The framework for the new European drone strategy 2.0

A new “European drone strategy 2.0” approved yesterday by European Commissionin order to further development of the European drone market. The new strategy sets out how Europe can move forward large-scale commercial drone operations, while offering new opportunities in this field.

Before promoting these innovative technologies, the Commission wants to ensure that drones have the support of society. Hence, for to allay noise, security and privacy concerns; the new strategy calls on national, regional and local authorities to ensure that drone services are aligned with citizens’ needs.

Thanks to the EU’s comprehensive regulatory framework, drones have already completed hundreds of thousands of flight hours in the European airwaves, for example for infrastructure surveillance, oil spill monitoring or soil sampling. It is also noted satisfactory progress in projects involving the use of drones for aerial medical deliveriessuch as the transfer of medical samples between health care services.

Its implementation “U-space” (the “U” stands for “unmanned”) in January 2023, a world-unique European system for the safe management of drone traffic, will pave the way for the further increase in drone operations. U-space will increase airspace management capabilities, as well as guarantee safe and sufficient access to airspace for a large number of drones.

The new strategy foresees, according to APE-MPE, that the following drone services will be part of the European way of life by 2030:

• Emergency, mapping, imaging, inspection and surveillance services within applicable legal frameworks by civilian drones, as well as urgent delivery services of small cargo such as biological samples or medicines.
• Innovative air mobility services, such as air taxis, which will provide regular passenger transport services, initially with an operator on board, but with the ultimate goal of fully automating flight operations.

To fully exploit the potential of the EU drone market, key technological elements need to be identified, such as Artificial Intelligencethe roboticsthe semiconductorsthe EU space services and mobile telecommunications. Identifying these elements will help the EU build an innovative and competitive drone sector, reducing strategic dependencies.

The new strategy also identifies areas for synergies between civilian and defense drones, as well as increasing drone interception capability and system resilience.

The Commission will launch new operational, technical and financial flagship actions to create the right regulatory and commercial environment for the drone airspace and drone market of tomorrow:

• Establish common airworthiness rules and new training requirements for remote aircraft operators and eVTOL (electric manned vertical take-off and landing) aircraft operators.
• Funding the creation of an online platform to support local stakeholders and industries to implement sustainable ‘innovative air mobility’.
• Develop a strategic roadmap for drone technology to identify priority areas for research and innovation, reduce existing strategic dependencies and avoid the emergence of new ones.
• Establishing criteria for a voluntary cybersecurity-approved marking of drones.

This work will pave the way for large-scale commercial flight operations and ensure that Europe benefits from synergies between the use of drones and related technologies, including solutions for drone interception, civil, security and military purposes.

The Commission started building the foundations of a comprehensive European drone policy from 2014. Since 2003, the EU has invested almost €980 million in the development or use of drones for innovative applications. As part of its research and innovation programmes, it has funded 320 projects involving drones. With the right framework in place, it is estimated that the drone services market in Europe could reach a value of €14.5 billion with an annual growth rate of 12.3% and create 145,000 jobs by 2030.