Aerial / UAS — AR Rubric Data Twin

Foreword. Data Artifact: the machine-readable twin of VRS-AER-201 (VRS 2026 (draft)) — the sector criteria with their point ranges, rungs and tier ceilings, the contributing intrinsic criteria, the letter bands and the application classes — generated FROM the protocol’s Clause 5–7 by tools/vrs-twin-generate.py. Consistency is by construction and re-verified on every build (conformance check 15). The JSON in Clause 4 is the normative payload; scorer tooling consumes it directly. A change to VRS-AER-201 and to this twin is one change instrument.

1 Scope

This Data Artifact carries the rubric data of the Aerial / UAS (AER) sector in machine-readable form: the 9 sector criteria of VRS-AER-201 Clause 6 with points, rungs and Unverified / Verified / Certified ceilings; the contributing intrinsic criteria of Clause 5; the letter bands and application classes of Clause 7. It states no independent requirements. Where this artifact and VRS-AER-201 could be read to differ, VRS-AER-201 governs and this twin is regenerated to match.

2 Normative references

• VRS-AER-201, Aerial / UAS — AR Assessment Protocol — source protocol twinned (Clauses 5–7).
• VRS-AER-001, Aerial / UAS — Sector Standard — application classes and hazard groups.
• VRS-GEN-005, IR Methodology — point sum, tier ceilings, no-evidence rule.
• VRS-GEN-006, AR Scheme — pool mechanics, letter bands, tier caps by construction.
• VRS-GEN-002, Designation and Drafting Rules — criterion layout (§6.5) and versioning.

3 Terms and definitions

The terms of VRS-GEN-001 and VRS-AER-201 apply. data twin — a machine-readable artifact regenerated one-to-one from a source protocol’s normative clauses. rung — a named state of a criterion awarding a stated integer number of points (VRS-GEN-002 §3.9). ceiling — the maximum points a criterion awards at a stated tier (VRS-GEN-002 §3.10).

4 Payload

Sector criteria total 100 points; ceilings Unverified 70, Verified 85, Certified 100.

{
  "_meta": {
    "description": "AER sector AR rubric data twin — machine-readable form of VRS-AER-201 Clause 5/6/7 (VRS 2026 (draft)). Generated by tools/vrs-twin-generate.py; never hand-edited.",
    "edition": "VRS 2026 (draft)",
    "source_protocol": "VRS-AER-201 v1.0.0",
    "generated": "2026-09-16",
    "conforms_to": "VRS-GEN-005 §6 (point sum, tier ceilings); VRS-GEN-006 §6–§8 (pool, bands, tier caps by construction)"
  },
  "sector_code": "aer",
  "bands_percent": {
    "AAA": 90,
    "AA": 75,
    "A": 60,
    "B": 45,
    "C": 0
  },
  "application_classes": [
    "small UAS (< 25 kg)",
    "heavy-lift / delivery",
    "dock-based autonomous",
    "VTOL fixed-wing"
  ],
  "contributing_ir_criteria": [
    {
      "id": "SF-2",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-101",
      "clause": "6.2"
    },
    {
      "id": "SF-5",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-101",
      "clause": "6.5"
    },
    {
      "id": "SF-7",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-101",
      "clause": "6.7"
    },
    {
      "id": "SF-8",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-101",
      "clause": "6.8"
    },
    {
      "id": "RL-1",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-102",
      "clause": "6.1"
    },
    {
      "id": "RL-2",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-102",
      "clause": "6.2"
    },
    {
      "id": "RL-7",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-102",
      "clause": "6.7"
    },
    {
      "id": "SV-1",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-103",
      "clause": "6.1"
    },
    {
      "id": "SV-5",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-103",
      "clause": "6.5"
    },
    {
      "id": "CY-3",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-105",
      "clause": "6.3"
    },
    {
      "id": "CY-4",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-105",
      "clause": "6.4"
    },
    {
      "id": "CY-5",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-105",
      "clause": "6.5"
    },
    {
      "id": "MS-1",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-106",
      "clause": "6.1"
    },
    {
      "id": "MS-7",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-106",
      "clause": "6.7"
    },
    {
      "id": "SI-1",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-104",
      "clause": "6.1"
    },
    {
      "id": "SI-2",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-104",
      "clause": "6.2"
    },
    {
      "id": "SI-6",
      "document": "VRS-GEN-104",
      "clause": "6.5"
    }
  ],
  "sector_criteria": [
    {
      "clause": "6.1",
      "id": "AER-1",
      "name": "Airworthiness / class-mark / operational-authorisation fit",
      "points_max": 14,
      "what_is_measured": ".",
      "rungs": [
        {
          "points": 14,
          "state": "class mark or type approval by notified body/authority + operational authorisations published"
        },
        {
          "points": 13,
          "state": "pack-evidenced (documents), not demonstrated"
        },
        {
          "points": 12,
          "state": "class mark/approval public"
        },
        {
          "points": 8,
          "state": "declared conformity with test reports"
        },
        {
          "points": 4,
          "state": "declared"
        },
        {
          "points": 0,
          "state": "not established"
        }
      ],
      "ceiling": {
        "unverified": 12,
        "verified": 13,
        "certified": 14
      },
      "company_wide": null,
      "evidence_bar": "Class and operating category declared.",
      "applicability": "small UAS (< 25 kg) · heavy-lift / delivery · dock-based autonomous · VTOL fixed-wing. All criteria apply to all classes.",
      "not_applicable_by_class": false
    },
    {
      "clause": "6.2",
      "id": "AER-2",
      "name": "Lost-link and fail-safe behaviour",
      "points_max": 14,
      "what_is_measured": "C2 loss → declared RTH/land/loiter; GNSS-degraded fallback.",
      "rungs": [
        {
          "points": 14,
          "state": "witnessed incl. GNSS-degraded"
        },
        {
          "points": 11,
          "state": "pack-evidenced (documents), not demonstrated"
        },
        {
          "points": 10,
          "state": "witnessed nominal"
        },
        {
          "points": 8,
          "state": "certified/independently tested"
        },
        {
          "points": 5,
          "state": "documented"
        },
        {
          "points": 0,
          "state": "not established"
        }
      ],
      "ceiling": {
        "unverified": 8,
        "verified": 11,
        "certified": 14
      },
      "company_wide": null,
      "evidence_bar": "Fail-safe behaviours declared.",
