count toward the 26 page limit.

FAA updated proposal instructions to require multiple PDF files addressing different aspects of the proposal and clarified page limit requirements. An updated SIR has been posted to SAM.

7 Maximum acceptable email attachment size. §8.3.3 makes email the only accepted submission method, and §9.1 requires a single PDF containing the narrative plus all attestation letters and teaming agreements. What is the maximum total message size the FAA email gateway will accept? If the assembled PDF exceeds that limit, will the FAA accept the submission split across sequentially numbered emails, a secure file transfer service, or a link to Offeror-hosted storage — and if so, which is preferred?

FAA updated proposal instructions to require multiple PDF files addressing different aspects of the proposal and clarified page limit requirements. An updated SIR has been posted to SAM.

8 Confirmation of receipt and the controlling timestamp. Will the CO or Contract Specialist acknowledge receipt of a proposal, and within what interval? For timeliness under §8.3.4, is the controlling time the timestamp of arrival at the FAA mail server, or the time the message reaches the recipients' mailboxes after security scanning? If a submission is quarantined or rejected by the FAA gateway before the deadline, what recourse does an Offeror have?

The CO or CS will provide a receipt of proposal as soon as feasibly possible.

The controlling timestamp of arrival is when the message reaches the recipients' mailboxes. Offerors are advised to not wait until submission deadline to submit their proposal to allow time for security scanning through the FAA's mail server. The Offeror can email the CO and CS if there are submission issues prior to the proposal deadline.

9 Representations and Certifications. The SAM registration section refers to entering a UEI in the "Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offeror's Section of the solicitation." Table 1 does not list a Reps and Certs section among the required TSP contents. Is a separate Reps and Certs form required with the proposal? If so, where is it located, and does it count toward the 26-page limit?

Table 1, Technical Submission Package (TSP) does not apply to requirements for Certification of Registration in the System for Awared Management (SAM).

Offerors must include their SAM UEI number in the proposal Executive Summary and ensure their Sam.gov profile is up to date. Offerors may obtain information on registration and annual confirmation requirements via the internet at http://www.sam.gov.

10 Attestation letter signatory. Criterion 1 requires a letter from an Authorized Tribal Representative affirming both that the Offeror is an instrumentality of a Tribal government and that the Offeror is approved by the chief executive officer of that government. Will a single letter executed by the chief executive officer satisfy both affirmations, or does the FAA expect two separate instruments?

A single letter can satifsy all requirements in Criteria 1, provided it addressed the criteria description completely. The single attestation letter should be in a separate pdf file attachment.

11 Timing of the Q&A posting. When does the FAA anticipate posting answers to SAM.gov Offerors would benefit from confirmation that responses will be available with sufficient time remaining before the September 10 proposal deadline.

Q&As have been posted to Sam.gov and the proposal due date has been extended to October 30, 2027 at 3pm ET.

12 Alternate Point of Contact. Can the Alternate POC be from a wholly owned subsidiary of the Offeror? The Alternate POC should be from the prime Offeror.

13 Letters of intent in place of executed teaming agreements. §9.1 excludes "executed teaming agreements and letters of intent/attestation" from the page count. Where an Offeror's arrangement with an industry partner is documented by a letter of intent rather than a fully executed teaming agreement at the proposal date, is that acceptable for evaluation purposes, and will the FAA expect executed agreements before OTA signature?

Letters of intent or excuted teaming agreements are acceptable for evaluation purposes. Executed agreements are not required before OTA signature.

FAA updated proposal instructions to require a separate PDF file or files, depending on file size, for letters of intent and executed teaming agreements which are not part of the page count limitation. An updated SIR has been posted to SAM.

14 Scope of permissible requests of the FAA. Criteria 3 and 6 ask Offerors to identify specific requests of the FAA. Beyond certificates of authorization, waivers, exemptions, and new approval pathways, may an Offeror request FAA operational participation — for example, coordination with a specific air traffic facility, participation in procedure development, or access to FAA-held data or infrastructure?

Is there an expected limit on the scale of FAA resource commitment an Offeror may propose?

The Advanced Aviation Technologies office will work with applicants to meet BEYOND program goals and identify FAA participation where needed and within the FAA's mission, authority, and capabilites. There is no expected limit.

15 Period of Performance and Milestone Horizon. Section 5 states that the BEYOND Phase 2 OTA will terminate on September 30, 2028. Criterion 7, however, refers to completion prior to September 30, 2029 and defines long-term milestones as two to four years. Section 7.1.2 separately describes long-term milestones as two to three years. Which period of performance and milestone definitions should Offerors use in preparing their proposals?

See answer to Question 3.

