News item | 08-10-2025 | 12:21
Indispensable for military use, but also very useful for transporting medicines or organs between hospitals. It concerns the possibilities of drones. These can also be used to check dikes, bridges and wind turbines, to provide disaster relief and rescue operations and to transport packages to remote or difficult-to-reach areas. State Secretary Gijs Tuinman would like to realize all these possibilities and is therefore committed to a permanent drone test area above the North Sea.
This is an initial test area. To get this off the ground, Tuinman signed a cooperation agreement. That happened at the drone test center Unmanned Valley at the former Valkenburg naval air base. Minister Robert Tieman of Infrastructure and Water Management and deputy Meindert Stolk of South Holland also signed.
The special airspace will be located off the coast between Katwijk and the port of Rotterdam. From Unmanned Valley the drones take off and land again. The area is being set up for so-called BVLOS flights (Beyond Visual Line of Sight). This means that drones are allowed to fly out of sight of the pilot.
With BVLOS, drones can travel longer distances and perform tasks that are often still too dangerous, time-consuming or expensive. Technology makes society safer, more sustainable and more efficient.
Life and death in Ukraine
Tuinman emphasized the importance of unmanned systems for the armed forces, but also for Ukraine.
“Drones have become crucial for our security. But their importance is even more important for the Ukrainian soldiers. They are currently fighting for our freedom from muddy trenches and under anti-drone nets. They may receive that new and better drone just a few hours earlier. And with that, every extra step here literally makes the difference between life and death there.”
Defense not only contributes knowledge, but also invests €100,000 in the test area.
South Holland as an ideal place
South Holland has a strong aerospace sector, with many companies and knowledge institutions working on innovative technology. That is why this province has been designated as the ideal place for this project. Various organizations, such as MovingDot, AirHubTo70 and the Netherlands Aerospace Center (NLR), are helping with its development.
According to Deputy Stolk, this project brings together economy, innovation and defense. “It strengthens our position as a leader in aviation technology and offers new opportunities for employment and knowledge development.”
The first test flights are expected to start at the end of 2026. The experiences gained form the basis for national rules for BVLOS flights. This makes the Netherlands one of the forerunners in Europe in the field of drones.