      "applicability": "small UAS (< 25 kg) · heavy-lift / delivery · dock-based autonomous · VTOL fixed-wing. All criteria apply to all classes.",
      "not_applicable_by_class": false
    },
    {
      "clause": "6.3",
      "id": "AER-3",
      "name": "Airspace containment (geo-awareness, altitude/area limits, Remote ID)",
      "points_max": 12,
      "what_is_measured": ".",
      "rungs": [
        {
          "points": 12,
          "state": "witnessed refusal at boundary + Remote ID broadcast verified"
        },
        {
          "points": 10,
          "state": "pack-evidenced (documents), not demonstrated"
        },
        {
          "points": 9,
          "state": "documented + certified"
        },
        {
          "points": 8,
          "state": "publicly evidenced only (no pack, no demonstration)"
        },
        {
          "points": 6,
          "state": "documented"
        },
        {
          "points": 0,
          "state": "not established"
        }
      ],
      "ceiling": {
        "unverified": 8,
        "verified": 10,
        "certified": 12
      },
      "company_wide": null,
      "evidence_bar": "Geo-awareness declared.",
      "applicability": "small UAS (< 25 kg) · heavy-lift / delivery · dock-based autonomous · VTOL fixed-wing. All criteria apply to all classes.",
      "not_applicable_by_class": false
    },
    {
      "clause": "6.4",
      "id": "AER-4",
      "name": "Ground-risk mitigation",
      "points_max": 12,
      "what_is_measured": "Parachute/flight-termination, over-people class limits, impact-energy statements.",
      "rungs": [
        {
          "points": 12,
          "state": "witnessed termination/parachute + certified"
        },
        {
          "points": 10,
          "state": "pack-evidenced (documents), not demonstrated"
        },
        {
          "points": 9,
          "state": "certified ((public))"
        },
        {
          "points": 6,
          "state": "documented"
        },
        {
          "points": 0,
          "state": "not established"
        }
      ],
      "ceiling": {
        "unverified": 6,
        "verified": 10,
        "certified": 12
      },
      "company_wide": null,
      "evidence_bar": "Ground-risk mitigations declared.",
      "applicability": "small UAS (< 25 kg) · heavy-lift / delivery · dock-based autonomous · VTOL fixed-wing. All criteria apply to all classes.",
      "not_applicable_by_class": false
    },
    {
      "clause": "6.5",
      "id": "AER-5",
      "name": "Propulsion and battery in-flight integrity",
      "points_max": 12,
      "what_is_measured": "Redundancy, battery health management, low-battery behaviour, thermal limits.",
      "rungs": [
        {
          "points": 12,
          "state": "witnessed low-battery + motor-out behaviour"
        },
        {
          "points": 9,
          "state": "validated"
        },
        {
          "points": 7,
          "state": "publicly evidenced only (no pack, no demonstration)"
        },
        {
          "points": 5,
          "state": "documented"
        },
        {
          "points": 0,
          "state": "not established"
        }
      ],
      "ceiling": {
        "unverified": 7,
        "verified": 9,
        "certified": 12
      },
      "company_wide": null,
      "evidence_bar": "Battery/propulsion architecture declared.",
      "applicability": "small UAS (< 25 kg) · heavy-lift / delivery · dock-based autonomous · VTOL fixed-wing. All criteria apply to all classes.",
      "not_applicable_by_class": false
    },
    {
      "clause": "6.6",
      "id": "AER-6",
      "name": "Weather-envelope discipline",
      "points_max": 6,
      "what_is_measured": "Wind/precip/icing limits published; app warnings; launch refusal beyond limits.",
      "rungs": [
        {
          "points": 6,
          "state": "witnessed refusal"
        },
        {
          "points": 5,
          "state": "documented + independently tested"
        },
        {
          "points": 4,
          "state": "publicly evidenced only (no pack, no demonstration)"
        },
        {
          "points": 3,
          "state": "documented"
        },
        {
          "points": 0,
          "state": "not established"
        }
      ],
      "ceiling": {
        "unverified": 4,
        "verified": 5,
        "certified": 6
      },
      "company_wide": null,
      "evidence_bar": "Weather envelope declared.",
      "applicability": "small UAS (< 25 kg) · heavy-lift / delivery · dock-based autonomous · VTOL fixed-wing. All criteria apply to all classes.",
      "not_applicable_by_class": false
    },
    {
      "clause": "6.7",
      "id": "AER-7",
      "name": "Maintenance, inspection and fleet-firmware discipline",
      "points_max": 10,
      "what_is_measured": "Published maintenance programme with intervals; per-airframe logs; fleet firmware management.",
