29 Sept 2025
Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, Llanbedr
Aerospace innovators have won a new round of funding to further develop a drone network serving the Welsh Blood Service and Welsh Ambulance Service.
Testing will take place at Snowdonia Aerospace Centre and will represent the first-ever UK flight trial of a fully autonomous, safety-assured, point-to-point system.
Blood Service centres in Wrexham and Talbot Green will also house demos and prototype autonomous vertiport infrastructure
Today, Department for Transport and Innovate UK announced funding awards for aerospace innovators driving the next generation of flight technologies.
Project 'Dragon’s Heart’ will receive backing to develop drone solutions for the Welsh Ambulance Service and Welsh Blood Service, and generate important data that could shape UK-wide regulatory policy.
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), launched the follow-on competition following the success of its Phase 3 project, which ended in March this year. The new research effort focuses on two key areas: Strategic Growth and Regional Demonstrator.
Led by Snowdonia Aerospace, Dragon’s Heart will include test flights at Snowdonia Aerospace Centre to develop a system which is fully automated and safety-assured, using cutting edge technology that will enable drones to autonomously detect threats and reroute to safely avoid them mid-flight.
Technical Director of Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, Jeremy Howitt, said: ‘We’re delighted to build on the work we started in the first round of Future Flight funding, where we identified important commercial use-cases that would improve flexibility and connectivity for healthcare providers in Wales. Now, our project can refine the technical application of the concept, by integrating autonomous flight guidance software, a novel ground-based surveillance radar and medical delivery drone - that together promise safety and responsiveness for unmanned drones travelling through our network to make Wales ‘drone-ready’.’
The project will also see prototype vertiports unveiled at the Welsh Blood Service headquarters in Talbot Green, and at its northern stock-holding unit in Wrexham. The sites will host demo flights to enable NHS staff to gain familiarity with the ground infrastructure.
Other partners collaborating on the project include Volant Autonomy, SLiNK-TECH, and Skyports Drone Services.
Bristol-based startup SLiNK-TECH will provide the automated launch and landing system that will oversee safe deployment of drones along the proposed medical delivery network.
SLiNK’s CEO, John Goudie said: “We are really pleased to receive further support from Innovate UK through the latest round of Future Flight funding. This is a great endorsement of our technology and ongoing work in the drone and advanced air mobility sectors. This will enable SLiNK-TECH, in conjunction with our technology partners, to demonstrate PORTAL supporting medical supply chains.”
Within the consortium Skyports Drone Services will be operating the drones for the integration and demonstration activities, also providing its Westcott Drone Centre for testing and integration support.
Alex Brown, Director, Skyports Drone Services, said: “When it comes to critical medical deliveries, minutes matter, and drones are the perfect tool for getting medical supplies from A to B in remote rural locations. We’ve used our drones to improve patient outcomes across the UK, most notably delivering thousands of COVID vaccines and test results for NHS Highland & Argyll and Bute, and are looking forward to laying the foundations for a similar service with lifesaving potential in rural Wales.”
Volant Autonomy will integrate autonomous flight guidance software on a novel ground-based surveillance radar and Skyports’ medical delivery drone that together will deliver an Airborne Collision Avoidance System for small Uncrewed aircraft (ACAS sXu) capability. Testing will be conducted in the Special Use Airspace at Snowdonia Aerospace Centre and will represent the first-ever UK flight trial of a fully autonomous, safety-assured, point-to-point detect-and-avoid (DAA) system.
The project runs until 2026, when a follow-on programme is expected to establish a full prototype drone service.
About SLiNK-TECH
SLiNK-TECH Ltd (SLiNK) is a Bristol, UK-based technology company, developing automated drone infrastructure for the future of flight. Founded in 2018, they have been developing an advanced launch and landing solution called PORTAL, which is safe, low cost and highly automated. Their vision is to make the benefits of drone logistics and eVTOL passenger flight available across all industries and applications.
About Snowdonia Aerospace Centre
Snowdonia Aerospace LLP operates the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, Llanbedr, Gwynedd, the premier commercial UK test centre for next-generation aerospace including "drones-for-good”. They have also established Snowdonia Aerospace Drone Services Ltd. to further develop and commercially exploit the output of their research.
About Volant Autonomy
Volant Autonomy is a specialist airspace integrator with considerable operational and project management experience. Its directors have over 35 years’ experience in civil and military aerospace, both as operators and researchers. Volant led the highly successful £4M Future Flight Phases 3 Project, ALIAS finishing in 2024. Volant has two main product lines, VIA and TRAJECT as well as a strong research and development focus on next generation flight autonomy. VIA is a regulatory compliant, automated, risk-based flight planning and flight management software tool. TRAJECT is a regulatory compliant Detect-And-Avoid (DAA) system and is the first to undergo the UK CAA’s policy test process for DAA.
About Skyports Drone Services
Skyports Drone Services is the world’s leading drone airline. We are experts in BVLOS flight for delivery and inspection use cases. We partner with maritime and offshore industries, healthcare providers, infrastructure and asset owners, and public bodies to improve connectivity, safety and sustainability with drone operations. Skyports Drone Services is committed to scaling the drone industry to enable businesses and individuals to reap the rewards of drone technology.
Find out more at: www.skyportsdroneservices.com
About Innovate UK
Innovate UK, a part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is the UK’s national innovation agency. We support business-led innovation in all sectors, technologies and UK regions. We help businesses grow through the development and commercialisation of new products, processes, and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive, and easy to navigate.