Drones technology could raise UK economy as it seems to add £42bn to the county economy in just over a decade, according to new research published by PwC. This would take the form of a rise in GDP through increased productivity as well as the creation of thousands of jobs in the relatively new sector. In order to see the potential benefits, however, the report says that current drone regulation in the UK would need to be advanced.

UK has opportunity to be at forefront of drone technology
PwC’s UK Drones Leader Elaine Whyte said: “Drones have the potential to offer a powerful new perspective for businesses across a variety of industries, delivering both productivity benefits and increased value from the data they collect. The UK has the opportunity to be at the leading edge of exploiting this emerging technology, and now is the time for investments to be made in developing the use cases and trial projects needed to kickstart our drone industry.”

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The report predicts that there will be more than 76,000 drones active in the UK skies by 2030. It says that the total benefits to the UK economy within this timeframe could amount to an extra £42bn, or 2% of the current economy.

Drones Technology Sales Scale

The report suggests that there is scope for an increase in GDP across all sectors. The Wholesale, Retail Trade, Accommodation and Food Services sector could be in line for the biggest increase in terms of a proportion of its whole GDP, with a rise of 2.5% predicted, equating to £7.7bn. The biggest gain in monetary value was predicted to fall in the Public Sector, Defence, Health, Education, and other services, with a gain of £11.4bn representing an increase of 2.3% on total GDP.

Drones technology could also improve public services.

The report suggests that more than a third (36%) of deployed drones could be used in the public sector. It says that drone technology can not only drive profit and private businesses but also be of benefit to society as a whole.

Whyte added: “I envisage that the advantages of drone technology will be well established within the decade – not only for business purposes, but also for helping to protect our society, for example, through being used by the emergency services. There is a need for current UK drone regulation to advance to see the estimations in our report become a reality, but it’s positive to see the Government already taking proactive steps to address this with the draft Drones Bill.”

The bill aims to introduce a registration process for drone operators, as well as banning drones from flying near airports.