全球无人机革命-英

MUMBAISILICONVALLEYBENGALURUSINGAPORENEWDELHIMUNICH/AMSTERDAMNEWYORKGIFTCITY

Research

TheGlobalDrone

Revolution

AerialTransport,Investments

andMakeinIndiaOpportunities

November2023

©NishithDesaiAssociates2023

Research

TheGlobalDroneRevolution

AerialTransport,Investments

andMakeinIndiaOpportunities

November2023

DMSCode:26042.2

©NishithDesaiAssociates2023

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TheGlobalDroneRevolution—AerialTransport,InvestmentsandMakeinIndiaOpportunities

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Acknowledgements

AhaanRaizada

ahaan.raizada@

MorviChaturvedi

morvi.chaturvedi@

AfaanArshad

afaan.arshad@

AniruddhaMajumdar

aniruddha.majumdar@

HuzefaTavawalla

huzefa.tavawalla@

©NishithDesaiAssociates2023Provideduponrequestonly

Contents

3

Introduction1

Whatare‘Drones’?2

GlobalDevelopmentsinDroneUsage

GrowthofAlliedDroneTechnologies6

8

GlobalDroneRegulation

GlobalStandards8

UnitedStatesofAmerica(US)8

TheEuropeanUnion10

TheDronesRules,2021inIndia12

KeyFeaturesoftheDroneRules12

PLISchemeforDrones19

RelatedRegulatoryFramework20

I.ForeignDirectInvestment(‘FDI’)20

II.IntellectualPropertyRights20

III.DataProtectionandPrivacy21

IV.GeospatialData21

V.TortLaw22

VI.TaxAspects22

Conclusion25

©NishithDesaiAssociates2023Provideduponrequestonly

TheGlobalDroneRevolution—AerialTransport,InvestmentsandMakeinIndiaOpportunities

Introduction

InAugust2021,inaratherpleasantlysurprisingmove,theGovernmentoverhauledtherulesondronesforthesecondtimeinthesameyear,butthistimeliberalizingitalmostentirelythroughtheDroneRules,2021(“DroneRules”).Itisunderstoodthatthecompellingpotentialofdronesandtheirusewouldhavebeenanimportantdrivingfactorforthisunprecedentedlegislativeaction.ThisacthaspavedthewayforagrowingIndiandroneindustry.

Animportantpartofthedronerevolutionhasalsobeentheshiftfromoperationswithinvisuallineofsight(“VLOS”)tooperationsbeyondvisuallineofsight(“BVLOS”).Theearlierregimeondronesrequiredthepresenceofaremotepilotwithunaidedvisualcontactwiththedronetoundertakeanyflyingoperations.SuchrestrictionsremaincommoninvariousjurisdictionsoutsideIndia.However,undertheDroneRules,therehasbeenashiftinthisapproachwithgreaterrelaxationsbeingallowedforundertakingBVLOSoperations.ThisisanimportantdevelopmentgiventheobviouslimitationsthatVLOSoperationshave.

Fromaneconomicperspective,thedroneindustryhasmassivepotentialintermsofgivingaboostbyattractingsignificantglobalinvestmentsinIndia.TheUnmannedAircraftSystem(“UAS”)market-sizeinIndiaisprojectedtoincreasetoapproximatelyUSD9.3billionby2025ataCAGRof80%.1Infact,theexpandingapplicationofdronestovariousindustriesispredictedtoimpactmarketsglobally,andtheinvestmentinthesectorisboundtogrowexponentially.Internationally,variouspredictionshaveestimatedthedronemarkettogrowfromUSD19.2billionin2021toUSD63.1billionby2028.2Inthefiscalyear2022–23alone,dronestart-upsattractedcloseto$49.7millionininvestmentsinIndia,3whichisa300%growthfromthelastthreefiscals.Inpart,thishasbeenenabledbyaglobaltrendtowardstherelaxationofdroneoperationrestrictionsearlierwhichpreventedBVLOSoperationsandcarriageofpayloadsinvariouscountriesalongwiththe‘MakeinIndia’initiatives.

ThepaperprovidesabriefintroductiontovariousconceptsrelevanttodronesanddelvesintoanextensiveanalysisofthecurrentIndianregimeaswellastheregimeintheUSandEU.Wehavealsoanalysedtheon-groundimpactthatthedronelawinIndiawillhave.Wehavealsolookedatsomeofthepotentialconcernsthatmayarisewithanincreaseintheuseofdronesandlegallacunae.Theconcludingsectionprovidesforawayforwardtoensuresuccessfulregulationswhichstriveforabalancebetweendroneusageandpolicymaking.

1ShriJyotiradityaScindiahighlightsvariousaspectsofthegrowthoftheIndianCivilAviationIndustry,availableat:

.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1908939

,lastaccessedOctober27,2023.

2DronesMarketSizeVerifiedResearch,availableat:

/news-releases/drones-market-size-worth--63-05-billion-

globally-by-2028-at-16-01-cagr-verified-market-research-301530065.html

,lastaccessedonOctober27,2023.

3Indiandroneindustryflieshighwith3xgrowthininvestmentsover3-years,(March24,2023),availableat:

https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/corporate/story/indian-drone-industry-flies-high-with-3x-growth-in-investments-over-3-

years-374728-2023-03-24

,lastaccessedonOctober27,2023.

©NishithDesaiAssociates2023Provideduponrequestonly1

TheGlobalDroneRevolution—AerialTransport,InvestmentsandMakeinIndiaOpportunities

Whatare‘Drones’?

Theword“drone”referstoanunmannedvehiclecapableofoperatingonland,air,underwaterorsomecombinationthereof.However,colloquially,thewordhascometorefertoonlyUnmannedAerialVehicles(“UAV”)which,asthenamesuggests,operatesolelyinair,oraUASwhichistheentiresystemassociatedwiththeUAV,andallowsaUAVtofunction.1Inthispaper,thewords‘drone’,‘UAV’and‘UAS’areusedinterchangeably.Dronesmayberemotelypilotedbyahuman,orpartiallyorfullyautonomous.

Forregulatorypurposes,differentcountriesandinternationalorganizationshaveprovidedvarieddefinitionsofdrones.Ingeneralaviationandairspace-relatedparlance,a“Drone”mayrefertoanyvehiclethatcanoperateonmultiplesurfacesand/orintheairwithoutahumanbeingonboardtocontrolit.Theyvaryinsize,shape,form,speed,andahostofotherattributes.Mostjurisdictionscategorizeandregulatethembyweight.Adronecouldvaryfromamodelaircraft/toyinastoretoalargesizedaircraftsenttoawarzone.

TheInternationalCivilAviationOrganization(“ICAO”)istheinternationalbodychargedwiththerespon-sibilityofcodificationandregulationofairways.WhiletheICAOdoesnotdefineadrone,itidentifies

dronestobewithintheambitofUASandhascoinedthetermRemotelyPilotedAircraftSystems(“RPAS”)fordronesthatareoperatedwiththeaidofaremotepilot.RPASbelongtothewiderfamilyofUAS.UASessentiallyincludes(i)theunmannedaircraft;(ii)thecontrolsystem(s)ontheground;(iii)thecontroldatalink(s);and(iv)othersupportequipment.2TheICAOCircularonUnmannedAircraftSystems,2011

definesanRPASas“asetofconfigurableelementsconsistingofaremotely-pilotedaircraft,itsassociatedremotepilotstation(s),therequiredcommandandcontrollinksandanyothersystemelementsasmayberequired,atanypointduringflightoperation.”

1Availableat:

/meetings/uas/documents/circular%20328_en.pdf,

lastaccessedonOctober27,2023.

2SeeUnmannedAircraftSystems,ICAO,

/meetings/uas/documents/circular%20328_en.pdf

.

