COMMENTARY
AVIATION & SPACE AFFAIRS
STATE OF AUSTRALIA’S UNCREWED AERIAL SYSTEMS SECTOR By Greg Tyrrell,
Executive Director, Australian Association for Unmanned Systems
The Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) sector in Australia has made some significant leaps in the last 20 years and if you believe the hype, the next 20 years could be even more dramatic.
The Australian-designed and manufactured Aerosonde Hybrid Quad. © Textron Systems Australia.
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GENESIS & GROWTH
who obtained CASA certification to operate drones.
Australia’s drone industry emerged in the mid-1990s on the back of advancements in microprocessors and GPS. Back then, systems were developed by adding these technologies to essentially model aircraft and were operated to capture data in dull, dirty and dangerous applications in remote areas away from people and air traffic.
When we think of drones today, we often think of light-weight, electrically powered multi-rotor systems that are relatively cheap but remarkably capable. The barrier to entry for budding commercial operators is much lower, the opportunities seemingly endless. Applications are infinite and with CASA approval can be close to cities and aerodromes.
Today, there are over 2300 organisations operating drones commercially with a remotely piloted aircraft operators’ certificate and over 21,000 individuals licensed to operate drones.
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Safety regulations came along in 2002 with CASA developing Part 101 to address this emerging sector. Barrier to entry was high for industry participants and there was just a handful of operators
Today, there are over 2300 organisations operating drones commercially with a remotely piloted aircraft operators’ certificate (ReOC) and over 21,000 individuals licensed to operate drones. Further there are over 14,000 individuals who have passed through CASA’s accreditation process for excluded category (non-ReOC) commercial drone operations. According to surveys run by the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems (AAUS), these organisations are typically lean with less than 20 employees and operate multi-rotor drone systems
