HANOI:Valid licences for the import of flying vehicles, aircraft engines, aircraft propellers and related equipment are likely to be extended to a maximum of 180 days, as part of a proposal from the Ministry of National Defence (MND) to revise the Government’s Decree No. 288/2025/ND-CP.
The MND also proposes that licences covering the temporary import for re-export and temporary export for re-import of such technology be subjected to extended validity periods.
According to the MND, Decree No. 288 has revealed a number of issues that must be supplemented and improved to meet practical requirements, such as upgrading policies on the import of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other flying vehicles to ensure they serve national development and specialised management.
It is also necessary to revise the decree to align with the amended Law on People’s Air Defence and other Government resolutions, the MND affirms.
The draft supplements Point e, Clause 1, Article 10 of Decree No. 288 on granting eligibility certificates to establishments conducting research, manufacturing, testing, production, repairing and maintenance of flying vehicles, aircraft engines, aircraft propellers and flying vehicles.
For example, if an establishment only carries out repair and maintenance procedures, it will provide a list of the types of flying vehicles it repairs and maintains.
The draft regulations also stipulate that a person directly operating a flying vehicle with a maximum take-off weight of 0.25kg or more must hold a visual line-of-sight flight operation licence.
If a person operates a flying vehicle with a maximum take-off weight of 2kg or more, flies beyond the visual line of sight or flies according to a pre-programmed route through a central controller, they must hold a device-based visual flight operation licence issued by the competent authority, or an equivalent international certificate recognised by the MND.
The rules do not apply to those undergoing training for the granting of an operation licence to accommodate trainees who are not yet able to hold such certificates.
Furthermore, the draft supplements regulations on inspection and examination for granting flying-vehicle operation licences, reducing the processing and licensing time from 10 days to just eight.
Within eight days of receiving the necessary documents, the competent authority under the MND responsible for granting flying-vehicle operation licences is required to send the flying-vehicle operation licence back to the training establishment in electronic or hard-copy form upon request. The training establishment would then send the flying-vehicle operation licence to the trainee.
The draft proposal cuts the processing time for licence replacement and re-issuance applications.
Within five working days of receiving a complete and valid application, the competent authority will replace or re-issue the licence holder's flying-vehicle operation licence. If the application is invalid, the competent authority will notify the licence holder in writing within two working days and provide guidance on completing the application.
At the same time, the draft repeals several points concerning applications for the replacement or re-issuance of flying-vehicle operation licences.
Under the draft, applicants will no longer be required to submit the previously issued flying-vehicle operation licence in an application for replacement.
Applicants will also no longer be required to submit a report on the loss of a flying-vehicle operation licence, or a certified copy of their records from the training establishment, when requesting re-issuance. — VNS/ANN