©NishithDesaiAssociates2023Provideduponrequestonly2

TheGlobalDroneRevolution—AerialTransport,InvestmentsandMakeinIndiaOpportunities

GlobalDevelopmentsinDroneUsage

Overthepastfewyears,droneshavecometobeusedinvariousindustriesandforvariedpurposes.Fromquickdeliveriesatrushhourtosurveyingelectricallines,dronesareprovingtobeextremelybeneficialinplaceswherehumanscannotreachorareunabletoperformoperationsinatimelyandefficientmanner.1Otherusesofdronesincludeaerialphotography,expressshippingordeliveryofgoods,supplyingessentialstoremoteplaces,thermalsensordronesforsearchandrescueoperations,geographicmapping,cropmonitoring,

forecasting,etc.Theusageofdronesinurbanplanning,infrastructuredevelopment,constructionplanning,maritimeprocedures,manufacturingandinventorymanagement,etc.,arealsonotable.Wehavedetailedsomeoftheseusecasesbelow:

i.Agri-Tech

Withtheuseofdrones,theagriculturalsectorisabletogatherdata,automateredundantprocesses,andimproveefficiency.Dronesarebeingdevelopedtoaidthecultivationprocess,includingfor

pollinationofflowers,sprayingoffertilisersandevenforirrigationrequirementsastheyalsoenablegeographicmapping.Further,dronescanalsobeusedforcropobservation/monitoringalongwithanalysesofthefields/soilwhichwouldaidincrophealth.Thus,farmerscanoptimizetheuseofinputs

(fertilizers,seed,wateretc)andreactsuitablywhichinturnwouldsave/enhancecropyield.

ii.AirMobility/DroneTaxis

Withthecrowdingofthestreetswithcarsandhoursoftrafficjamscominginthewayofhassle-freecommute,numerouscompaniesaroundtheworldareexploringtheideaofdronetaxisorpassengerdronesthatcanbesummonedliketheOlasandUbersintheworld.Wherethelatterisalsointheprocessofenablingsuchairmobilitythroughtie-upswithaircraftmanufacturers.Somereportssuggestthatby2030,electricverticaltake-offandlanding(eVTOL)aircraftmanufacturers,operatorsandinfrastructureproviderswillhaveamarketvalueof$35billion.2

Airbus,themultinationalEuropeanaerospacecompany,isdevelopingtwoelectricUrbanAirMobility(“UAM”)vehicleswiththegoaltooffershort-timeanddistanceflightsacrosscongestedbigcities.Therearenumerousothercompaniestestinganddevelopingtheirautonomousvehiclesforthepurposesofeasingmobilityandtransportworldwide.

iii.MaritimeUsage

Droneshavefoundincreasingapplicationinthedeepsea.Usecasesincludedeepseaexploration,identi-fyingshipdefectsatsea,inspectionandmonitoringofseabordersforpollutionandillegalactivitiessuchasdrugtraffickingandfishing,searchandrescueoperations,dronebaseddeliverytoshipsatsea,etc.3

1DivyaJoshi,Dronetechnologyusesandapplicationsforcommercial,industrialandmilitarydronesin2020andthefuture,(December18,2019),

availableat:

https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/drone-technology-uses-and-applications-for-commercial-industrial-and-military-drones-

in-2020-and-the-future/articleshow/72874958.cms

,lastaccessedonOctober27,2023.

2GlobaleVTOLAircraftMarketsize,availableat:

/news/evtol-aircraft-market-size-worth-141500112.html

,lastaccessedOctober27,2023.

34WaysDronesareBeingUsedinMaritimeandOffshoreServices,availableat:

/security/4-ways-drones-maritime-offshore-services

,lastaccessedOctober27,2023.

