Skies Without Limits v3.0 – An insight into the progress of the UK drone industry from 2021 to 2024

PwC’s 2022 “Skies Without Limits v2.0” (SWL2) report described the potential for drones to positively impact the UK economy by 2030. It noted that drones are often faster, safer, cheaper and better for the environment than other options and that there were many barriers to overcome to unlock drone potential.

Now, in this updated report, we offer an insight into the progress (or otherwise) of the UK drone industry from 2021 to 2024, through the lens of ten exciting organisations. Drone applications range from BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) surveillance and inspection, to last-mile delivery, to crop spraying and seeding. Views on whether growth since 2021 has met expectations, and the level of progress against the potential barriers to growth identified in SWL2, are equally varied.

Overall, things are looking up. We have some enticing headlines such as daily BVLOS flights, routine BVLOS in unsegregated airspace, drones spraying chemicals and an “automotive-like” drone production line being set up in the UK.

However, if we look behind the headlines we find a more nuanced situation: BVLOS is severely restricted, chemical spraying is limited to uncontrolled substances and significant growth is usually driven by international rather than UK demand. Additionally, none of the organisations focusing on BVLOS consider they have achieved commercial volume in the UK.

The full report can be downloaded below, and the case studies featured are highlighted in the following table.

Original Case Study	Update	Organisation
Teaming Manned and Unmanned to Deliver Effective Search And Rescue in UK Waters	Daily BVLOS for surveillance	Maritime and Coastguard Agency
New Logistics Using Existing Infrastructure to Connect Communities	Automotive-like drone manufacturing in the UK	Windracers
Food, Parcel and Medical “Last Mile” Delivery – Could We Go a Little Faster?	Last-mile drone delivery with “positive unit economics”	Manna
Remote Piloting Paving the Way for Autonomous BVLOS	Regular BVLOS inspection in unsegregated airspace	sees.ai
The Criticality of Integrating Drones with Business As Usual	More than 100% drone service provider growth	Cyberhawk
Automating Traditional Agricultural Practices	Spraying and seeding in the UK	Autospray Systems/ Drone Ag
Rapid Response at Times of Environmental Crisis	Expanding internal drone use	Environment Agency
Reducing Leaks with Smart Solutions	Developing inspection in confined spaces	Team UAV
Highly Accurate Drones Keeping Passengers and Engineers Safe And Minimising Commuting Delays	Evolution of high accuracy solutions	Plowman Craven
Digital Transformation in Stockpile Auditing	Integration of drones with business as usual	PwC