{"id":41530,"date":"2019-09-17T15:26:27","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T15:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/17\/new-deal-puts-britains-protector-drone-closer-to-civilian-airspace-approval\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:21:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:21:11","slug":"new-deal-puts-britains-protector-drone-closer-to-civilian-airspace-approval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/dsei\/2019\/09\/17\/new-deal-puts-britains-protector-drone-closer-to-civilian-airspace-approval\/","title":{"rendered":"New deal moves Britain\u2019s Protector drone closer to civilian airspace approval"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

COLOGNE, Germany \u2014 General Atomics has nabbed a $125 million contract from the United Kingdom to make that country\u2019s Protector military strike drone certifiable to fly alongside civilian traffic, pushing the company\u2019s agenda to be first in Europe with such a system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The money will help \u201ccomplete\u201d test and evaluation activities needed to demonstrate all safety features leading up to an eventual certification of the aircraft by British authorities, the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pairing drones with civil aviation in the same, unrestricted airspace involves a complex field of still-evolving regulations. In short, unmanned planes must be equipped with sensors and controls \u2014 collectively known under the name \u201cdetect-and-avoid\u201d \u2014 to be able to avert midair collisions just a like a human pilot would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis completes another important milestone as we work towards the delivery of Protector to the Royal Air Force (RAF),\u201d General Atomics CEO Linden Blue is quoted as saying in a company statement. \u201cWe have completed more than 100 qualification test flights using our two company-owned SkyGuardian.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British Royal Air Force is slated to receive the first Protector drones in 2024, according to a service statement released during the DSEI defense exhibit in London last week. Installing a detect-and-avoid package on the aircraft became an explicit objective of the program early this year. General Atomics officials said they are working toward a so-called military-type certification by the British authorities in the summer of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\t