Airbus and the Hauts-de-France region have today a framework agreement to assess the economic development potential of air deliveries on a regional scale..
The Hauts-de-France region, through Hauts-de-France Innovation Development (HDFID), and Airbus Defence and Space, via its specialised subsidiary Survey Copter, are jointly conducting a feasibility study of this use within the framework of European regulations.
According to a press statement: “The Hauts-de-France region aims to become Europe’s logistics hub. In this context, the regional authorities are particularly supporting the creation of the ‘e-valley’ park, a logistics park dedicated to new e-commerce services, on the site of the former Cambrai airbase. For this activity, air delivery is obviously an innovative development focus. This operational study, involving stakeholders from the region’s economic and academic ecosystem of logistics and retail activities, is therefore launched for six months to identify the needs of local economic operators as well as the technical concepts and solutions required to meet them, while taking stock of current and expected future regulations.”
“The shared ambition is to foster the deployment of new economic models in the Hauts-de-France region, based on the innovative use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), particularly to support disruptive changes in the supply chain dedicated both to industrial activities and distribution. By studying what the future will hold for UAVs in Hauts-de-France, the region hopes to give companies the means to innovate in their services, expand their logistics activities and create new jobs as a result.”
