For three months, it has been buzzing from large, fixed wing drones over northern Funen and the Kattegat Sea. The listed Norwegian drone company Nordic Unmanned has been training their personnel and drone systems at UAS Denmark Test Center up until mid-April this year.
As one of the leading companies in the world within unmanned systems and task solutions, Nordic Unmanned performs tasks in more than 13 European countries, and it is with these missions in mind that Nordic Unmanned checked into UAS Denmark Test Center to make use of its test facilities back in January.
– We have truly benefitted from our time at UAS Denmark Test Center where we have been well taken care of. Our drones have had many hours of flight time, and our personnel have gained a great deal of experience in many different scenarios and tasks, says Knut Roar Wiig, CEO at Nordic Unmanned.
Ready for new tasks
The drone systems from Nordic Unmanned are particularly suited for monitoring and surveillance tasks, which today are often handled by manned aircrafts.
As drone technologies evolve further, more and more tasks will be solved automatically. This development also increases the need to handle an airspace shared by drones and conventional manned traffic.
– We have benefitted a lot from being in an active airport like HCA Airport where UAS Denmark is based. We operate in an area where manned air traffic is also present, for which reason it requires a lot of planning. It is a very important learning for the future where manned and unmanned air traffic will be shared more in the European airspace, says Knut Roar Wiig from Nordic Unmanned.
Strengthens the ecosystem
Other large drone companies and developers have previously used the facilities at UAS Denmark Test Center, and it is now Nordic Unmanned that successfully ends their development at HCA Airport.
– We are proud that a renowned European drone company such as Nordic Unmanned found our facilities and airspace so suitable for carrying out their test and training activities. Our facilities are among the very best, and we are constantly confirmed in this as several companies soon will be performing tests here, says head of UAS Denmark Test Center Michael Larsen.
Drones of various sizes will keep flying in the airspace as the permanently located drone companies at UAS Denmark Test Center continue their development and research. As new facilities for developing unmanned systems are coming to the test center, the research at UAS Denmark Test Center steps up further, and the next large drone companies are ready to move in. And Michael Larsen is looking forward to welcoming other, new residents:
– It is very important to us that we can attract big drone players as it strengthens our ecosystem. It strengthens the cooperation between the different companies, and it creates new business connections and opportunities. Something that is very important in our industry.
