Nov 15 2013
Fairfield Aerospace is making progress raising funds to develop a command and control system for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles enabling them to fly in unsegregated airspace.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are now everywhere in the news, and the media speak of them as if they were already part of our daily life. That is because the commercial potential is considerable; the commercial UAV market is already large and is set to grow further, it is estimated to be worth between $55 billion – $62 billion per year by 2020 (Teal Group). Integrating UAVs into civilian airspace is expected to yield $82bn of economic benefits by 2025 if they could be certified to fly in unsegregated airspace.
However, to date, no Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) is able to operate legally in civilian airspace without severe restrictions including limited range and altitude. Fairfield Aerospace has developed a unique solution to allow the UAV market to fulfil its potential within three years. By allowing remote pilots to directly control the UAV in real time, Fairfield will enable UAVs to operate in exactly the same manner as a conventional aircraft, thereby overcoming the key barriers to certification.
As a company, Fairfield Aerospace constitutes a unique opportunity. There are not many start-ups in aerospace that have attracted the attention of majors at such early stage. It has received the thumbs-up from key players on both sides of the Atlantic.
From a technology perspective it offers a simple and cost effective change in paradigm. According to senior European civil aviation authority officials, our solution is unique in that:
- To date, there are no commercial UAS that have received certification for unfettered operation in civilian airspace
- It will allow Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPVs) to operate at a viable cost, within civil airspace including over populated areas
- It utilises cost effective, existing communications infrastructure, in place across the majority of the world, putting a pilot (located in a ground station) in direct control of the UAS
- There are no other competing projects currently under-going certification.
Besides being unique, what makes our solution attractive is that there is no R&D risk. Furthermore the project can utilise Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) hardware, coupled with proprietary software to minimise design risk. This will lead to valuable and defensible Intellectual Property (IP) that will be created early in the development process that will provide security for the initial investors.
More specifically, the valuable IP that will be created during the development process can be applied across multiple unmanned platforms, not limited to aerospace. The IP will focus on a unique Telecommunications System that leverages existing infrastructure. In addition, the solution conceived by Fairfield Aerospace will generate unique differentiators relating to:
- Immersive Ground Control Station with advanced flight improvements and safety functionality
- Passive and active Airframe safety features.
Fairfield’s knowhow and Intellectual Property will allow the development of a holistic, certifiable solution facilitating the boom in UAVs predicted by all market analysts. To date Fairfield has made excellent progress in attracting the attention of key market players and have appointed KPMG as financial advisers. It is now a matter of selecting the right partner or partners.
The management team are looking forward to announcing in 2014 that a revolution is taking place in civilian aerospace.
For further information please contact Fairfield: Dr Thierry Bontoux ([email protected]) and KPMG: Michael Mortimor ([email protected])