2024年天空无界：英国无人机行业增长潜力与商业机遇研究报告（第三版）_62页_4mb

Skies Without Limits v3.0 Summary

Core Content

The report "Skies Without Limits v3.0" provides an insight into the progress of the UK drone industry from 2021 to 2024, based on the experiences of ten organisations featured in the SWL2 case studies and PwC. It evaluates the growth of drone applications across various sectors, including surveillance, delivery, inspection, and agriculture, and examines the barriers to growth such as Perception, Regulation, Technology, Implementation, and Skills.

Main Views and Key Information

Growth and Commercial Volume

• Positive Developments: Some organisations report faster-than-expected growth, including daily BVLOS flights, routine BVLOS in unsegregated airspace, chemical spraying, and "automotive-like" drone production.
• Challenges: Despite these advancements, many organisations have not achieved commercial volume in the UK. BVLOS operations remain heavily restricted, and international demand often drives growth.
• Commercial Volume Definition: It refers to a drone solution that is mature enough to have sufficient end-client demand and result in a competitive market and profitable operations.

Unlocking Drone Potential

• Overall Outlook: The report notes a positive outlook with 60% of 2024 barrier responses marked green (no issues), 35% amber (some issues), and a small percentage red (significant issues).
• Trend Analysis: 44% of all barrier responses showed improvement from 2021 to 2024, while 51% remained the same.
• Perception: The most significant improvement was in Perception, with over 70% of organisations reporting progress and more than 90% marking it as green in 2024. This reflects increased acceptance and normalisation of drone solutions.
• Regulation: The least improved category, with only 27% of responses marked green. Around 20% marked it red, indicating significant issues. The trend showed a decline in perception, with one organisation moving from amber to red.
• Technology and Skills: Technology and Skills showed some improvement, with a majority of organisations reporting progress to green or amber.

UK Versus the Rest of the World

• Regulatory Approach: UK regulators are perceived as more risk-averse and less commercially focused compared to other countries, which has slowed the adoption of drone technology.
• International Opportunities: Many organisations have expanded internationally, especially in sectors like BVLOS and chemical spraying, where UK regulations are restrictive.

Changes in the UK Approach

• Regulatory Progress: The UK aviation regulator has made progress, including initiatives like SORA and pilot competence, which are expected to have a transformative impact.
• Calls for Change: Organisations have called for a more progressive regulatory approach, simplified flight permissions, and a commercial focus.
• Future Focus: The next phase of the Future Flight Challenge will focus on the commercialisation of new drone technologies.

Case Studies

Maritime and Coastguard Agency (Surveillance)

• Progress: Conducting daily BVLOS surveillance in the English Channel.
• Challenges: Regulatory constraints limit coverage and emergency response capabilities.
• Barriers: Regulation remains a red issue, with no significant improvement.

Windracers (Middle Mile Delivery)

• Progress: Leveraged UK achievements to expand internationally.
• Challenges: UK regulatory process is slower, especially for BVLOS operations.
• Barriers: Perception improved from amber to green, Regulation from red to amber.

Manna (Last Mile Delivery)

• Progress: Claimed "positive unit economics" but cannot operate in the UK due to restrictive regulations.
• Challenges: UK regulations are not supportive of last-mile delivery.
• Barriers: Perception, Implementation, and Technology improved to green.

Sees.ai (BVLOS Inspection)

• Progress: Secured the UK's first permission for regular BVLOS flights in non-segregated airspace.
• Challenges: Capital availability is a constraint.
• Barriers: Regulation improved to amber, all other categories trending upwards.

Cyberhawk (Inspection)

• Progress: Achieved over 100% growth in global revenue.
• Challenges: UK regulations are seen as more restrictive and complex than in the US.
• Barriers: Regulation worsened from amber to red.

Auto Spray Systems and Drone Ag (Agriculture)

• Progress: Successfully implemented spraying and seeding in the UK.
• Challenges: More approved chemicals and simplified flight permissions are needed for growth.
• Barriers: Technology improved to green, Regulation remained amber.

Environment Agency (Survey)

• Progress: Expanded internal drone use and developed more use cases.
• Challenges: Internal rather than external growth issues.
• Barriers: Regulation remained amber, all other categories flat.

Team UAV (Internal Inspection)

• Progress: Focused on internal inspections in confined spaces.
• Challenges: Skill shortages and clients forming their own drone teams.
• Barriers: Regulation marked green due to VLOS operations, Skills marked red.

Plowman Craven (Survey)

• Progress: Achieved high accuracy in railway surveys.
• Challenges: None, as all barriers were marked green.
• Barriers: All categories remained flat and green.

PwC (Inventory Audit)

• Progress: Fully integrated drones into operations and expanded internationally.
• Challenges: None significant in Perception and Implementation.
• Barriers: Perception and Implementation marked green.

Observations on Barriers to Growth

Perception

• Improvement: Over 70% of organisations reported improvement since 2021, with over 90% marking it as green in 2024.
• Client Sentiment: Positive client perception is noted, especially for delivery applications.
• Public Perception: While positive, it is not yet a major barrier to growth in commercial drone applications.

Regulation

• Overall Status: The lowest percentage of green responses (27%), with a high proportion of red responses.
• Progress: Some organisations (Windracers, Manna, sees.ai, Auto Spray) showed improvement from red to amber.
• International Comparison: UK regulations are seen as more conservative and complex compared to other regions.

Conclusion

• Overall Progress: The UK drone industry has made notable strides since 2021, but not at the pace required to achieve the adoption curve predicted in SWL2.
• Recommendations: The report suggests that initiatives should be use-case led, with resources focused on applications with the highest benefits and lowest risk. It also recommends learning from other countries regarding regulatory approaches and the role of UTM in enabling safer drone operations.