An agreement regarding the official cooperation for drone testing between the province of South Holland, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and the Ministry of Defence was signed on October 8 at the Unmanned Valley drone test centre.
The agreement relates to the first permanent test area for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights in the Netherlands. The airspace will be over the North Sea, off the coast of Katwijk and Wassenaar and is expected to be operational in just over a year.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management has designated the airspace area and the province of South Holland is taking the lead in the airspace modification procedure required. This involves close cooperation with experts from MovingDot, AirHub, To70 and the Netherlands Aerospace Center (NLR).
The alliance expects the BVLOS test area to be officially in use by the end of 2026. By then, clear agreements and procedures will also have been established to ensure safe flight operations for both drones and regular aircraft. The insights gained from the test area will form the basis for new national rules for BVLOS flying.
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Image: Unmanned Valley
