Financial support for a digital revolution in drone services

• The rapid development of the drone market in Poland is a fact. An innovative development project worth over PLN 61 million is starting,

• The beneficiary of co-financing is the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA), a European leader in air space management,

• EU support and funding will have a great and widespread positive effect on safety of flights performed by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

Digitally, massively, safely - in three words you can sum up the project of three state institutions worth almost PLN 61.5 million. This is another step on the road to the digital revolution in drone flight services. The funds in 85 percent come from the EU subsidy.

The leader of the project "Digital services for unmanned aerial vehicles" is Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, the creator of the concept of the PansaUTM* system - the first operationally implemented system in Europe to coordinate unmanned aerial vehicle operations.

The project implemented as part of the Digital Poland Operational Program (POPC) involves the mass provision of digital services to any interested entity that allows for efficient and safe drone flights. The effect of the project implementation is the development of digital and ICT solutions for the industry, including the improvement of the process of establishing and running this business.

A positive result of the project evaluation - submitted by PANSA in partnership with the Ministry of Infrastructure and the polish Civil Aviation Administration means that these institutions will receive PLN 51 391 979.03 support from EU funds from the Digital Poland Projects Center.

- The implementation of modern solutions for the broadly defined drone market is, next to navigation activities, the most important area of PANSA's activities. The implementation of the project will bring benefits for the whole country and will facilitate the use and access to the Unmanned Aircraft market in Poland. It is a great success, and also a huge opportunity for PANSA, which places great emphasis on the development and wide availability of new technologies, including solutions for unmanned aviation - said Janusz Janiszewski, PANSA president.

The Agency will allocate the funds obtained under the project "Digital Services for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles" to further develop tools enabling the operation of advanced unmanned aircraft on a wide scale, optimization and digitization of processes necessary for the safe conduct of UAV flights, from registration, certification, issuing licensing and providing on-line training, as well as for solutions supporting the UAV risk analysis process

The direct recipient of the project is any entity that wants to operate in the unmanned operations segment, i.e. for both law enforcement services and private persons and business entities.

The project is an impulse for the development of digital and ICT solutions, it will allow the use of unmanned aviation to a greater extent than before, and will also improve the conduct of training and administrative processes. Public order services will also be able to benefit from extensive drone operators' assistance in the event of a crisis.

- As part of the project, a high-level optimization of the process of servicing entities operating on the BSP market is planned along with the improvement of business activity conducted in this industry by implementing digital services for BSP operators, entrepreneurs and citizens. Thanks to the grant, we will be able to continue moving towards the implementation of modern solutions, contributing as an Agency to the development of the unmanned services sector in our country - adds Filip Sosin, U-Space Program Manager at PANSA.

Project "Digital Services for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles" implemented as part of the Digital Poland Operational Program (axis II E-administration and open office, action 2.1 High availability and quality of public e-services, recruitment number POPC.02.01.00-IP.01-00 -013/19) will end in 2023.