©NishithDesaiAssociates2023Provideduponrequestonly3

TheGlobalDroneRevolution—AerialTransport,InvestmentsandMakeinIndiaOpportunities

GlobalDevelopmentsinDroneUsage

IndiahasalsomadeeffectiveuseofautonomousmaritimespotterdronesduringthetestflightmissionGaganyaani.e.,India’smissiontosendastronautsintoalowerearthorbitof400kilometresin2040.4ThedroneswereusedforlocatingthesplashdownoftheTV-D1crewmoduleandguidingrecoveryvesselstothepreciselocation.

iv.MilitaryandDefenseServices

Giventhestrategicsizeofdrones,theiruseinmilitaryoperationsbegandecadesago.Numerouscountries(withtheUS,UK,ChinaandIsraelbeingsomeofthefirstcountries)5havealreadyadopteddronetechnologyformilitaryactivities.Whiledroneshavebeeninusebythedefenceforcesofthesecountriesforafewyears,dronesarebeingdesignedexclusivelyforsurveillanceanddefence,aswellasforoffensiveoperationsandbombdetection.6

v.ShippingandDelivery

Thecommercialusageofdronesforshippinganddeliveryofgoodshasgainedmomentumintherecentyearsasitaidsthelogisticschainandprovidesfasterandefficientmeansoftransport.Thedeliveriesmayrangefromthatofmedicinestoposts,packagesandevenpizzas.7WhileIndiastruggledwiththesupply-chaindisruptionsduringthepandemic,dronesemergedasanewrayofhopeinenablingsuchdeliveriestothedoorstepandtoremoteareas.Thiswillnotonlysolvelogisticalissuesbutwouldenabletimesensitiveandfasterdeliveriestotakeplacearoundtheworld.

vi.ConservationofWildlife

Whiledronesenablethemonitoringofagriculturerelatedactivities,theyhavealsocometoassistinmonitoringthefaunaofvariousregions.8Wildlifemonitoringisessentialasitcanassistinthepreventionofpoachingandthefootagefromsuchdroneswouldassistinstudyinganimalbehaviourandpatterns.Insuchaway,Dronesarebeingutilizedforgeo-mappingandtrackingofsuchanimalsintheirnaturalhabitatswithouthumaninterference.DroneshavealsoenabledresearchonecosystemsandtheOceanAllianceisanexampleofanorganizationthathasuseddrones(suchasthemarineSnotBot)tocollectsamples—specifically,mucusfromwhales.9

vii.Healthcare

Giventhenecessityofaccessinghealthcareforindividualsallovertheworldincludingthosesituatedinremoteplaces,theuseofdronesforlastmiledeliveryisgainingimmensepopularity.Whilemedicalsuppliescanbedeliveredbytraditionalmeans,certaincircumstancescallforquickaccesstodrugs,blood,andmedicaltechnology,droneshaveexpediatedaccesstothesefacilitiesforremoteregions.

4TheSky’sNottheLimit:HowMaritimeSpotterDronesandtheIndianNavyUsheredinaNewEraofSpaceExploration,availableat:

https://www.

/business/defence-the-skys-not-the-limit-how-maritime-spotter-drones-and-the-indian-navy-ushered-in-a-new-era-of-

space-exploration-3283152

.

5Availableat:

/international-security/reports/world-drones/introduction-how-we-became-a-world-of-drones

/#:~:text=The%20United%20States%2C%20Israel%2C%20and,producers%20and%20sellers%20of%20drones,lastaccessedonOctober27,2023.

638WaysDronesWillImpactSociety:FromFightingWarToForecastingWeather,UAVsChangeEverything,(January09,2020),availableat:

/research/drone-impact-society-uav,

lastaccessedonOctober27,2023.

7FintanC.DronesfordeliveriesfromMedicinestoPost,PackagesandPizza,availableat:

/drones-for-good/drone-parcel-pizza-delivery-service,

lastaccessedonOctober27,2023.

8Droneshelpresearchersmanagekoalapopulations,availableat:

/drones-robotics/drones-help-researchers-manage-koala-populations

,lastaccessedonOctober27,2023.

9Id.

