Trade with Estonia reports that the government wants to set up a controlled test environment at Kiltsi airfield. Makers of drones, drone detectors and counter-drone devices could find out there whether their equipment keeps working when the radio signals it depends on are disturbed. The Government Office has chosen a pilot centre with part of the planned functions for support from its public-sector innovation fund. The centre is not open yet.
Kiltsi is one part of a roadmap for unmanned vehicles that runs through 2030 and was approved in June. The plan joins changes in testing rules, new projects of the public sector and funding for companies. Officials are also working to make approvals quicker and more predictable for flights in the “specific” category of the European Union, which covers operations outside the lower-risk “open” category. Prime minister Kristen Michal said the aim is that unmanned vehicles get from development through testing into actual use sooner in Estonia than in rival markets.
The roadmap deals with detection as well. Estonia is building a nationwide surveillance and counter-drone system that would bring together information held by authorities and by operators of infrastructure. A law in force since July made clear which authorities may detect and counter drones in peacetime, and more changes are in preparation to ease counter-drone testing.
Companies can apply to the defence-industry product-development programme of Enterprise Estonia. Its total budget is EUR 23.8 million, and a single project can receive up to EUR 3 million. Drone systems, unmanned vehicles and electronic-warfare solutions are among the eligible fields. An applicant has to be registered in Estonia and to go through preliminary advice before it applies. Clear and predictable rules would help companies develop and test new solutions more quickly,
said Aimar Aviste, testing specialist of the drone maker Threod Systems.
Source: Trade with Estonia, . The text above is our own summary; the words in quotation marks are the source's.
What this means for an Estonian entrepreneur
One condition in the source decides who can use the grant programme: the applicant must be registered in Estonia and must take preliminary advice before it applies. A foreign developer of drones or electronic-warfare equipment that wants to take part therefore needs an Estonian company first. An Estonian company that already works in this field can check whether its product falls under the eligible areas and note that the Kiltsi centre is not yet open for use.
A developer from abroad who needs a company registered in Estonia can have a private limited company formed through us. Company formation in Estonia