Chile boosts drone oversight with detection gear and police cooperation
Chile's civil aviation authority, the DGAC, is backing its drone rules with enforcement tools, buying portable drone-detection systems and starting joint inspections with the police. Whether these steps will deliver compliance in practice remains to be seen.
Chile, in South America, is strengthening its oversight of unmanned aircraft, or drones. The national civil aviation authority, the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (DGAC), has set requirements for drone registration, pilot credentials and flight authorisation, bought portable drone-detection equipment and begun working with other public bodies. Analyst Paloma Pinto Ribeiro Coelho, writing in an industry publication, says the key question is whether enforcement capacity can keep pace with the rules.
Rules still evolving
Chile's drone regulation is spread across several Chilean Aeronautical Standards (DAN). DAN 91 sets general rules of the air, DAN 151 covers remotely piloted aircraft system operations over populated areas, DAN 119 addresses air operator certification, and DAN 137 covers aerial work with such systems. Depending on the type of flight, an operator may need aircraft registration, a pilot credential, operational authorisation and, where relevant, an Air Operator Certificate.
DAN 91 contains an exception: certain lightweight aircraft made of expanded polystyrene or a similar material can fly in private areas without DGAC authorisation, provided weight, height and other conditions are met. In April 2026 the DGAC released a draft fourth edition of DAN 151 for public comment, which would broaden the standard's scope. It has not yet been adopted.
Detection and coordination
In July 2025 the DGAC awarded UAV LATAM Chile SpA a contract worth CLP 19.29 million for two portable drone-detection systems. They are meant to detect and analyse signals from a range of drone models and locate the operator, and are intended for operational safety inspectors. The author notes, however, that the contract award alone does not show how often the systems are used or what results they have produced.
On 14 August 2026 the DGAC and Chile's Investigative Police (PDI) held a joint inspection exercise at Eulogio Sánchez aerodrome, also known as Tobalaba, in the Santiago area. It followed an inter-institutional cooperation agreement signed in May on information-sharing and coordination. The DGAC checked flight crews and aviation operations, while the PDI carried out checks under its own legal responsibilities. In August the DGAC said further inspections with the PDI and other state bodies were planned at aerodromes in the second half of 2026.
The author stresses that the Tobalaba exercise is not evidence of a specific rise in drone-related enforcement; its significance lies in the coordination arrangements. The longer-term impact will depend on how these tools are used in practice.
