skeyes and Skeydrone organise drone management and detection demonstration for police

On 6 October, as part of Open Company Day 2024, skeyes and Skeydrone are inviting the leadership of various police units and drone operators from the federal and local police to a demonstration at the skeyes site in Steenokkerzeel. During this event, the focus will be on obtaining flight authorisations for drones, detecting illegal flights, and discussing potential intervention measures against such flights.

The increasing use of drones poses challenges, such as managing an increasingly complex airspace. This has led to the establishment of a new type of airspace at the European level, U-space, which allows economically relevant uncrewed aviation to operate safely. Soon, the BURDI project (Belgian Netherlands U-space reference Design implementation), led by skeyes, will establish the first U-space for economic drone applications in Europe at the Port of Antwerp. The police are a key partner in this project. Through BURDI, skeyes plays an important role in Europe by implementing European guidelines in an operational framework and contributing to the development of legislation in this area.

During the demonstrations on 6 October, skeyes and SkeyDrone will provide a picture of the capabilities of their systems for police services. Police units utilise the airspace under their specific status as a state aircraft operator. Traditionally, this use of airspace was limited to police helicopters, but in recent years, drones have also become more and more important for both federal and local police forces. These drones are deployed in essential operations such as emergency response, surveillance, investigations, and maintaining public order. The use of drones requires additional operational agreements with the different control units of skeyes, especially when drones are operated beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). Additionally, local police play a crucial role in monitoring compliance with drone regulations by private users, such as during public events and festivals. For this purpose, an increasing number of police zones are using SkeyDrone’s drone detection system. This system, based on a growing network of detection antennas, provides real-time monitoring of drone activities in and around major cities.

For safety reasons, visits during the Open Company Day are only possible with prior registration.