Fly-By: The Need-To-Know About The European Drone Strategy
Claimed by the European Commission as the world’s most advanced safety framework for drones to operate in a country, the new European Drone Strategy 2.0 was recently announced, and it promises to allow drone-related innovations on the continent to take flight.
Drones are no new additions to European skies, and have flown (according to the European Commission, hundreds of thousands of hours to survey infrastructure, monitor oil spills, and to sample soil sizes. Drones are also used to make medical air deliveries, for agriculture purposes and, of course, for warfare. Drones have been used in the European defense sector for 30 years, although the European Commission does state that the “European military drone capabilities remain less mature than in other regions of the world”.
The Commission now plans to extend the potential of local drones. For this to happen, it has addressed “technical critical building blocks,” including artificial intelligence, robotics, semiconductors, EU space services and mobile telecommunications.
Here’s what else you need-to-know about the European drone strategy, its key advantages, and possible challenges.
What is the European Drone Strategy 2.0?
Officially titled A Drone Strategy 2.0 for a Smart and Sustainable Unmanned Aircraft Eco-System in Europe, this new strategy is set against the objective Green Deal to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Furthermore, this strategy is part of the Commission’s goal to contribute to the creation of safe and secure services and markets. In a nutshell, the strategy explains the growth potential of drones, and how it plans to unleash this potential.
According to Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean, the arrival of new generation, electrically powered aircrafts capable of operating in an urban and regional environment, calls for conditions that meet both the needs of the operators’ commercial needs, and the citizens’ expectations regarding privacy and security. In addition, Vălean stated that safe sky operations must also be maintained.
“[This new strategy] not only widens Europe’s capacity to pursue large-scale commercial drone operations but also offers new opportunities, in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises,” Vălean said. “With the right framework in place, the drone services market in Europe could be worth €14.5 billion, and create 145,000 jobs, by 2030.”
Noise, safety and privacy concerns addressed
Before kicking off with their planned innovations for drones, the Commission stated the need to address social concerns surrounding residents. It noted the need for national, regional and local municipalities to ensure that drone services align with these needs.
How drones are planned to become part of European life by 2030
Set against the legalities that protect citizen privacy and other environmental factors, drones are to be utilized in European life in the following ways:
Emergency services
Mapping and imaging
Inspection and surveillance
The urgent delivery of small consignments (such as medicine)
Innovative air mobily, including transport services for passengers. This transportation will initially be with a pilot on board, but has the ultimate aim of fully automated operations.
Is there a downside to drone development?
According to Aviation Today, drones will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the economy, but there are environmental concerns around the increase of drone production. This report states that the Commission's strategy includes recycling regulations regarding drones, as well as addressing noise pollution that may occur when the drones are in use.
Here are other potential negative aspects that drones may hold for society, as researched by Ashwin Gopi, as well as this scholar’s possible solutions:
Privacy and detection. Software is needed for device and ownership detection.
Security and control enforcement. Development is needed for trackers, and automatic and safe landing software.
Lack of clear guidelines. Governments must establish, communicate and enforce drone laws.
What’s next?
The potential for drones is seemingly endless, but what’s next regarding these innovations? According to the Commission, they will now work towards launching the Strategy 19 operational, technical and financial flagship actions. This includes:
Creating common rules for airworthiness and training requirements
Funding the creation of online platforms that will support local stakeholders and industry in sustainable air mobility
Establishing the criteria for a voluntary cybersecurity-approved drone label
Developing a roadmap to identify priority areas for research and innovation, to reduce strategic dependencies