16 Partner Letters of Intent/Attestation. The SIR permits executed teaming agreements and letters of intent/attestation outside the 26-page limit. For partners whose primary contribution is defining community or public-service mission needs, identifying societal benefits, providing access to affected stakeholders, or informing mission design rather than operating aircraft or providing technical services, does FAA encourage letters documenting those roles? Additionally, will signed partner letters identifying intended roles, contributions, and conditions of participation qualify as letters of intent/attestation even if titled “Letter of Support” or “Letter of Support and Intent”?

The submission of additional supporting material, including teaming agreements, letters of intent, etc., remains strictly at the applicant's discretion.

17 Revenue-Generating Operations. May BEYOND Phase 2 goals include limited revenue-generating or commercial operations where those operations would produce FAA-relevant safety, operational, scalability, or economic data? If so, may Offerors request FAA consideration of available statutory or regulatory authorities, including authorities associated with Section 920 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, where an existing certification or operating limitation would otherwise prevent the proposed revenue operation?

Yes, applicants can have revenue-generating and commerical operations where those operations would provide benefits to the FAA as outlined in the SIR. Offerors may request FAA consideration of available statutory or regulatory authorities, however, the BEYOND program does not override exisiting certification or operating limitations.

18 Progression from Non-Revenue to Revenue Operations. Would FAA consider a phased goal that begins with non-revenue proving or demonstration flights and progresses, subject to demonstrated safety and FAA approval, toward limited revenue-generating cargo, logistics, public-health, or other operations to be responsive to the BEYOND Phase 2 objectives?

Yes, the FAA will accept phased goals.

19 Industry Partner Benefit and Commercialization. Because the SIR provides no FAA funding and requires participating parties to bear their own costs, may industry partners use BEYOND operations to advance their own certification, operational approval, service-acceptance, commercialization, or market-entry pathways, provided the proposed activities also generate the data and regulatory insight required by the BEYOND program?

Yes, industry partners may use operations under BEYOND to advance their commercial objectives where those operations would provide benefits to the FAA as outlined in the SIR.

20 Multiple Service Providers and Interoperability. For KPI 4, would demonstrations involving interoperability among multiple UTM or other third-party service providers be considered responsive where the operations evaluate standardized data exchange, service continuity, or progression toward FAA acceptance of additional services?

Refer to KPI 4.

21 Baseline Operations, Airport Integration, and Progression to Novel Operations. Criterion 6 asks Offerors to identify new or novel operations that cannot currently be conducted in compliance with existing regulations. May a goal also include lower-complexity UAS operations that can be conducted today under existing authorities when those operations serve as baseline, validation, or precursor activities leading to the novel operation requiring FAA involvement? For example, may this progression include UAS operations integrated with airport operations or open movement areas, beginning under existing authorities and advancing toward more complex UAS/ATM-UTM integration for which additional FAA approvals or pathways are required?

Proposing a phased approach that fits within the period of performance is acceptable.

22 §5 states the OTA terminates September 30, 2028. Table 1, Item 7 refers to "feasibility of completing all submitted goals during the lifecycle of the BEYOND Phase 2 program (prior to September 30, 2029)" and requests long-term milestones of 2 to 4 years. Please confirm which date governs proposal planning, and how Offerors should treat milestones falling after September 30, 2028.

See answer to Question 1.

23 §9.1 sets a 26-page overall limit. The per-item limits in Table 1 for Sections 2 through 7 total approximately 35 pages if four goals are proposed at the maximum per-goal allowance. Please confirm that the 26-page overall limit governs and that the per-item limits are maximums rather than expected page counts. Relatedly, Table 3 describes the highest confidence ratings in terms of alignment with the "entire span" of BEYOND Phase 2 focus areas — please confirm whether proposing fewer than four goals, in order to remain within the overall page limit, is disadvantageous in the evaluation.

FAA updated proposal instructions to require multiple PDF files addressing different aspects of the proposal and clarified page limit requirements. An updated SIR will be posted to SAM.

24 Are use cases and aircraft over 1320 lbs, such as AAM aircraft, allowed in this application? Aircraft/platforms above 1320lbs are allowed under the BEYOND program.

Passenger-carrying or crewed operations are prohibited under Beyond.

25 Is there a pathway for an SLTT who was not awarded to joining and partner under another approved program? If you, can you please share how we would be able to do so.

Lead participants are free to add partners at their discretion in accordance with the OTA. The BEYOND SIR is independent of previous awards for SLTT partnership agreements (e.g., eIPP).

26 Is the teaming agreement only a letter signed by principals to support the project? The submission of additional supporting material, including teaming agreements, letters of intent, etc., remains strictly at the applicant's discretion. For information regarding what constitutes a teaming agreement, Offerors should contact their local Small Business Administration office.

27 The Offeror is preparing a FRIA for the project at the selected/owned site. Do we have to complete the pre-application for the FRIA prior to the submission of the proposal or can that be completed after the proposal is submitted?

