Although regulations for manned flight have matured greatly over the past 100 years, the implicit assumption is that there is a human pilot on board. There is no agreed interpretation on standards and regulations for unmanned systems.

Regulatory authorities have provided guidance: UAS behaviour should be transparent and equivalent to that of piloted aircraft, and consequently no less safe.

Currently, there is a "Catch 22" situation in which regulators require an example UAS to certify, but industry requires regulators to specify the requirements for certification.