HSD Issue Brief no. 4: A Blessing in the skies: Unmanned Opportunities for Business and Security

In recent years, the development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or ‘drones’, has grown dramatically, resulting in millions of UAVs being deployed for a wide variety of purposes worldwide.

The Netherlands is also witnessing a growing interest in the use of UAVs among governments and the private sector. For law enforcement and emergency services the use of UAVs offers opportunities to improve public safety and protect national security interests.

With this in mind, the latest HSD Issue Brief takes a closer look at how UAVs can contribute to enhancing public safety and our national security; the challenges being faced in introducing UAVs for this purpose; and suggests various solutions to boost the fledgling UAV industry in the Netherlands whilst facilitating safe use of UAVs by public and commercial partners.

However, clear regulation on UAVS in the Netherlands is currently lacking and as such, companies in the Netherlands wishing to break into this market may find themselves at a competitive disadvantage. Issues also arise from the security vulnerabilities of UAVs, which might be ‘hackable’ and safety concerns about the proliferation of unmanned vehicles in civil airspace. In addition, privacy is a major issue when it comes to the use and legislation of UAVs, as they can easily be used for unlawful surveillance.

In order to mitigate these issues, and give a boost to the industry in the Netherlands, drafting of legislation and regulations to effectively govern the use and development of UAVs is essential. Adequate testing areas, an interdepartmental policy and the establishment of a ‘triple helix’ group consisting of knowledge institutes, industry and government, are also recommended.

You can download the HSD Issue Brief with the button on the right.