The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) has launched 10 Local Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Competence Centres (LCCs) across Poland, providing dedicated areas and infrastructure for more advanced drone operations.
The centres are designed to support beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, longer-range flights and heavy-UAS testing, as well as development and demonstration of new drone technologies.
The PLN84 million (EUR19.7 million) project is funded entirely through Poland’s National Recovery Plan. PANSA said the initiative is intended to improve access to infrastructure and services for the drone industry while supporting the digital development of the Polish economy.
Each centre combines designated airspace with digital flight-planning and coordination systems, tracking infrastructure and designated landing locations. The project includes more than 100 tracking infrastructure points and 11 Drone Points, which can be used for planned landings or emergency touchdowns.
ADS-B and Remote ID receivers have been installed at each of the 10 centres to provide information on aircraft movements within the areas. PANSA said the tracking infrastructure will support situational awareness, monitoring of operations, verification that flights are being conducted as planned and documentation of tests.
The centres will also use PANSA’s DroneTower application for flight notification and coordination. The system provides information on relevant airspace and aeronautical data, enables non-verbal two-way communication between air traffic services and drone pilots, and informs other drone operators about planned UAV flights.
PANSA said the centres are intended to serve drone and component manufacturers, operators, technology integrators, universities and research institutes, as well as companies developing sensors, connectivity, AI and autonomous systems. Local government units and organisations in sectors including emergency services, critical infrastructure, logistics, rail, energy and industry are also expected to use the facilities.
The agency said local government partners will help develop the specialisation of individual centres and support educational, demonstration and business activities. The centres are intended to give companies access to operational areas, technical infrastructure and demonstration environments without requiring them to develop all of these capabilities independently.
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(Image: PANSA)