In any aerospace show there is always a gap between the shiny exhibits in the exhibition hall and the real-world discussions in the conference hall on when these shiny machines will be able to take to the sky and operate to their full capacity.
In last week’s XPONENTIAL Europe 2025 event, the gap between technology and regulations was particularly wide.
One of the high points of the conference was a discussion on progress of standards and regulations to allow more automated approvals for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations. Rachel Daeschler, Certification Director at EASA, told conference delegates that EASA is considering how ADS-B Light can be introduced into the drone community to improve e-conspicuity; either by incentives or mandates. In a statement following the event, the agency gave further details about its plans.
“At the request of partner national authorities and the drone industry, EASA has already proposed the possibility of optional use of the ADS-L out standard for UAS operations beyond visual line of sight, subject to SORA and NAA approval. The updated ADS-L 4 SRD860 Technical Specification Issue 2 will document this option,“ said the Agency.
The issue of e-conspicuity is fundamental to the future of ensuring safety in a low level airspace which will soon be full of conventional general aviation traffic, electric air taxis and drones operating increasingly in automatic and autonomous modes. The problem for the industry in Europe is that delays in developing and implementing European Union drone regulations at a national level are putting the competitiveness of Europe’s drone industry at risk.
The exhibition hall was full of companies showcasing autonomous drone technologies which could be used for long-distance mapping services, either via single platforms or in swarms. While the infrastructure in the form of satellite communications bandwidth capability, via Eutelsat OneWeb, Intelsat/SES, Iridium, Telesat and Viasat is now broadly in place (the Telesat Lightspeed satellite network can reportedly provide downlink speeds of up to 830 Mbps and uplink speeds of up to 200 Mbps to a single aircraft) there are still major uncertainties on how this bandwidth can be managed in terms of payload downlink, command-and-control, fleet management and independent traffic management services.
Dr Gerald Wissel, Chairman of the Board at UAV Dach – organisers of the European Drone Forum at the event – told delegates that without speedy government support Europe’s drone sector would not be able scale is innovations to a worldwide market.