      "rungs": [
        {
          "points": 10,
          "state": "all shown"
        },
        {
          "points": 9,
          "state": "documented in detail (public programme)"
        },
        {
          "points": 8,
          "state": "publicly evidenced only (no pack, no demonstration)"
        },
        {
          "points": 5,
          "state": "partial"
        },
        {
          "points": 0,
          "state": "not established"
        }
      ],
      "ceiling": {
        "unverified": 8,
        "verified": 9,
        "certified": 10
      },
      "company_wide": null,
      "evidence_bar": "None.",
      "applicability": "small UAS (< 25 kg) · heavy-lift / delivery · dock-based autonomous · VTOL fixed-wing. All criteria apply to all classes.",
      "not_applicable_by_class": false
    },
    {
      "clause": "6.8",
      "id": "AER-8",
      "name": "Occurrence and incident record",
      "points_max": 10,
      "what_is_measured": "Authority occurrence databases over the window, normalised by disclosed fleet/flight hours.",
      "rungs": [
        {
          "points": 10,
          "state": "none attributable to the model"
        },
        {
          "points": 8,
          "state": "company-wide record in place of model-specific data"
        },
        {
          "points": 7,
          "state": "remediated"
        },
        {
          "points": 3,
          "state": "null-result rung"
        },
        {
          "points": 0,
          "state": "not established. · 0. Regime-full at Unverified"
        }
      ],
      "ceiling": {
        "unverified": 10,
        "verified": 10,
        "certified": 10
      },
      "company_wide": {
        "text": "Company-wide → 8",
        "ceiling": 8
      },
      "evidence_bar": "None.",
      "applicability": "small UAS (< 25 kg) · heavy-lift / delivery · dock-based autonomous · VTOL fixed-wing. All criteria apply to all classes.",
      "not_applicable_by_class": false
    },
    {
      "clause": "6.9",
      "id": "AER-9",
      "name": "C2-link and data security",
      "points_max": 10,
      "what_is_measured": "Encrypted C2 and video, local-data mode, account/remote controls, spoofing resistance.",
      "rungs": [
        {
          "points": 10,
          "state": "shown + third-party audit"
        },
        {
          "points": 8,
          "state": "documented in detail + audit"
        },
        {
          "points": 7,
          "state": "publicly evidenced only (no pack, no demonstration)"
        },
        {
          "points": 5,
          "state": "documented"
        },
        {
          "points": 0,
          "state": "not established"
        }
      ],
      "ceiling": {
        "unverified": 7,
        "verified": 8,
        "certified": 10
      },
      "company_wide": null,
      "evidence_bar": "None.",
      "applicability": "small UAS (< 25 kg) · heavy-lift / delivery · dock-based autonomous · VTOL fixed-wing. All criteria apply to all classes.",
      "not_applicable_by_class": false
    }
  ],
  "pool": {
    "sector_only": {
      "points": 100,
      "ceiling_unverified": 70,
      "ceiling_verified": 85,
      "ceiling_certified": 100,
      "best_letter": {
        "unverified": "A",
        "verified": "AA",
        "certified": "AAA"
      }
    },
    "with_contributors": "contributor ceilings are those of the cited IR standards; the combined pool sums are verified by the conformance gate (check 14)"
  },
  "rules": {
    "no_evidence": "0 points (VRS-GEN-005 §6, R3.3); the criterion stays in the pool at full range",
    "not_applicable": "criterion removed from numerator and denominator for that class (VRS-GEN-006 §6)",
    "tier_rule": "AR tier ≤ IR tier (VRS-GEN-006 §7)"
  }
}

5 Field dictionary

6 Verification

Regenerate with python3 tools/vrs-twin-generate.py --sector aer --check; a non-zero exit means the committed twin no longer matches VRS-AER-201 and shall be regenerated before publication.

Bibliography

• VRS-AER-201, Aerial / UAS — AR Assessment Protocol, v1.0.0, 2026 — the source of every number in Clause 4.
• VRS-AER-001, AER Sector Standard, 2026 — sector scope, hazard taxonomy and application classes.
• VRS-GEN-005, Intrinsic Rating — Methodology, 2026 — point aggregation and tier ceilings for the contributing IR criteria.
• VRS-GEN-006, Application Rating Scheme, 2026 — letter bands and pool mechanics reproduced in bands_percent and pool.
• VRS-GEN-002, Designation and Drafting Rules, 2026 — §6.5 criterion layout and §7.5.1 (ceilings equal rungs) that this twin verifies.
• VRS-GEN-004, Change, Edition and Review Policy, 2026 — how a twin regeneration is designated.
• VRS-GEN-009, Robot Risk Passport and Registry — Data Schema, 2026 — consumer of the payload.
• ISO/IEC 21778:2017, Information technology — The JSON data interchange syntax.

Change history