With the increasing professionalization of the drone market in Europe, the topics of regulation and certification are also becoming increasingly important. They are developing into a decisive success factor for manufacturers and operators. The three companies UASolutions, Radiate Engineering & Design, and Delta System Solutions, have therefore pooled their core competencies and offer a comprehensive range of services for certification projects in the unmanned aviation sector.
Nathanel Apter, founder and director of UASolutions, has observed for years that many companies are technologically well-positioned but fail due to the complexity of regulatory requirements. ‘Many manufacturers lack the internal expertise to interpret and efficiently implement regulatory requirements correctly,’ says Apter. UA Solutions contributes in-depth expertise in aviation law, approval processes, and strategic certification planning. Radiate Engineering & Design complements this knowledge with extensive experience in the design, construction, and manufacturing of drone systems, while Delta System Solutions contributes systematic safety verification from from their 25+ years experience in aviation. Together, they create a service portfolio that ranges from regulatory classification and technical design to safety analyses, thus pursuing a holistic approach resulting in an efficient design and certification process that has been rare until now.
Need for an integrated approach
The need for such an integrated approach is growing, particularly among companies seeking to undertake complex or higher-risk operations. While low-risk applications are currently relatively easy to approve, urban operations, flights over people, or the use of larger drones quickly reach regulatory limits. Apter points out that the European regulatory framework is deliberately risk-based. As operational complexity increases, so do the requirements for evidence, for example, in the form of system failure analyses, structural tests, or detailed safety assessments. ‘This is precisely where the added value of cooperation becomes apparent, as regulatory strategy, design, and safety engineering can be considered in a coordinated manner rather than in isolation,’ emphasizes Apter.
Practical experience from real-world projects plays a central role in this. UA Solutions has supported several manufacturers in the regulatory approval of new platforms in the past and therefore has a deep understanding of how standards, class designations, and international requirements can be meaningfully interlinked. Such projects illustrate that compliance is no longer a formal final step but must be integrated into product development at an early stage in order to enable market access and economic scalability.
Market development: cautious optimism
Apter is cautiously optimistic about market development. Although the opening up of the regulatory framework for medium and high-risk classes is progressing more slowly than many had hoped, a clear trend is emerging. More and more manufacturers are recognizing that consistent alignment with norms and standards is not an obstacle, but an enabler for new applications. This paradigm shift is likely to be decisive in the coming years, particularly in the areas of urban applications, logistics, drones, and large-scale data collection,’ he explains.
At XPONENTIAL Europe, the three companies want to make this approach tangible. Visitors will gain insights into specific certification strategies, safety-related analysis methods, and modern engineering methods. The joint trade fair appearance of the three companies will be complemented by a specialist presentation on the topic of ‘Drone design following ED-325 Vol. 1’ on 26 March at 2.30 p.m. in CCD South Room 18.
Author: Sonja Buske
