The British government announced £4.4 million in funding Monday for projects that aim to further develop advancing aviation technology, including drones and unmanned aircraft systems. The investment stems from the £125 million Future Flight program of Innovate UK and aims to strengthen the country’s position in aerospace innovation and support the growth of high-quality jobs nationwide.
Among the winning projects is Beyond Restoration, which will deploy long-range drones to deliver environmental materials to remote sites for land restoration. The London Health Bridge Project, already operating as the UK’s leading medical drone delivery service, will expand from 1,000 to 50,000 medical sample deliveries per month.
In Scotland, the Regional Offshore Cargo Drone Demonstrator will launch the country’s first heavy-lift logistics service designed for offshore wind farms.
Aviation Minister Keir Mather said in a government release, “Investing in emerging technologies like drones and unmanned aircraft is key to build a greener and more efficient transport system.”
The initiative is part of a broader strategy to accelerate airspace modernization and advance sustainable aviation fuel production, backed by the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill. The government has pledged £2.3 billion over the next decade for the Aerospace Technology Institute program to develop more efficient electric aircraft.
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