DRONES XXX
Drones in the security sector: trends, technology and legislation Expected to be worth about $43 billion by 2024, according to Statista1, although predications vary – the sky is literally the limit for the global commercial drones market.
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lready being utilised in almost every industry imaginable, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly referred to as a drone, is just scratching the surface of its potential, says Goldman Sachs2. “Like the internet and GPS before them, drones are evolving beyond their military origin to become powerful business tools. They’ve already made the leap to the consumer market,
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and now they’re being put to work in commercial and civil government applications (which is) creating a market opportunity that’s too large to ignore.” It’s a market that has the potential to bolster South Africa’s ailing economy, says Irvin Phenyane, chairman of the Drone Council of South Africa (DCSA)3. “The accelerated growth of the drone industry is paramount to the economic growth of our country,” he said at the launch of the
SECURITY FOCUS AFRICA FEBRUARY 2021
Council in mid-2019. In his inaugural speech, Phenyane said South Africa’s “sluggish” response to global drone trends had put the country on the back foot regarding lost investment opportunities, despite it being the first African country to approve RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) regulations. As a result, the Council has come up with an initiative called Operation Catch-Up 2023, which
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