10166107Project "Dragon's Heart": A Welsh Medical Drone Delivery Network (MDDN)ClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKOur end-goal is a Welsh medical drone delivery network (MDDN) that increases NHS operational flexibility and improves connectivity for all health and social care providers across Wales. To accelerate development of the UK drone sector toward this goal, our project team, Snowdonia Aerospace LLP, Volant Autonomy Ltd, SLiNK-TECH Ltd, and Skyports Deliveries Ltd, seeks to (i) make tangible advancements in regulatory policy concepts for use of drones in UK airspace in coordination with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and (ii) start the scaling up of existing commercial delivery use cases with the Welsh Blood Service and Welsh Ambulance Service. There are three key elements to Project "Dragon's Heart": * We will integrate autonomous flight guidance software on a novel ground-based surveillance radar and medical delivery drone that together delivers an Airborne Collision Avoidance System for small Uncrewed aircraft (ACAS sXu) capability. Testing will be conducted in the Special Use Airspace at the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre and will represent the first-ever UK flight trial of a fully autonomous, safety-assured, point-to-point detect-and-avoid (DAA) system. * We will also implement prototype autonomous vertiport infrastructure at the Welsh Blood Service headquarters, Talbot Green, and northern stock-holding unit, Wrexham, to enable demonstration flights that will showcase the potential for commercial exploitation, allow NHS staff to gain familiarity with the ground infrastructure and concept of operations, and form the basis for public engagement events. * Finally, we will support engagement activities with Welsh Government, NHS leadership and Local Authorities, facilitate collaboration with a parallel Economic and Social Research Council-funded University of Birmingham project, and ensure a coherent approach to governance, planning and public acceptability to make Wales "drone-ready". Successful conclusion of this project will enable a prototype service to be established with confidence as an immediate follow-on programme in 2026\.