CAA announces new drone delivery trials in UK

ABOVE: The BVLOS trials aim to enable the safe integration of drones into a variety of missions

The Civil Aviation Authority has selected six organisations to take part in upcoming trials ‘which will see drones used in everyday life,’ including uses such as delivery, infrastructure inspection, emergency services and flights to remote locations. The trials will also develop plans for how drones can be safely integrated with other airspace users.

Crucially, the beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) trials will enable the integration of drones into wider UK aerospace, paving the way for a variety of autonomous missions and ‘helping to make this vital extension to drone flying an everyday reality’. The trials will gather key safety data (such as how drones detect and avoid other aircraft, and communicate with other airspace users and air traffic control); supporting the CAA’s ‘ongoing development of policy and regulations so that drone flights can be fully integrated with other airspace users’.

“By supporting projects ranging from consumer deliveries to critical infrastructure options, we are gathering essential data to shape future policies and regulations,” explained Sophie O’Sullivan, Director of Future of Flight at the Civil Aviation Authority.

After inviting organisations to bid to participate in an innovation ‘sandbox’ to validate and test their concepts – part of a collaboration with UK Research and Innovation (the UKRI) – the regulator selected six projects to participate in the upcoming trials. These include Amazon Prime Air, Airspection, the National Police Air Service, NATS, Project SATE (the Sustainable Aviation Test Environment) and Project Lifeline.

The CAA describes the sandbox’s ‘ability to strike a balance between promoting innovation and ensuring safety and regulatory compliance within the aviation sector’ as one of its primary objectives; helping pave the way for new aviation practices by ‘providing a structured framework for experimentation’. Further permissions are still needed before trials can commence.

“These [trials] 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,” concluded Simon Masters, Future Flight Challenge Deputy Director at UKRI.

IMAGE: CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY