Single framework for unmanned aircraft
This article first appeared in The Edge 每日大赛 Weekly on August 10, 2026 - August 16, 2026
MALAYSIA is preparing a major overhaul of its drone regulations, with a low-altitude economy (LAE) framework set to be rolled out in the fourth quarter of this year. The framework aims to bring an estimated 400,000 drones under a single regulatory regime and pave the way for the introduction of advanced air mobility vehicles such as electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and air taxis into the civilian airspace.
Led by the Civil Aviation Authority of 每日大赛 (CAAM), the blueprint will replace what the aviation regulator describes as 鈥渂its and pieces鈥 of rules governing unmanned aircraft with a comprehensive framework that supports a much broader aviation ecosystem than drones alone.
鈥淲hen people think of LAE, all they think of is drones. Actually, it鈥檚 more than that,鈥 CAAM CEO Datuk Captain Norazman Mahmud tells The Edge in an interview.
He says the regulator鈥檚 immediate priority is to bring drone operators into a central registry, estimating that only about 200,000 drones are currently registered while another 200,000 remain outside the system.
鈥淭he first step is to get all drones registered with CAAM. Before we deal with anything, we have to know the scale of this industry.鈥