The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and ST Engineering Aerospace Ltd (STEA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 15 February 2022 to jointly advance unmanned aircraft (UA) technologies development and adoption in Singapore through public-private partnership. The MOU was signed between Mr Han Kok Juan, Director-General of CAAS and Mr Jeffrey Lam, Commercial Aerospace President at ST Engineering on the side-lines of the Singapore Airshow.
Under the MOU, CAAS and STEA will jointly identify and determine the maturity of new UA-related technologies such as autonomy and connectivity, assess their value and feasibility for operation in Singapore. Through data sharing, joint trials and technical studies, this collaboration will also facilitate development of technical standards needed for the safe introduction of these new technologies and operations.CAAS and STEA will also work together to enhance Singapore’s UA engineering and technical capabilities through technical exchanges and training programmes and attachments.
The MOU builds on an earlier partnership between CAAS and STEA to study and develop new concepts, procedures, and technologies to enable Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) UA operations and to develop a regulatory framework for the safety oversight of such operations in Singapore. Since then, CAAS has authorised 34 low-risk BVLOS routes and STEA is using some of these routes to conduct routine flight operations to help PUB observe water quality and monitor water activities like fishing and paddling across its six reservoirs, as well as provide shore to ship deliveries of maritime essentials to vessels at anchorage.
Mr Han Kok Juan, Director-General of CAAS, said, “Advancements in UA technologies offer tremendous potential for improved public service delivery and productivity as well as new business and employment opportunities. Singapore seeks to develop a vibrant and innovative UA ecosystem to unlock these benefits, through close collaboration with other civil aviation authorities and public-private partnerships. The CAAS-STEA MOU is a good example of this. It is an open and inclusive platform. Our objective is also to onboard other industry players to exchange knowledge and collaborate on projects, to grow the UA ecosystem in Singapore.”
Mr Jeffrey Lam, Commercial Aerospace President at ST Engineering, added, “As ST Engineering continues to develop advanced UA technologies and capabilities, we are deepening our collaboration with industry partners and regulators including the CAAS to strengthen the UA ecosystem. A robust regulatory and innovation ecosystem are crucial in advancing the commercialisation and safe operations of UA in Singapore, which constitutes mostly of highly urbanised areas. They are also important in accelerating our development of value-added propositions for customers that are interested in harnessing the benefits of UA safely in an urban setting.”
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