A $14.5 million flight test facility will be built to bring high-tech commercial drones to Cloncurry Airport in Queensland.
Hailing it an Australian first, the Palaszczuk Government says it will build the commercial drone flight testing facility at Cloncurry Airport, bringing high-technology industry and more jobs (65 during construction) to the North West.
“It’s just one of 13 innovative diversification initiatives that tap into the potential of the North West, and further proof that by working together with local councils and the community, we can grow Queensland’s economy,” premier and trade minister Annastacia Palaszczuk says.
State development and minister responsible for the Queensland drone strategy Cameron Dick says construction is due to begin early-2020.
“Our government was the first in Australia to launch a drone strategy, and now we’re well on the way to becoming the nation’s drone technology capital.
“We have secured the world’s largest aerospace group, The Boeing Company, to be the first to conduct trials at the facility, creating an exciting new aerospace industry for the region.”
Boeing director of Phantom Works International Shane Arnott says the company is looking forward to using the flight facility in 2020 to safely and securely test the latest advances in unmanned systems technology.
“The creation of what will be one of the world’s largest commercial unmanned flight test facilities is critical to establishing Australia as a global leader in autonomous technology,” he says.
The Palaszczuk Government will invest $14.5 million in the first stage of the facility, which will be built on airport land and include a hangar, operation room and surveillance radar and communications equipment.
The facility will test small-to-medium sized drones weighing 30-150kg.
Dick says initially drones will make test flights over short distances of up to 25km along a designated flight path away from built-up areas.
Cloncurry mayor Greg Campbell says it will create a hub for aerospace research and development that will be a new high-tech industry for the region, create jobs and boost the local and state economy.
The facility will also support the initiatives of the North West Queensland Economic Diversification Strategy Implementation Plan 2019-2021, released this week.
