Drones will begin carrying parcels, medical supplies, and defibrillators across Cornwall in four real-world test environments, linking Royal Mail, the NHS, Falmouth Harbour, and the Ministry of Defence into a single demonstration network. The project tackles a practical bottleneck: current drone operations are limited by fragmented regulations, untested detect-and-avoid systems, and a lack of integration with existing supply chains. Without these demonstrations, drone delivery remains a theoretical possibility rather than a working service. If successful, the project could change how remote communities receive time-critical goods. Royal Mail could use drones for next-day parcel and pharmacy deliveries to isolated Cornish homes. NHS Kernow could shift pathology samples and medical supplies between hospitals and labs without relying on road transport. Falmouth Harbour could use drones for ship-to-shore deliveries and flying defibrillators for maritime emergencies. JHUB-Med could develop a humanitarian drone re-supply capability for disaster zones. The consortium has already completed the UK’s first NHS and Royal Mail drone deliveries and secured the first beyond-visual-line-of-sight approvals, giving the tests a track record to build on.
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The Open Skies Cornwall Project will create four thematic demonstration environments in Cornwall for real world end users, technical specialists, UAS operators, regulators, innovators and academics to: 1)Test New Detect and Avoid Systems and concepts in real world Cornish environments that will lead to advancements in UTM and new market opportunities for UAS use locally, nationally and internationally. 2)Seamlessly link end user viable drone delivery requirements to end user supply chain challenges/opportunities which will lead to market validation and the route to future integration and commercialisation/adoption. 3)Pursue, unpack, explore and test solutions, procedures and concepts to overcome regulatory requirements relating to airspace access (CAA), land access (bylaws/land access permissions/local planning authority) and medical products transit compliance (NHS/MHRA) 4)progress industrial research to integrate enabling technology and support infrastructure to real world end users within our thematic environments. The consortium benefits from exclusive demonstration partnerships with Royal Mail, NHS Kernow, JHUB-Med, Falmouth Harbour and is supported from insights and the embedded local connections/knowledge of Cornwall Development Company so that our project technology providers and innovators can explore how to: 1)**Royal Mail:** integrate drones seamlessly within Royal Mail's supply chain network, ground assets and customers to provide a lean, quick, cost effective and robust connection to remote Cornish communities for parcel, next day and pharmacy postal delivery. 2)**NHS Kernow**: explore and demonstrate how drones can be incorporated into the NHS logistics supply chain to provide new options for time critical medical delivery and the optimisation of transport and pathology lab assets. 3)**Falmouth Harbour:** integrate autonomous drone solutions and enabling infrastructure to complement and supplement maritime end user requirements in relation to data capture, ship to shore delivery and remote healthcare/telemedicine/flying defibrillator applications. 4)**JHUB-Med:** explore, test and demonstrate how the MOD can develop a humanitarian/disaster relief medical re-supply drone capability for the purposes of deployment to support the logistical needs of NGOs (UNICEF etc) in pandemic/epidemic/disaster scenarios both domestically and internationally. 5) **Cornwall Development Company:** explore how detect and avoid solutions tested on the project can enable opportunities for drones to contribute toward economic growth in Cornish wind power/ maritime/ lithium extraction/agriculture and tourism markets. Our experienced technology team is formed of industry pioneers (Skyports/DronePrep/Neuron/University of Southampton/The Flight Corp) Together, our team have been responsible for the UKs first NHS and Royal Mail drone deliveries, regulatory advancements in the transport in medical goods and for achieving the first BVLOS approvals in the UK.
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