Future development framework for remotely piloted aircraft systems to be set in Riga

High level conference on Remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) will take place in Riga, 5th and 6th March. It will be dedicated to discussions on opening the aviation market for the RPAS.

RPAS are aircrafts which differ in their size, lift capacity, endurance or speed. They can fly from a few minutes till several months, lift even several tons. Development of RPAS can be viewed alike the growth of IT Technologies during past decades – they have developed allowing to complete from simple tasks to complex operations.

The emphasis of the discussions will be put on secure and sustainable usage of RPAS for civil needs, including usage potential of RPAS, economical benefits, proportional, unified regulations, at the same time focusing on overpowering possible challenges and protection of the needs of the society.

Furthermore, the RPAS industry contains vast range of additional sectors including production, maintenance (i.e. technologies, programming, materials, flight control, connections etc.) and fields of usage (agriculture, energy, sports, journalism, freight shipment, cartography, rescuing, infrastructure monitoring etc.).

The goal of the discussions in Riga is to create preconditions for further development of EU’s unified regulations, to encourage the development of united and globally competitive RPAS market in Europe, which will inforce the development of new products and services, creating new workplaces and promoting economical benefits.

During RPAS conference practical demonstrations and exhibitions of RPAS are also planned.

The Ministry of Transport of Latvia and The Civil aviation agency, in cooperation with European Commission, is organizing the conference during the Latvian Presidency of The Council of the European Union.

The conference will bring together high level opinion leaders from the EU member states and institutions, as well as international aviation organizations and members of aviation industry. The conference will be attended by Minister for Transport of the Republic of Latvia Mr Anrijs Matīss, Transport Commissioner Ms Violeta Bulc. The representatives from European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), European Defence agency (EDA), Eurocontrol, SESAR, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International Air Transport Association (IATA), as well as the representatives from well known companies such as Flying-Cam, Amazone and also representatives form Latvian RPAS industry – UAV Factory, Drone Technology, Flyvisione and Airdog manufacturer Helic Aerospace Industries are also invited to participate.