18 January 2023
The UK drone industry has published its own ‘White Paper’ demanding a national strategy for drone technology across land, sea and air.
The White Paper, ‘A National Strategy for Drones Across Land, Sea and Air’, was submitted to Government by the Drone Delivery Group – a group of 400 leading industry experts, commentators and stakeholders.
“Drones have created a paradigm shift which requires an evolution in the way the UK regulates in this area to avoid stifling an opportunity for UK Plc which could force the majority of drone business overseas,” said Robert Garbett of the Drone Delivery Group.
“We are calling on the UK Government to lay the foundations for our industry to flourish, and in so doing, lead the world in this remarkable technology. Today, we have set out a strategy, to develop a harmonised and coordinated approach to standards and regulations, across land, sea and air, in order to realise the benefit for generations to come.”
Mr Garbett continued, “PWC recently revised its forecast for the economic benefit of drone technology, estimating it at £45bn in contributions and £22bn in net savings to UK plc by 2030, equivalent to some 1.6% of projected GDP… and this estimate focuses solely on the use of drones in the air! Consider land, maritime and air drones together, and you have a huge growth opportunity which is ready to be taken forward now.”
The White Paper is light on details on how drones could be integrated into UK airspace, although it does say, ” Drone superhighways will be impossible without joined up standards and regulations in the UK across domains: land, sea and air.”
