BVLOS tests in Wales

Marble travelled to Wales to pursue its flight test campaign for the MRB4, a Fixed Wing Vertical Take-Off maritime surveillance aircraft. We carried out a number of tests around the former Royal Air Force airfield of Llambedr, that lies between Snowdonia and St George’s Channel, facing Ireland.

BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) flights involve operating the aircraft remotely over large distances, using an on-board First Person View camera. These flights require specific regulatory approvals but effectively transform the value of drone technology in the area of maritime surveillance, since a small team can have “eyes on sight” across hundreds of miles of shorelines while based in a ground station, thus offering intelligence comparable to manned maritime patrol aircraft for a fraction of the cost.

All Marble’s tests went as planned and we even had the opportunity to try out a range of payloads on a range of fishing boats near the airfield.