A national facility to test how unmanned air systems (UAS) will be able to fly in the same airspace as manned aircraft is trialling unique Holographic Radar technology with groundbreaking results.

The National Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Experimentation Corridor (NBEC) is developing a BVLOS flight corridor stretching 10 miles, from Cranfield University’s global research airport towards Blue Bear Systems Research Twinwoods test site near its headquarters in Oakley. The corridor will provide a safe, managed environment for unmanned aircraft experimentation, working towards a range of uses, including for the emergency services and medical industries.

Aveillant’s radars are already used to detect drones at several international airports, to prevent unmanned systems from entering the flight path.

NBEC will be opening for use by the aerospace industry in the summer of 2020.

Director of Aerospace at Cranfield, Professor Iain Gray, said: “NBEC is a national asset that will help unlock the potential of a modernised UK airspace. The key to future drone operations is not segregation, but full integration, ensuring fair and equitable use of airspace.”

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