If a FRIA is needed for a project, it can be completed as part of the project work, after a proposal is submitted.

28 It appears the proposal and OTA will only describe technical effort that will be self-funded by the partnership. Other than applying for an FRIA, supervising internships and providing drone services, what else is required to prove in cost share for the Offeror?

FAA is not providing funds to BEYOND partners. There is no cost share requirement under the BEYOND. Each BEYOND participant is responsible for its own costs.

29 A University is designated by law as an instrumentality of government and approved to provide services on campus. Does the AG still need a letter of attestation or is the law sufficient?

The applicant must meet the requirements of criteria 1.

30 Is description of phases in the future satisfactory? Phased approaches with future descriptions are acceptable.

31 Is dual use of safety case for detect and avoid and counter UAS detection of non-participators sufficient?

The FAA is unable to respond to this question in its current form due to ambiguity.

32 Are any waiver submissions required for BVLOS required other than referencing 107 paragraphs? Offeror must clearly identify what the applicant is requesting from the FAA, including specific certificates of authorization (COAs), waivers, exemptions, or new guidance/policies/pathways to acceptance.

33 Our proposed partner already has equipment and slated to install radar, ADSB, acoustic next year funded by a parallel government project. Is any proof required of that funding and timelines required?

No, there is no proof required of funding and timelines.

34 The SIR states “An Offeror’s proposal must be submitted by email to the Contracting Officer or Contract Specialist listed in paragraph 8.2.3.” Can you please identify what the size limitation of attachments for said e-mail is to ensure the proposal does not bounce back when sent?

FAA email servers have a size limitation of 10mb for email attachments.

Proposals may be submitted in multiple emails to not exceed size limitations.

If multiple emails are submitted they should be labeled Beyond Phase 2 email 1 of X and so forth.

35 The SIR states “Incorporate operations that explore the use of larger UAS, UAS flying farther distances, and operating at higher altitudes (Bigger, Higher, Farther).” Can you please provide the metrics for what thresholds constitute bigger, higher, farther?

Bigger, higher, farther is defined as large UAS drone operations flying above 400 feet, including into controlled airspace, in certain restricted airspace (e.g.,

91.137 TFRs), and operations leveraging technology and tackling policy challenges that will enable longer endurance and/or distance flights.

Larger UAS can include any aircraft above 55 lbs, including conventional aircraft configured for unmanned operation (e.g., Cessna Caravan conducting cargo operations).

36 Will Offerors receive confirmation via e-mail of receipt when FAA receives proposal submissions? See answer to Question 8.

37 The SIR states “The proposal should demonstrate how the goals advance BEYOND Phase 2 programmatic objectives in the operational focus areas identified in 6.1.1 above:” Should the 6.1.1 reference be 7.1.1. instead?

6.1.1 Programmatic and Operational Objectives is the correct reference.

38 The SIR states “Font Size: 12 point (no reduction permitted).” Does this font size restriction apply to graphics as well?

The FAA is not restricting font size of graphics; however, the font must be legible.

39 What does “service acceptance” mean in the SIR reference below?

KPI 4 – Interoperability Progress in the development and implementation of interoperable technologies, through FAA acceptance of new services throughout the NAS. Increasing number of operations (using UTM services): 1. Phase 1: Gain service acceptance.

Gain service acceptance means accepted under the Near Term Approval Process (NTAP) program or future regulations.

40 The SIR states “Evaluation of the proposal will be conducted using a single confidence rating for the whole proposal. The FAA review team will evaluate the entire proposal against the submission listed in Section 8.” Can you please clarify if the individual evaluators will be reviewing and grading the whole proposal or only certain sections of the proposal?

Please refer to the SIR for the evaluation criteria.

41 In reading the eligibility requirements, I see that Universities are not listed as directly being eligible.

However, I was curious to know if our status as public, state university would qualify us as being an eligible entity for the purpose of the application.

The Offeror must be a State, Local, Tribal, or Territorial government and provide a Letter of Attestion per the SIR.

42 May an eligible governmental offeror add or identify additional industry partners before submitting its September 10, 2026 proposal?

Offerors should identify applicable partners as required in TSP criterion 3.

43 Does the FAA maintain, or intend to publish, a list of interested eligible offerors or a mechanism through which prospective industry partners may identify appropriate state, local, tribal, or territorial government teams?

FAA does not intend to publish a list of interested eligible offerors. FAA publishes information on selected Lead Participants for BEYOND at https://www.faa.gov/uas/programs_partnerships/beyond.

44 May our non-confidential capability statement be provided to the FAA for informational purposes or distribution to eligible offerors seeking infrastructure, technology, construction, data, or intellectual-property partners?

FAA will only accept proposals from entities eligible under the SIR. FAA publishes information on selected Lead Participants for BEYOND at https://www.faa.gov/uas/programs_partnerships/beyond.