New drone trials for inspections and deliveries

Credit: UK Civil Aviation Authority

The UK Civil Aviation Authority have selected six projects for trials as part of their new drone programme, trialling deliveries, inspections of infrastructure, emergency services and flights to remote locations.

The regulator chose the trials to safely integrate drones flying beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of their operator into UK airspace,  aiming to make the vital extension to drone flying a reality.

BVLOS flights will be carried out at distances beyond the flyer’s ability to see the drone. These flights use advanced technologies for navigation, control and to detect other aircraft.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority has selected the projects, including:

• Amazon Prime Air; (consumer drone deliveries)
• Airspection; (inspecting offshore windfarms)
• National Police Air Service; (NPAS) (exploring uncrewed aircraft use in policing)
• NATS; (BVLOS inspections over the North Sea)
• Project SATE; (Sustainable Aviation Test Environment) (flights to Orkney)
• Project Lifeline; (medical deliveries)

The trials will gather key safety data, such as how drones detect and avoid other aircraft, the electronic signals they can send to be able to be visible to other airspace users and air traffic control.

This will support the regulator’s ongoing development of policy and regulations so that drone flights can be fully integrated with other airspace users.

Sophie O’Sullivan, Director of Future of Flight at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “These innovative trials mark a significant step forward in integrating drones safely into UK airspace. By supporting projects ranging from consumer deliveries to critical infrastructure inspections, we are gathering essential data to shape future policies and regulations.

“Our goal is to make drone operations beyond visual line of sight a safe and everyday reality, contributing to the modernisation of UK airspace and the incorporation of new technology into our skies.”

The UK Civil Aviation Authority invited organisations to bid to participate in an innovation sandbox to validate and test their concepts, supporting the development of BVLOS capabilities.

Innovation sandboxes are controlled environments where organisations can test and further develop their new technology against the regulatory framework, helping applicants maximise the readiness of their innovation, and also help the UK Civil Aviation Authority better evolve regulations to better support both innovators and existing users.

The BVLOS sandbox is part of a collaboration with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) that is supporting the creation of the aviation ecosystem needed to accelerate the introduction of advanced air mobility (AAM), drones, and electric sub-regional aircraft in the UK.

Simon Masters, Future Flight Challenge Deputy Director at UK Research and Innovation, said: “The UKRI Future Flight challenge team are excited to be working in partnership with the UK Civil Aviation Authority, working together to accelerate the introduction of drone operations in the UK.

“These have the potential to transform how we deliver goods and provide services, particularly in less well-connected regions. These new sandbox projects are a great step towards realising these ambitions.”

The new trials will also help develop plans for how drones can be safely integrated with other airspace users, as part of the regulator’s wider Airspace Modernisation Strategy.