SAIL III OSO Declarations for DJI Dock 3 and Matrice 4D Series to Support SORA Applications

For users working toward operations in SAIL III in EASA Member States, the question has long moved beyond whether the drone can complete the mission. The real challenge is building a package of structured, regulator-ready evidence that demonstrates how the UAS platform, its control link, its maintenance system, and its operating procedures collectively meet the required safety objectives for the intended operation.

DJI has now completed a SAIL III declaration of compliance package for the applicable design-related Operational Safety Objectives (OSOs) for DJI Dock 3 and the Matrice 4D Series. This represents a meaningful compliance milestone: a manufacturer-backed evidence set that operators, dealers, platform providers, and system integrators can reference when preparing SORA-based applications up to SAIL III in EASA Member States.

Access to OSO Declaration Package

Why SAIL III Is the Relevant Threshold

SORA, published by EASA as Acceptable Means of Compliance to Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2019/947, consolidates ground and air risk analyses into a single metric known as the Specific Assurance and Integrity Level (SAIL). This parameter ranges from I to VI, and each level identifies the applicable Operational Safety Objectives , and associated level of robustness.

SAIL III falls within the medium-risk range within the specific category. It typically applies to operations beyond the scope of  Standard Scenarios, and sits below SAIL IV, for which design-related OSO's generally require Design Verification Report. This makes SAIL III relevant to a wide range of real-world deployments that may include: infrastructure inspection beyond visual line of sight, drone-as-first-responder programmes operating over semi-populated areas, perimeter security with automated response, and energy sector operations where the final ground risk class and residual air risk results in a SAIL III determination.  

If you are still working through the fundamentals of SORA and the EU regulatory framework, our earlier guide provides a full walkthrough of the process: EU Drone Regulations Made Easy: DJI Dock 2 Compliance Guide.

The Declarative Approach: What Makes SAIL III Different

One of the more important distinctions in the SORA framework is how design-related safety objectives are verified at different SAIL levels. At SAIL III, the competent authority may accept, as part of the operational-authorisation process, declarations of compliance provided by the UAS designer. For the applicable design-related OSOs, EASA has published Means of Compliance developed by its Airworthiness Task Force under the UAS Technical Body: UAS designers assess compliance against these Means of Compliance and issue signed declarations of compliance for each applicable design-related OSO. Whereas at SAIL IV, compliance with the applicable design-related SORA requirements must be demonstrated through an EASA-issued Design Verification Report (DVR), following an application by the UAS designer.

Under this approach, DJI (as the UAS designer) has already conducted the required testing, analysis, and design reviews for the Dock 3 and Matrice 4D Series, and has issued the resulting declarations. Each declaration is provided to operators applying for operational authorisations with the DJI Dock 3 and Matrice 4D Series, so that they can submit it as manufacturer-backed evidence within their own SORA submission to the competent authority. The operator does not need to reconstruct DJI's technical arguments from scratch; they incorporate DJI's declarations into their overall compliance package alongside their Concept of Operations, risk assessment, and operational procedures.

What the DJI Dock 3 and Matrice 4D Series OSO Package Covers

The DJI SAIL III OSO declaration package for the Dock 3 and Matrice 4D Series addresses design-related operational safety objectives. Taken together, they give a regulator, a SORA consultant, or an internal safety team a structured view of the platform from DJI's perspective as UAS Designer.

Here is the detailed breakdown of the scope of each OSO:

• OSO 2: Competent manufacturer and quality system

• OSO 3: Maintenance and continued airworthiness support

• OSO 5: System safety and reliability

• OSO 6: C2 link performance and link-loss behaviour

• OSO 8: Flight manual documentation and operational information

• OSO 18: Flight envelope protection

• OSO 19/20: Human factors and HMI

• OSO 24: Environmental robustness and safe operating envelope

What This Means for Operators and Partners

For drone operators preparing SORA applications, the practical value of this package is in reducing the technical burden at an early stage in the process. Instead of constructing design-level arguments for each of these objectives independently (or relying solely on a consultant to do so) operators can incorporate DJI's signed declarations directly as UAS-Designer evidence in their submission. This gives the Competent Authority and any reviewing body clear, traceable UAS Designer evidence for each of the eight SAIL III design-related OSOs.

This does not remove the need for a thorough SORA submission. The operator remains responsible for the elements of the application that sit outside the UAS designer's scope: the Concept of Operations, the assessment of the ground and air risks associated with the intended operation, the operational authorisation application itself, and the operational procedures and applicable training requirements. What the package does is reduce the uncertainty and workload attached to a significant portion of the technical evidence required.

For DJI dealers, the package is a substantive asset when engaging customers in public safety, energy, critical infrastructure, and security markets who are at the stage of building their business case or beginning conversations with their local Competent Authority.

System integrators and platform providers can include DJI's declarations in their safety portfolios and operational authorisations. To learn more about the compliance resources available for the DJI Dock 3, including ConOps templates and SORA documentation developed in partnership with regulatory consultants, see: Achieve Compliance and Operational Success for DJI Dock 3.

Markets and Operations Where This Package Applies

The SAIL III declaration package is intended for use in EASA Member States applying EASA’s SORA as an Acceptable Means of Compliance for operational authorisations in the specific category.

The types of operations that may result in a SAIL III classification include automated dock-based BVLOS operations, drone-as-first-responder deployments that extend beyond visual line of sight, infrastructure and utility inspection over low-to-medium-density areas, and perimeter security programmes with automated patrol and dispatch capabilities. The resulting SAIL depends on the specific ground and air risks, applicable mitigations, and operational conditions. For operators in these segments, the availability of a UAS designer-backed SAIL III package addresses an information gap that has historically complicated the early stages of SAIL III application preparation.

Our BVLOS Resource Library provides a broader reference set for operators working across EU and other regulatory environments: The Ultimate BVLOS Resource Library 

Accessing the Package

The SAIL III OSO declaration documents for the DJI Dock 3 and Matrice 4D Series are available at the following link:

Access to OSO Declaration Package

The package includes the signed declaration forms and supporting technical documents across all eight SAIL III MoCs. Operators, dealers, system integrators, and platform providers can use these materials as supporting evidence in preparing operational-authorisation applications for SORA. For questions about how to apply the package to a specific operation, operational volume, or airspace environment, contact your local DJI Enterprise team or authorised dealer.

Trending in the right direction

The completion of the SAIL III OSO declaration package marks a meaningful step forward for DJI Dock 3 deployments in EASA Member States. It does not remove the need for a thorough, well-constructed SORA submission, and it does not guarantee operational authorisation from any competent authority. What it provides is a clear, traceable UAS Designer evidence base that operators and partners can build on rather than build alone.

A robust SORA application process requires documentation that regulators can review, consultants can work with, and operators can stand behind. The SAIL III package is DJI's contribution to making that process more accessible across the use cases where automated drone operations are already demonstrating their value: public safety response, critical infrastructure inspection, utility monitoring, and the growing range of sectors where persistent aerial capability is becoming part of the operational standard.