©NishithDesaiAssociates2023Provideduponrequestonly4

TheGlobalDroneRevolution—AerialTransport,InvestmentsandMakeinIndiaOpportunities

GlobalDevelopmentsinDroneUsage

Oneofthemostwell-knownmedicaldeliverycompanyis

ZiplineInternational

,whichoffersdeliverydronesinruralareasthroughoutAfricaandinnumerousothercountriesatpresentsuchasUSANorthCarolina.10

viii.ThermalSensorDronesforSearchandRescueOperations

Dronesequippedwithacameraandthermaloropticalsensorshavebeenusedextensivelyfordisastermanagementandrescueoperations.Forexample,predatordroneswhichwerecommonlyusedformilitaryoperations,wereusedtorescueanddetectcitizensintheaftermathofthehurricaneKatrinaintheUS.11Theuseofsuchdronesenablessafenavigationandefficiencyinrescueoperations.

ix.InternetBeams

CompaniessuchasFacebookandGooglearedevelopingdronesrunbysolarpowerwhichwouldbeamtheinternetaccesstoremoteareas.12Itisatechnologyunderdiscussionandmaydevelopinthecomingyearsandisbeingdevelopedwithanaimofbringingmorepeopleonlineorprovidingthemwithgreateraccesstointernet.

Withtheevolvingapplicationofdronetechnologytovariousindustries,thetechnologiesalliedwithdronesarealsoevolvingintandem.Forinstance,smartdronesmaycontainavarietyofbuilt-insafeguards,includingsmartaccuratesensorsandself-monitoringtechnologiesthatwouldprovidenewopportunitiesintransport,military,logistics,andcommercialsectors.13

10Availableat:

/2020/05/26/zipline-begins-us-medical-delivery-with-uav-program-honed-in-africa,

lastaccessedonOctober27,2023.

11Availableat:

/publication/256841448_Drones_to_the_Rescue_Unmanned_Aerial_Search_Missions_Based_on_

Thermal_Imaging_and_Reliable_Navigation

,lastaccessedonOctober27,2023.

12Availableat:

/2019/01/21/facebook-airbus-solar-drones-internet-program/?guccounter=1&guce_

referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJgwHVQh6AXxYh2q-GUisSBZI3hFcnuxJodyhN5rQ6Gmg3UUnRPM

yYjylTu6jwDvFRM5IVKS4vXhDSBziM15uyzEol4GxXKOa-8DIMXlqsohK9Hq7HXkFrKpySt1ewH7Fa0zcZ7lH4KAE2vdIIi7aXhgIiT9H_rllWnJ67KdSXDG

,lastaccessedonOctober27,2023.

13Availableat:

https://csgaerospace.cz/data/filecache/c8/str.-42_1.jpg

.

©NishithDesaiAssociates2023Provideduponrequestonly5

TheGlobalDroneRevolution—AerialTransport,InvestmentsandMakeinIndiaOpportunities

GlobalDevelopmentsinDroneUsage

GrowthofAlliedDroneTechnologies

UnmannedAircraftSystemTrafficManagement(‘UTM’)

UTMisanecosystemtoenablemultipleBVLOSoperationstobemanagedintheairspace.ItactsasanairtrafficservicefordronesandisintheprocessofbeingimplementedinIndiaandothercountries.TheIndianGovernmentpublishedtheUTMpolicywhichenablesbothpublicandprivateentitiestomanagedronetraffic.14Thisisacriticaldevelopmentfromasafetyperspective,especiallywhenthenumberofdronesintheairspacearesettoincrease.

Avoid

Avoid

Avoid

ActiveGroundAvoidance

RealTimeFlightDataTransmission

CellTowers

LTE4G3G

SMS<>

<

<>

CentralAirTrafficControlBuilding,Towers,Terrain,

ControlServerTrellises,etc.

Source:WeTalkUAV.com

CounterDroneTechnology

Dronescanalsobeathreatifnotusedwithduecaution.Inrecenttimes,therehavebeenmanycaseswheredroneshaveriskedpeople’slivesandhavebreachedsafetyandsecurity.15Thishasledtotheevolutionofcounter-dronetechnologywhichisbeingusedfortrackingandinterceptingdrones.MostlydronesarespottedusingtechniqueslikeRadioFrequency(RF)detection,Electro-OpticalandInfraredandaretheninterceptedorneutralisedwithtechniqueslikeRFJamming,GNSSJamming,Spoofing,Laser,nets,projectileorCombinedInterdictionElements.

