“…Building on this expertise, the country now aims to position itself as a global hub for drones and advanced air mobility (AAM). This week, the country took a big step towards achieving this.

Transport Malta Civil Aviation Directorate (Transport Malta), the country’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and SwissDrones, a global manufacturer of long-range unmanned helicopter systems, conducted a series of long-range Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights over water for rigorous maritime patrol, search and rescue, and surveillance mission simulations. Additional flights were conducted to test and validate communication and sensor payloads.

The flight operations were enabled through close coordination with Transport Malta, Malta Communication Authority, Malta Air Traffic Services, Enterprise Malta, Indis Malta, and the San Lawrenz local council.

All operations were executed in accordance with European Union Safety Administration (EASA) regulations for unmanned aircraft under the Specific Category, with full authorization from Transport Malta.

“The Malta archipelago offers an ideal geographical location for flight testing in demanding maritime conditions over long distances,” said Ulrich Amberg, CEO of SwissDrones. “Additionally, the nation is a growing hub for robotics and aviation with world-class infrastructure and excellent government support, making it perfectly suitable for establishing a new base of operations…”