The Drone Economy: no longer a flight of fancy

PwC estimates there will be 76,000 drones in the UK’s skies by 2030 and that they could increase UK GDP by ￡42bn, save the economy ￡16bn, and create over 625,000 jobs. But where are we on that journey and what challenges do we need to overcome before we can unleash the economic potential of the drone economy in the UK?

I was interested to read a report by global management consultancy and accountancy firm PwC that there will be 76,000 drones flying in the UK’s skies by 2030. Whether these drones (also known as “unmanned” or “uncrewed” aerial vehicles or UAVs) will soon be delivering Amazon packages, the weekly shop, or your fish and chips on a Friday night, only time will tell.

What we can say with a high degree of confidence, however, is that there are plenty of applicable use-cases right now for blue-light operations, linear and perimeter surveillance, or delivering light goods – whether via pre-programmed flight operations or through piloted remote control.

The impact of UAVs when they do come into commercial operation will be immense. The same PwC report estimates that by 2030 the “drone economy” could increase UK GDP by ￡42bn, save the UK economy ￡16bn, and create over 628,000 jobs. So it’s no surprise how much interest there is in these airborne computers and their potential.

It’s congested up there

Realistically, there’s a lot of work to do and some system-level challenges to overcome before we can unleash the economic potential of the drone economy in the UK. Not least in how to mix, manage, and track commercial drones safely in what is already some of Europe’s most congested airspace. And this will be directed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) which sets, monitors, and enforces safety standards in the UK for all types of airspace users – from hot-air balloons, gliders, and parachuting to helicopters and general aviation like private and commercial aircraft.

Introducing drones into the mix represents a major challenge. But it’s a challenge that Thales, our partners like NATS (the UK’s biggest provider of air traffic control services), and regulators like the CAA are taking on with a real sense of energy

NBEC to the future

Currently, most drones are piloted by a person who can see it and therefore pilot it to avoid air and ground obstacles. But to be really useful, drones need to fly much greater distances and altitudes. Distances that go beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). However, being unable to see the drone directly creates obvious control, safety and security issues. So to help develop the technology to enable long-distance drone flights Thales, the Government, academia and other drone industry players worked together to create the National BVLOS Experimentation Corridor (NBEC). NBEC is part of the Digital Aviation Research Technology Experimentation Centre (DARTeC) located at Cranfield University.

This corridor is essentially a volume of airspace, 16km long and half a kilometre wide, in the Bedfordshire countryside. It’s a giant outdoor laboratory for testing the infrastructure, sensors, drones, and airspace management systems we’ll need to fly drones commercially. In effect, it’s a proving ground to make sure uncrewed vehicles can operate safely and securely – and co-exist in airspace used by other UAVs beyond line of sight.

Maiden flight

As an Aeronautics and Astronautics graduate, I’m passionate about how science and technology can fuel innovation in aviation. I was especially excited when, just before Christmas 2021, Thales and its partners carried out the first end-to-end test flight along the corridor, using air and ground sensors to track and manage a drone’s return journey. We also tested the resilience and accuracy of the drone’s “electronic conspicuity”. This is so operators always know where the drone is in relation to other airspace users, and can trust a UAV will act safely if its communications link is lost – does it hover where it is, go to ground, or return home?

Managing a single drone flying low-level in carefully controlled and limited airspace is a small but important step. But scaling that to tens of thousands of drones flying across the UK’s skies will require cutting-edge technologies, high-capacity communications, and advanced unmanned traffic management (UTM) systems, not to mention the infrastructure for everything to run on.

Showing the way forward

To add to the holographic radar (a unique radar that tracks multiple small objects the size of birds) already deployed at NBEC, Thales is also deploying its own UTM system called TopSky UAS Airspace Manager. And we’ll be applying our expertise and experience gained building the communications and surveillance infrastructure for the Vantis BVLOS network in North Dakota in America. A network that’s become the proving ground for testing, operationalising, and commercialising UAV systems in the US. The NBEC looks set to become the UK’s equivalent testing facility.

There’s still a long way to go before drones become mainstream, and we need to recognise the UK’s still in the early stages, but the recent trials have been extremely encouraging and show safe BVLOS operations are possible.

To realise the true benefits of drones will mean safely deploying them in the real world. Only then can we begin to develop them to their full potential. But that will also mean convincing the general public of their benefits to our everyday lives and the wider society. That, I believe, will take time.

What we can be sure of though is that 2022 is likely to be the year that the quest to realise the drone economy really picks up speed.