Germany – National Experimental Test Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems

The National Experimental Test Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems is a test centre that combines skills and expertise for the development of unmanned aircraft systems. The Test Center facilitates the networking of scientific research and industry for the ongoing development of UAS technologies.

Since neither manufacturers, users or the regulatory authorities can investigate and resolve all issues by focusing on UAS alone, involvement in large-scale research and support for such endeavours is becoming increasingly important as a link with both technical and regulatory issues alike. In addressing these challenges, the National Experimental Test Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems will play a key role as a pioneer for future research and the development of new UAS technologies.

The aim is to create a test environment that can be used by any entity, which will provide a basis for technological and regulatory decisions in the future. For certification purposes, new unmanned aircraft systems and their missions will need to be comprehensively tested and qualified under realistic conditions within a controlled environment.

Cochstedt Airport is ideal for this due to its location and infrastructure. The test site will be accessible to universities and other scientific research institutions, industrial enterprises for research purposes, and DLR’s own researchers. The Test Center is also particularly beneficial to start-ups and SMEs, which have the opportunity to use a state-of-the-art test centre and build up a network with other participants, without the need for large investments.