Zürich, Switzerland – February 4, 2026 – Wingtra, the leading manufacturer of drone aerial insights, has just secured both C3 and C6 certification for its recently-launched WingtraRAY drone. This official vote of confidence around the new system means a larger “envelope” of operations for surveyors and mappers across Europe. Wingtra achieved this formal certification through TÜV Rheinland Group, one of the world’s leading providers of testing and inspection. The C6 certification in particular paves the way for more flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations.
“WingtraRAY was developed to bring more efficiency, more accuracy and easier-to-adopt aerial surveying to teams around the world,” said Wingtra CTO, Armin Ambühl. “More than this, we strive to give peace of mind to drone operators capturing vital aerial insights across more projects than they ever could before. With the C3 and C6 certification, we come through on our promise to give our customers the leading edge with a more-efficient system that’s in harmony with regulations.”
C-level certifications: quick breakdown
While Wingtra has held the C3 certification for some time, C6 certification is something new. It allows pilots to operate under “standard scenarios,” which are just as the name implies: operations that have a standardized definition, training and drone certification applicable throughout Europe.
In the world of regulations, both the pilot and the system must pass tests to qualify for certain missions. The C3 certification stamps a system with approval to fly in the open category; i.e., not over people, below 120m altitude and within line of sight.
As BVLOS comes into view as the next frontier of common aerial survey and mapping practices, a C6 certification on a system—provided it is equipped with a tested and certified parachute safety add-on—gives pilots the edge on projects that benefit from out-of-sight data capture. These projects include long corridors and massive areas.
For Wingtra operators, this is especially important given the efficiency of the system, which can capture hundreds of hectares/acres on a single battery.
Formal testing and approval
TÜV Rheinland’s repeated motto is “making the world a safer place.” As commercial drone technology advances, and businesses push their capabilities into new frontiers to experience the benefits of this, this organization becomes more vital.
“Drones have become a key asset and are the future for so many industries, yet the future is by definition challenging to anticipate,” said Marcel Visser, senior business professional UAS at TÜV Rheinland. “However, we are already in the future. With a firm grasp on regulations and system requirements, TÜV Rheinland has been appointed to verify, test and certify drones to ensure systems that are ready and safe for the next level of operations.”
For sure, this certification milestone keeps Wingtra and its customers at the leading edge of safe and regulations-approved operations in new scenarios across Europe. And as more and more companies and service providers adopt aerial survey and mapping systems, the safety and security around systems is a key driver to better ways of working and measuring across industries.