14Availableat:

.in/assets/files/National-UTM-Policy-Framework-2021-24-Oct-2021.pdf,

lastaccessedonOctober27,2023.

15MayankM.,India’sAnti-DroneTechnology:Howtoneutralizeanyfuturedroneattacks,(July13,2021),availableat:

/technology/science-and-future/india-anti-drone-technology-uas-attack-defence-544524.html

,

lastaccessedonOctober27,2023;SeealsoforUSA,DepartmentofDefenseCounter-UnmannedAircraftSystems(April17,2023),availableat:

/crs/weapons/IF11426.pdf,

lastaccessedonOctober27,2023.

©NishithDesaiAssociates2023Provideduponrequestonly6

TheGlobalDroneRevolution—AerialTransport,InvestmentsandMakeinIndiaOpportunities

GlobalDevelopmentsinDroneUsage

Counterdronetechnologymayvaryfromtechnologybeingusedfordetecting,interceptingandshootingdowndronestogunsbeingusedtocatchdronesbyuseofnets.Thelatterhasbeenillustratedbelow:

NetandParachute

IntelligentProjectile

Auto-Aim

Smartscope

Source:MedPharmres16

NewObstacleAvoidanceAlgorithm

Dronescurrentlyonthemarketwith‘obstacleavoidance’featuresareabletonavigatearoundstaticobjects,suchasbuildings,mountains,andtreeswithoutbeingmanuallypilotedtodoso.Senseandavoidisamajorpatternforobstaclethreatavoidance.17Themainidearevolvingthealgorithmistransformingtheobstacleavoidanceproblemintopathplanningandpathfollowing,incommercialdrones.

MultivehicleControlThroughCloudComputing

Theneedtomanageandcontrolmultipledroneswithinaproximitywillbemoredemanding,asthenumberofactivedronesgrow.Severaltechconglomeratesarealreadypromotingtheconceptofconnecteddronesthatcanbecontrolledviaacloud-basedinfrastructure.Currently,mostofthedatageneratedbydronesistransferredtocloudsystemsforuserstoaccessandanalyse,oftennotinreal-time.

16Availableat:

https://csgaerospace.cz/data/filecache/c8/str.-42_1.jpg

.

17X.ZhangandH.Duan,“Animprovedconstraineddifferentialevolutionalgorithmforunmannedaerialvehicleglobalrouteplanning,”AppliedSoftComputing,vol.26,pp.270–284,2015.

©NishithDesaiAssociates2023Provideduponrequestonly7

TheGlobalDroneRevolution—AerialTransport,InvestmentsandMakeinIndiaOpportunities

GlobalDroneRegulation

CountriesaroundtheworldhavethoroughlydeliberatedonissuesconcerningtheoperationofUASandhavelaiddowncomprehensivelegislationstoregulatetheiruse.Thissectionbrieflydiscussessomeoftheseregulations.

GlobalStandards

In2014,theInternationalOrganizationforStandardization(“ISO”)createdatechnicalcommitteeonUAS.1Thescopeofthecommittee’sworkincludes,butisnotlimitedto,standardizationof“classification,design,manufacture,operation(includingmaintenance)andsafetymanagementofUASoperations.”2In2019,thecommitteepublishedadocumentonoperationalproceduresforcommercialUAS,detailinginternationalbestpracticeswhichserveasarecommendatorystandardforUASmanufacturers,operators,etc.3

In2020,theISOsupplementedthisdocumentwithalistofdefinitionspertainingtoUAS.TheyalsopublishedadocumenttitledCategorizationandClassificationofCivilUnmannedAircraftSystems.4Thisdocumentspecifiestherequirementsformulti-dimensionalclassificationofcivilUAS,withthegoalofrefining,ratherthanreplacinganyexistingUASregulatoryframework.Similarly,therearevariousotherstandards,relatingtoUAStrafficmanagement,trainingforpersonnel,etc.,someofwhichhavebeenpublishedandsome