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Drone policies to cost NZ plenty?

28 June 2013

According to media reports yesterday, the NZ Defence Force is preparing to spend $600 million on creating a "cyber army".

This army will be populated with drones, robots and remote sensor equipment, all designed to monitor our forces and the environments in which they operate.

While $600m might sound like a lot of cash, it is spread over a 20 year period which means an average of just $30m per annum and, in a decade's time, that $30m annual figure will be worth far less than it is today.

To see what's available, the Defence Force is inviting wannabe suppliers to attend a briefing in August and present their proposals to government in October.

Unfortunately, I suspect the number of "made in NZ" offerings will be very small.

Sure, there will be some Kiwi companies who will make representations but they'll almost certainly be importers who will buy product in, throw some stickers on it, along with a massive markup, then pitch it at the people holding the purse-strings.

This is indeed a great shame.

So where are the *real* "drone" developers here in NZ?

Well I suspect they've been crushed by the weight of "policy" coming out of CAA and the compliance issues associated with that policy.

When it is illegal to fly even something as small and harmless a 48g multirotor with an onboard camera in your own back yard then the viability of engaging in some serious commercial development work becomes questionable.

Let's face it, we have some *very* smart software and electronics engineers here in NZ, the success of companies such as F&P medical, Tait, Rakon, NavMan and a raft of others is clear proof of that.

What we don't have is a vibrant hi-tech VC/angel industry which means that many of those who might have all the smarts and desire to create innovative new solutions to the many problems that arise in the "drone" market, are stymied.

As regular readers are very aware, my SAA system is a component that is critical to the safe deployment of "drones" in active airspace - yet I've been effectively stopped dead in the water by CAA "policy" with respect to such "commercial" developments.

I am unable to afford the $17K to get a PPL and risk prosecution if I dare to fly a 950g RC model made of foam with my 300g SAA "sense" element going along for the ride. Because of this, I am unable to continue with the next step of this very promising project.

I wonder how many others who could have contributed hugely to the development of truly home-grown technology for the most rapidly growing area in aviation today have been similarly ankle-tapped by CAA's ridiculously constraining "policies"?

So no doubt, when the NZ Defence Force spends its $600m, it will be making NZ a great deal poorer by effectively handing a great deal of that money over to China, the USA, Israel or some other military technology power. At the same time, even more of NZ's very clever hi-tech grads will be leaving NZ to get jobs in those same countries, probably designing the very products we'll be buying.

How foolish they are, those who squander taxpayers' money while exporting our best brains -- our greatest hope for the future.

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