Drones, or remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), as they are described in this report, are no longer used solely by the military. In the UK alone, there are now hundreds of companies, mainly SMEs, using RPAS to provide a range of services, including photography, land surveying, building inspection and crop analysis. RPAS will revolutionise what the aviation industry can achieve and how it is regulated. Europe must act now in order to reap the future benefits of this exciting new technology. This report evaluates the plans set out by the European Commission in a Communication in April 2014 to make Europe a global leader in the RPAS industry
