UK moves closer to allowing everyday drone delivery with new trials

The UK Civil Aviation Authority has greenlit six trial projects that would help to make beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights and medical drone delivery an everyday reality in the country.

The trials will be held in sandboxes, aka controlled environments where organizations can test new technologies against the existing regulatory framework and help the UK Civil Aviation Authority to develop more efficient and futuristic regulations.

More specifically, the trials will consider a new policy concept that focuses on a specific type of airspace structure called a temporary reserved area (TRA) that would enable drones to operate safely within the same airspace as other aircraft. Prior to this concept, drone operators wanting to fly BVLOS typically had to apply for a temporary danger area (TDA), which would effectively close a section of airspace for most other users for up to 90 days.

Sophie O’Sullivan, head of future safety and innovation at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, says, “Our innovation sandboxes play a pivotal role in our ongoing mission to develop efficient, forward-thinking regulations that will allow different types of aircraft to use the same airspace. The chosen projects encompass a range of critical applications, including medical deliveries and infrastructure surveying. They highlight the varying role that drones could play in the aviation ecosystem and the trials will provide invaluable insights into how we integrate drones safely with existing airspace users.”

Here’s more on the projects that have been shortlisted for trials:

1. Apian – London Health Bridge: Apian has partnered with Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) to trial an on-demand drone delivery service for high-priority pathology samples between the hospital laboratories located at GSTT. This service has the potential to significantly reduce turnaround times whilst increasing efficiency and access to best-in-class diagnostic platforms. The end goal is to deliver enhanced patient care, alongside cost savings and reduced carbon emissions through improved sustainability of NHS healthcare logistics. This trial project will serve as a blueprint for the wider adoption and scaling of drone delivery throughout the NHS across London.
2. Cranfield Airport and Project BLUEPRINT: Cranfield Airport and Project BLUEPRINT are seeking to fly in the vicinity of Cranfield Airport and Milton Keynes, which will enable crewed and uncrewed aircraft to co-exist in a safe and efficient operating environment. This will be achieved through the deployment of a low-cost ground-based detect and avoid network, and the development and integration of open-access UTM architecture into Cranfield Airport. This will allow the testing of a series of drone use cases and intruder detection trials for co-operative and non-co-operative general aviation aircraft in the vicinity of the airport.
3. Droneprep – Open Skies Cornwall: DronePrep’s “Sky-Highways” Concept of Operations (ConOps) has been awarded a position on the CAA TRA Sandbox to exploit consultation findings of the UKRI Future Flight Challenge Phase 3 project “Open Skies Cornwall” currently being progressed by DronePrep and their consortia in the region. The Open Skies Cornwall project remit during 2022-25 is to establish a permanent operational environment in the airspace to allow project end-users, NHS, Royal Mail, Falmouth Harbour, Cornwall Council and Civilian Emergency Response Organizations to benefit from improved connectivity across, and into, Cornwall to improve the delivery of essential services in healthcare, emergency response and supply chain resilience.
4. HexCam: HexCam has operated drones commercially since 2012 and has developed a specialism in survey, mapping, and 3D digital twin inspection modeling, working on renewable energy infrastructure and other construction projects all over the UK. Offshore wind project onshore cable corridor surveys and construction monitoring have traditionally been carried out using ground-based equipment and methods, exposing surveyors and other site operatives to construction site risks and requiring extensive access to land disturbing landowners, local residents, and ecologically sensitive sites. The use of drones has reduced survey time and disturbance considerably, providing valuable multi-use data to project developers and their Tier 1 contractors. HexCam, in partnership with its local ANSP, seeks to test the viability of long-distance drone survey operations, utilizing electronic conspicuity and air traffic services at very low levels as a means of integration.
5. Skyports – Project TRAject: Skyports Drone Services has partnered with Air Navigation Solutions Limited (ANSL) to implement a concept of operations for BVLOS drone delivery operations at scale. The project will implement critical systems that enable drone aircraft to detect and avoid crewed aircraft equipped with electronic conspicuity tools. Skyports Drone Services and ANSL will trial the operational concept at the Skyports Drone Services Westcott flight testing facility, before implementing the solution for NHS drone deliveries in Scotland. The project uses the CAA Temporary Reserved Area (TRA) policy to enable safe testing in a managed airspace environment.
6. Snowdonia Aerospace Centre – Project Dragons Eye: – Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, under Project Dragons Eye, will undertake a series of trials to test the TRA policy. The trials will seek to determine the necessary surveillance technologies, airspace management procedures, and flight operation procedures to achieve safe implementation of the policy.

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