Stakeholders asked their views on police ‘remotely piloted’ aircraft trials

Friday 15 November 2024

Stakeholders are being given the opportunity to share their views on the proposed six-month trial of a Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLoS) Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), led by the National Police Air Service (NPAS) and funded by the Home Office. 

The project is part of a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Sandbox to help develop and test the concept of BVLoS uncrewed aircraft and collect data which will help inform CAA policies for the integration of new airspace users. 

For policing, the trial seeks to determine if RPAS can be an effective addition to the existing national helicopter and aeroplane fleet by:

• Assessing strengths and weaknesses of operating the required NPAS payloads on a remote platform.
• Operating the RPAS alongside crewed aircraft.
• Determining if crewed NPAS operations can be replicated with a RPAS.
• Training NPAS pilots in order that they can perform supervised sorties with the aircraft and feedback comparisons to the crewed fleet.
• Assessing the feasibility of an onboard detect and avoid system.

The trial will operate from a private, commercially-run site on the edge of the Severn Estuary, providing easy access to over-water and over-land flying. 

It is designed to minimise the impact on other airspace users

From Friday 22 November 2024, for one month, NPAS will enter a period of engagement, to ask the views of stakeholders, including other airspace users and interested parties, such as environmental groups.

Airspace change proposal (caa.co.uk)

The trial is expected to begin in May 2025 and end in November 2025.

The RPAS to be used is an uncrewed aircraft with a rotary wing. It will have the ability to remain airborne for up to six hours.

The aircraft will be operated by qualified and licensed pilots provided by the RPAS supplier.  NPAS pilots will provide local knowledge and be trained to support the activities during later trial phases. 

They will only operate the aircraft under supervision of the RPAS supplier’s qualified pilots. 

The ultimate aim is to collect suitable data to evaluate and determine if RPAS can deliver police air support remotely; by identifying any strengths and weaknesses of the equipment being used, determining if onboard radar can be used to detect other aircraft and understanding any differences in human factors when delivering remote policing operations compared to traditional, crewed police air support.