New Horizons II: Vision for the National Drone Service

Drones are rapidly transforming how the public sector works. Yet, without a coordinated national capability, the UK risks missing out on multi-million-pound benefits and opportunities to elevate service delivery. A National Drone Service could enable sharing of drone capabilities across the UK public sector, delivering £563m in benefits to the UK economy per year by 2035 and repaying the initial investment in the first year of full operation.

Drone deployment in the UK is rising even faster than expected

Drone uptake in the UK is soaring. In 2025 alone, deployment across the public and private sectors increased by more than 40%, rising from 45,400 to 64,200 drones. It’s expected to climb much higher still.

In our latest research, our central estimate forecasts that the number of drones used by UK commercial and public sector organisations will hit 305,700 by 2035. This is almost 30% higher than our central estimate published in our original November 2024 report, New horizons: The case for public sector drone investment. The report explored the economic, social, and environmental benefits unlocked by use of drones across UK Government. This dramatic acceleration in adoption means that drones could deliver even greater benefits to the public sector.

Fragmented drone deployment is leading to duplicated costs and patchwork capabilities

Even as drones take off in rising numbers, deployment remains fragmented. Public bodies continue to procure, deploy, and govern drone operations independently. The result is a patchwork of capability that is effective in pockets but unable to scale, potentially leaving multi-million-pound savings and better outcomes for citizens on the table.

A National Drone Service could enable safe, efficient sharing of drones across the UK public sector

At Baringa, we envision a different future for drones in the UK public sector, one that reaches far beyond what individual deployments can achieve. In our latest report, we set out our vision for a National Drone Service (NDS) – a centrally coordinated network that pools assets, skills, and governance to deliver drones on-demand for emergency services, infrastructure operators, local authorities, and other public bodies.

The economic case for the NDS is compelling. Across 12 priority use cases, we calculate the NDS could generate over £563m in annual benefits by 2035 and recoup its initial capital investment within the first year of full operation.

With the UK Civil Aviation Authority and Government committed to enabling routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations by 2027, the regulatory roadmap to enabling a national drone capability is in flight. The UK has an opportunity to set the international standard for drone deployment at scale, but that window won't stay open indefinitely.

Download the report to explore:

• Our vision for establishing the NDS, and what it would cost to build and run
• Key economic and societal benefits of the NDS
• Highest-value use cases across the public sector
• A five-phase plan to get the NDS off the ground

Frequently asked questions

What would a National Drone Service look like?

A National Drone Service (NDS) is a proposed centrally coordinated drone network that pools assets, skills, governance, and data across the UK public sector. Its goal is to enable safe, efficient sharing of drones across diverse public sector use cases. The NDS would deploy drones on demand for emergency services, infrastructure operators, local authorities, and other public bodies, using shared regional command centres and nationwide drone-in-a-box stations.

Why does the UK Government need a national approach to drones?

Public sector drone adoption is currently fragmented. Different public bodies procure, train, and govern their own drone operations independently. This could duplicate costs, leave assets under-utilised, and make cross-agency coordination difficult. A national service would replace this with shared standards, pooled fleets, and central oversight, improving efficiency and responsiveness.

What benefits could a National Drone Service deliver for the UK?

Analysis in Baringa’s New Horizons II report estimates a National Drone Service could generate over £563m in annual benefits for the UK economy by 2035. Set against roughly £131m in capital investment and £142m in annual operating costs, the service is projected to recover its initial investment within the first year of full operation.

What are the main use cases for drones in the public sector?

Public sector drones are used across four main areas: emergency response (policing, railway trespass detection, and fire and rescue intelligence), search and rescue (locating missing persons and supporting coastguard operations), asset and infrastructure inspection (surveying local authority buildings, railway and energy infrastructure, and port assets), and healthcare (rapid delivery of defibrillators, blood, pathology samples, and cancer drugs). 

Drones already support UK policing and emergency services through uncrewed aerial surveillance, search and pursuit operations, and rapid-deployment "drone-in-a-box" units launched from mobile police vehicles.

Drones are also increasingly used to deliver time-critical medical items, including blood, platelets, diagnostic samples, pathology samples, and chemotherapy drugs, between hospitals, laboratories, and GP practices. This is especially valuable in rural and remote areas, where distances to be covered are greater, or in dense urban environments like London, where traffic and the built environment slow conventional logistics.  

We provide further examples of drone use cases in our New Horizons reports.

What is BVLOS and why does it matter for drone deployment?

BVLOS stands for Beyond Visual Line of Sight – flying a drone further than a pilot can see it, which is essential for scaling up drone services like large-area inspections and long-distance deliveries. The UK Government and Civil Aviation Authority are working toward enabling routine BVLOS operations by 2027 through the Future of Flight BVLOS Roadmap and Airspace Modernisation Strategy, a regulatory step-change that a National Drone Service is designed to capitalise on.

How will automation and AI impact drone deployment?

As the technological and regulatory environment evolves, organisations will be able to harness AI to deploy one-to-many BVLOS drone operations, whereby one pilot controls and monitors the automated flights of several drones simultaneously. This will significantly cut costs per flight, increasing the commercial viability and scalability of drone operations. One-to-many use cases support a range of commercial and public sector applications, for example, a single operator monitoring a fleet of drone deliveries or asset inspections.

What regulatory changes are needed before drones can scale in the UK?

The Civil Aviation Authority’s Airspace Modernisation Strategy and BVLOS Roadmap are creating the conditions for commercially viable, scaled BVLOS operations. However, widespread drone deployment relies on a broader set of regulatory and policy frameworks evolving in parallel. Planning regulations, healthcare legislation, telecommunications policy, environmental requirements and local authority governance will all influence the scale of drone operations in the UK.  

A coordinated approach across government departments, regulators, local authorities and other public sector bodies will be essential to ensure that progress in aviation regulation is matched by the wider policy, regulatory and planning changes required to support the National Drone Service.