The Satellite Applications Catapult has announced investment in a new UK drone testing facility at Westcott Venture Park in Buckinghamshire, backed by GBP 2.25 million from Buckinghamshire Council.
The new National Autonomy and Drone Innovation Centre (NADIC) will expand the Catapult’s existing Drone Test and Development Centre at Westcott.
The centre’s capabilities will include:
- Position, navigation and timing (PNT) testing facilities that allow companies to assess how systems perform when satellite navigation signals are unavailable, disrupted or manipulated, helping improve resilience across aviation, maritime, defence and logistics applications.
- A Satellite Communications Integration & Test Lab enabling drone and autonomous systems to be validated across satellite, terrestrial and hybrid communications networks, supporting reliable long-distance and beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations.
- A Remote Operations Control Centre where operators can train, simulate missions and validate remote command-and-control procedures under realistic operating conditions.
- A Windshaper system capable of generating precise, repeatable indoor wind conditions, allowing technologies to be tested consistently and safely without being affected by weather conditions.
- A robotic arm that allows automated, repeatable drone testing while reducing manual handling and improving consistency.
- A motion platform that can recreate operations on moving vessels, vehicles and uneven terrain, allowing companies to test systems against challenging real-world scenarios.
The Satellite Applications Catapult said NADIC is designed primarily for small and medium-sized companies and component builders. “These are the firms developing the navigation, sensing, communications and autonomy systems the wider sector depends on, and which face the evidence burden earliest as their equipment must be proven safe before operators will design it in.”
The UK government has set a target of routine drone flight beyond the pilot’s line of sight by 2027, but commercial drone flights in the UK remain sporadic and largely restricted to time-limited trials. The Civil Aviation Authority acknowledged this challenge in its Airspace Architecture Concept of Operations, published in July.
“Britain is very good at proving that drones can work. What we have never built is the shared infrastructure that turns a promising system into a proven one.” said John Abbott, CEO at the Satellite Applications Catapult. “Companies come to us with technology that works and a gap in their evidence, and there has been nowhere accessible for many of them to close it.”
NADIC’s robotic arm, motion platform and control room are expected to be operational from this autumn, with the full facility anticipated in the second half of 2027.
For more information
The Satellite Applications Catapult
Image: Arto Suraj / Unsplash