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UK Defence Investment Plan 2026: £5bn for Drones, Autonomy and Uncrewed Systems
The UK Defence Investment Plan 2026 commits £5bn to autonomous and uncrewed systems, accelerating drone transformation across air, land and sea domains.

Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Jul 66 min read


EASA SORA SAIL 3 and 4: Why UAS Manufacturers Must Design for Compliance from Day One
UAS manufacturers targeting SAIL 3 and SAIL 4 operations must design for EASA SORA compliance from the outset. This guide explains OSO #5, redundancy expectations, DAL C software assurance, reliability requirements, and EASA’s Design Verification Review process.

Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Jun 296 min read


Eurosatory 2026: Defence robotics are redefining modern warfare
Eurosatory 2026 highlights the rise of defence robotics. From drones to UGVs and USVs, innovation, VC funding and new procurement models are reshaping modern warfare.

Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Jun 242 min read


How autonomous drones can transform woodland and peatland recovery
Beyond Restoration: Autonomous drones to accelerate woodland recovery. Our role: SORA compliance and heavy-lift drone BVLOS in atypical air environment . Learn how The Drone Office supported SORA compliance and BVLOS authorisation.

Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Jun 84 min read


SORA v2.5 for Heavy Lift Logistics Drones: a Manufacturer's Guide
What does SORA 2.5 mean for a logistics drone above 3 metres? Higher ground risk, tougher containment requirements, and a SAIL level that affects both your platform design and your operators. This article breaks down the key considerations for dual-use UAS manufacturers.

Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Jun 36 min read


Riga Drone Coalition Summit 2026
Europe's defence innovation ecosystem is at an inflection point — and the academic conference at Riga Technical University as well as the discussions during the Drone Summit itself made that impossible to ignore.

Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Jun 13 min read


Ukraine vs Western drone costs: why the price gap is structural.
Why does the Switchblade 300 cost $53,000 while Ukraine's Bulava costs ~$8,000? Compliance overhead, R&D amortisation, and component sourcing — not necessarily production scale.
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Apr 2310 min read


MOD seeks novel solutions to counter fibre optic drones - by 21 April 2026
UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) is running a market engagement on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, calling on industry to help defeat an increasingly common and difficult threat: drones guided by fibre optic cables — invisible to standard radio frequency jamming.
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Apr 102 min read


SORA Containment Requirements: A 2026 Guide for Drone Operators & UAS Manufacturers
Learn about SORA containment requirements under UK / SORA drone regulations. Understand the challenge and solutions for medium robustness containment. Expert insights from The Drone Office.
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Feb 126 min read


BVLOS Operations in Atypical Air Environment: Progress , Challenges, and What comes next
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has released the third edition of CAP 3040 , its policy concept for enabling BVLOS operations in an Atypical Air Environment (AAE) on 27 November 2025. What is an Atypical Air Environment? Atypical Air Environment AAEs are volumes of airspace within which it can be reasonably anticipated that there will be a greatly reduced number of conventionally piloted aircraft due to the close proximity of specific ground infrastructure. AAE is not a ne
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Dec 8, 20253 min read


Easy Access Guide TO UK Drone Regulations & 2026 Update. Open, Class Marking, Specific, SORA
Stay up to date with UK drone regulations. Class Marking, Open category, Specific Category, UK SORA. This is a simplified, accessible explanation based on UK CAA publications, that will help both existing industry players looking for an update, and new players in the industry looking for a simple and concise overview of regulations.
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Nov 19, 20251 min read


CAP3105: Understand the CAA's recommendations for the Open Category. UK Class Marking.
Quickly understand CAA's recommendations for the Open Category. UK Class Marking.
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
May 8, 20252 min read


Identifying acceptable standards under UK SORA from SAIL 3 onwards: BSI Flex 1906 as your Guide
When the UK SORA methodology calls for the use of a standard or other Means of Compliance (MoC) acceptable to the CAA—which standards or MoCs is the methodology referring to?
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
May 1, 20252 min read


Tutorial: 40' to understand the UK SORA risk assessment methodology
The UK SORA will enter into force on 23 April 2025. SORA stands for Specific Operations Risk Assessment. It’s a structured safety assessment
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Mar 18, 20251 min read


New RIO Chair Appointment encouraging for Medical Drone Delivery
Lord Willetts' appointment as new Regulatory Innovation Office RIO Chair is encouraging for Medical Drone Delivery in the UK.
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Mar 10, 20251 min read


UK CAA publications complementing UK SORA: Update to RAE Training Academy requirements. Flightworthiness and SAIL Mark Policy Concepts
UK Drone or UAS regulations: Update to the RAE training academies requirements. First policy concepts for SAIL Mark and Flightworthiness
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Mar 7, 20251 min read


UK CAA published UK SORA, much aligned with JARUS SORA
The main UK specificity is the air risk classification flowchart, in particular Class G airspace is considered ARC-c unless proven otherwise
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Mar 5, 20252 min read


CAELUS medical drone logistics in Scotland: close out showcase held in Glasgow.
The drone logistics event featured key addresses from UK Aviation Minister Mike Kane.
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Feb 6, 20254 min read


Acquisition of Edge Autonomy reveals their remarkable success story and stunning financials.
Do you remember the Penguin VTOL series from Latvia? At the time, the company was called UAV Factory. The company successfully developed...
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Jan 27, 20251 min read


NATO DIANA Accelerator for dual-use technologies announced its 2025 cohort
The Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic, NATO DIANA, has announced a new cohort of innovative companies.
Anne-Lise Scaillierez
Jan 27, 20252 min read
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