A new project has been launched, hoping to test advanced drones within controlled airspaces.
Spaceport Cornwall, based at Cornwall Aiprort Newquay, is working with the National Drone Hub to use an area of airspace for testing uncrewed aircraft of all sizes.
The partnership is designed to allow drones to fly further, faster and for longer distances than normally permitted, out of visual sight of their operators.
Gail Eastaugh, head of strategic partnerships at the Cornwall Space Cluster, said the “ground-breaking” project “would “further cement Cornwall’s place at the forefront of UK space and aerospace operations.”
The National Drone Hub is the UK’s first Civil Aviation Authority accredited drone test site, providing access to a 320-hectare area with four runways and more than 8,000 square kilometres of segregated airspace off the Lizard Peninsula.
The new collaboration is currently working to develop a Specific Operations Risk Assessment with plans to put in a full application to the Civil Aviation Authority by the end of March 2026.
Ross Hulbert from Spaceport Cornwall, said: “We will be able to safely taxi uncrewed systems from the space around the airport which we operate, into a bridge or box to access segregated airspace based about 20 miles to the north west of the airport”.
“It is really exciting… it just helps us become a more vibrant and commercially sustainable airport,” he added.
