The Danish Defence (DD) has established a new drone centre at the Hans Christian Andersen Airport (HCA), close to one of Northern Europe’s leading test hubs, reports a press release.
The centre will further strengthen the Danish airport’s position as a key location for drone development and dual-use solutions in the region. HCA already features the renowned UAS Denmark Test Centre and a successful drone and counter-drone ecosystem.
The release states, “It will be responsible for the training of DD units as well as drive development in the drone field through experience gathering and collaboration with industry and research institutions.”
It continues, “When fully up and running in 2026 the centre, part of an overall billion-dollar scale-up of the Danish Defence, is expected to employ around 100 people with total investment of close to EUR100 million over the next decade.”
Michael Larsen, Head of UAS Denmark Test Centre, commented, “This is great news for us and the local drone ecosystem. We already have a strong collaboration with the Danish Defence, so we view the establishment of this new centre as a perfect opportunity to further strengthen our ties.”
UAS Denmark Test Centre was inaugurated in 2013. Last year, it featured more than 5,500 drone operations. Today, the Centre has a broad array of test facilities as well as an almost 3.000 km² big BVLOS flight zone that stretches over land and sea and interlinks with a military airspace.
The HCA business park features several drone and counter-drone companies, including Danish payload supplier, Quadsat, and drone developer Thunderstrike.
Peter Rahbæk Juel, Mayor of Odense, remarked, “With a new national drone centre on the horizon, the region created for testing and developing drones and anti-drone measures, is about to take a massive leap forward.”
He continued, “With strong synergies between cutting edge research from University of Southern Denmark, innovative companies and now a massive investment and presence from the Danish Defence, HCA is becoming a European drone-hotspot.”
In fact, HCA Airport is currently expanding its business park by four hectares in order to accommodate further growth.
Michael Larson
Larson concluded, “The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that it is possible to move fast and quickly deploy new solutions, and I hope that we can bring forward a similar approach here in the Test Centre sandbox.”
For more information
