Fleets of autonomous drones will become an everyday sight in Britain’s skies within three years, the airspace regulator has said.
Under the plans, “large scale” deployment of the unmanned aircraft will be rolled out by 2027, unlocking the ability to transport chemotherapy drugs to hospitals, mail to remote locations and defibrillators to emergencies.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it was preparing for “regular and routine” drone flights, which are currently only allowed in cordoned-off airspace to avoid the risk of collision with other aircraft.
Amazon said it was preparing to start drone deliveries in the UK by the end of the year, as part of a series of CAA trials.
The regulator said these trials would be the first step in allowing autonomous drones to share the skies with planes, helicopters and enthusiasts such as paragliders and model aircraft.
Drone flights have been slow to take off in Britain compared to the US and Europe, where regulations already allow packages and takeaways to be delivered aerially.
Britain’s crowded airspace has led to concerns from pilots that the vehicles are unsafe and need to be equipped with advanced collision avoidance technology.
The CAA said drone operators would need to demonstrate they had adequate “detect and avoid” technology as part of their widespread use.
It said the changes would create an “agreed pathway to large scale routine operations within the UK”.
To date, flights have only been allowed in Britain when airspace is set aside for drones. Amazon tested drone flights in Cambridgeshire but shut down the operation without making a single commercial delivery.
It has since announced plans to resume flights in the UK by the end of the year, although it has not said where they will take place.
Six operators including Amazon and the National Police Air Service are due to trial drone flights with the regulator this year. The CAA said it would update regulations over the coming years to pave the way for widespread flights by 2027.
Separately, Wing, a drone company owned by Google parent Alphabet, is set to transport blood samples between London hospitals in the coming weeks under a partnership with drone logistics company Apian.
Most drone flights in the UK require licensed operators to keep the aircraft within their line of sight and are manually controlled. There are now 601,980 registered drone pilots, according to the CAA. The regulator recorded 80 incidents involving the vehicles last year.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
