A Cornwall drone facility has become the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's first testing site to be accredited by the aviation safety regulator.
The National Drone Hub is located on a 320-hectare MoD airfield in Helston and is one of the biggest of its kind in Europe.
The site provides more than 8,000km sq of airspace to support the development of drones and associated technologies, and was built by Cornwall-based SME WholeShip Limited. It is operated in partnership with the Royal Navy.
The organisation said receiving a stamp of approval from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would "dramatically reduce" approval time for drone manufacturers to start testing their air systems. The drones tested at the site are for civil and military use.
Lord David Willetts, chair of the regulatory innovation office, recently visited the site. He said: "WholeShip's National Drone Hub brings together industry, government, academia and regulators, providing a unique opportunity to inform regulatory change that keeps pace with technology and accelerates the adoption of autonomy in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ.â€
Lord John Hutton, chair of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Economic Forum, added: "WholeShip's National Drone Hub is a powerful example of how the º£½ÇÊÓƵ can lead in emerging technologies through bold collaboration and forward-thinking regulation.
"By bringing together industry, academia, government and the regulator in one place, the hub is accelerating real-world innovation while upholding the highest standards of safety and compliance."
Sophie O’Sullivan, director of future safety and innovation at the CAA, said the accreditation of the National Drone Hub was an "important milestone".
"[It is] part of our effort to enable safer, more efficient testing of drones," she said. "By choosing to test their drone in a pre-assessed site, operators benefit from a simpler, expedited approvals process.
"This will accelerate innovation while maintaining our world leading standards of safety."
