Representational Image
London:
A pilotless plane has flown alongside a commercial aircraft in the UK as part of a trial of drone technology in the British civil airspace.
The aircraft flew the world's first-known-flight-of-its-kind for three hours off the southwest coast of Wales, controlled by pilots on the ground and monitored from an air traffic control base in Hampshire on the southern coast of England, The Times reported.
The plane - a model with a wingspan of over 10 metres employed by the military for surveillance operations in Afghanistan - flew at 15,000 feet.
Experts said that the flight could herald the introduction of unmanned cargo flights from British airports within a few years.
It may also lead to other innovations such as pilotless search-and-rescue operations and unmanned environmental monitoring flights, the report said.
Aircraft manufacturers have been working on the development of unmanned planes for years but are hampered by aviation rules that ban them from flying in airspace alongside conventional aircraft.
The same rules restrict smaller drones sold in the high street.
Simon Hocquard, operations strategy director the UK's National Air Traffic Control Service (NATS) which led the trial, said: "What we set out to prove is that it is possible to safely integrate and control an [unmanned aircraft] in non-segregated airspace with conventional aircraft. Once you do that you open up enormous potential future opportunities for unmanned flight."
"Safety is always our top priority so a huge amount of work has gone into getting to this point and much more will be needed, but it's a major milestone for the industry."
The first trial involved a Watchkeeper surveillance drone manufactured by Thales, the aerospace company.
NATS said it was the first time that civilian controllers had led an unmanned flight in normal civil airspace anywhere in the world.
The test flight forms part of a joint project involving organisations including NATS, Thales, the UK Military of Defence and the Civil Aviation Authority.
Trials are expected to continue for a number of years before the large-scale of use of commercial unmanned planes will be permitted in Britain.
The aircraft flew the world's first-known-flight-of-its-kind for three hours off the southwest coast of Wales, controlled by pilots on the ground and monitored from an air traffic control base in Hampshire on the southern coast of England, The Times reported.
The plane - a model with a wingspan of over 10 metres employed by the military for surveillance operations in Afghanistan - flew at 15,000 feet.
Experts said that the flight could herald the introduction of unmanned cargo flights from British airports within a few years.
It may also lead to other innovations such as pilotless search-and-rescue operations and unmanned environmental monitoring flights, the report said.
Aircraft manufacturers have been working on the development of unmanned planes for years but are hampered by aviation rules that ban them from flying in airspace alongside conventional aircraft.
The same rules restrict smaller drones sold in the high street.
Simon Hocquard, operations strategy director the UK's National Air Traffic Control Service (NATS) which led the trial, said: "What we set out to prove is that it is possible to safely integrate and control an [unmanned aircraft] in non-segregated airspace with conventional aircraft. Once you do that you open up enormous potential future opportunities for unmanned flight."
"Safety is always our top priority so a huge amount of work has gone into getting to this point and much more will be needed, but it's a major milestone for the industry."
The first trial involved a Watchkeeper surveillance drone manufactured by Thales, the aerospace company.
NATS said it was the first time that civilian controllers had led an unmanned flight in normal civil airspace anywhere in the world.
The test flight forms part of a joint project involving organisations including NATS, Thales, the UK Military of Defence and the Civil Aviation Authority.
Trials are expected to continue for a number of years before the large-scale of use of commercial unmanned planes will be permitted in Britain.
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