Insights from the World Police Summit 2025

At the 2025 edition of the World Police Summit in Dubai, we presented a clear message: public safety drone operations are no longer small-scale experiments. Increasingly, they are becoming embedded in the day-to-day functioning of police, fire, border control, and emergency services.

But as drone operations scale, so too does their complexity. What begins as a tactical tool piloted by a handful of officers can quickly evolve into a mission-critical capability, requiring fleet management, airspace coordination, training oversight, and operational governance.

At AirHub, we support this transition in two ways: through our Drone Operations Platform, which provides the digital infrastructure for managing complex operations, and through our consultancy services, which help organisations build compliant, scalable, and sustainable programs.

Here’s how we’re helping agencies move from isolated drone teams to integrated operational divisions.

Structuring Drone Programs Like an Airline

Our approach is rooted in aviation. We don’t treat drones as gadgets or ad hoc tools. We treat them as aircraft—flown by certified crews, governed by procedures, and subject to airspace constraints.

This mindset leads to a shift in structure. As drone programs grow, agencies must think and operate more like airlines. That means establishing:

• A clear governance model

• Defined training and competence frameworks

• Documented SOPs, checklists, and emergency protocols

• Technical oversight of airframes, batteries, payloads, and software

• Risk-based flight planning aligned with national and international regulations

These aren’t aspirational ideas—they are practical necessities for safe, compliant, and repeatable drone operations.

The Four Areas Every Public Safety Drone Program Must Master

From our consultancy work with public safety agencies across Europe and the Middle East, we’ve identified four core areas that determine whether a drone program succeeds or stagnates:

1. Organisational Governance and Compliance

Too often, drone operations start without a clear operating structure. We help agencies define roles, responsibilities, escalation paths, and internal controls. This includes drafting or reviewing their Operations Manual, defining their Emergency Response Plan, and setting up incident reporting workflows.

Our software ensures that these procedures aren’t just written, but actually used. Digital checklists, pilot sign-offs, SOP version control, and real-time reporting bring compliance to life.

2. Fleet and Equipment Oversight

Drones, batteries, and payloads must be treated as airworthy assets. We help teams implement maintenance programs, configure flight hour and cycle-based alerts, and create digital maintenance logs that are audit-ready.

The AirHub platform automates much of this. It tracks usage across your fleet, alerts you to required inspections or firmware updates, and logs every change made—ensuring full traceability.

3. Crew Management and Training

Whether you're operating VLOS patrols or BVLOS first-responder missions, personnel must be trained, qualified, and current. We support agencies in building structured training programs—including initial, type-specific, and recurrent training—and in aligning these with national certification schemes or SORA OSO requirements.

In the platform, each pilot has a personal profile linked to certifications, expiries, and aircraft types. You always know who’s qualified to fly what—and when retraining is due.

4. Mission Planning and Airspace Coordination

Planning drone operations in urban or controlled airspace requires a clear understanding of flight geography, contingency volumes, ground risk buffers, and airspace constraints. We help teams implement planning procedures that are compliant with SORA, national requirements, and future U-space integration.

Our Drone Operations Center (DOC) allows planners to visualise missions in real-world context—overlaying CTRs, NOTAMs, No-Fly Zones, and even population density maps. You can draw your flight volume, input risk buffers, and export visual materials for internal review or regulatory submission.

Moving from Reactive to Proactive

As agencies scale their use of drones, many begin to experience internal friction. Data silos emerge. SOPs are inconsistently followed. Equipment is underutilised or overworked. Training gaps appear. Regulatory renewals become stressful.

The transition to proactive, structured drone operations requires both the right tools and the right guidance.

That’s why we offer end-to-end support:

• Strategic consultancy to design the operational, legal, and technical foundation

• SORA support for authorisations and cross-border operations

• Platform deployment—on-premise, cloud, or hybrid—tailored to security and sovereignty needs

• Ongoing onboarding, training, and operational refinement
  
  

Ready to Scale?

At AirHub, we’re not just building software. We’re building systems that enable safe, scalable drone operations in public safety, security, and critical infrastructure. Whether you’re just getting started or managing a nationwide network, we can help you take the next step—with the structure, tools, and expertise to match.

If you're interested in a platform demo or want to explore how our consultancy can support your program, get in touch. We’d be happy to help.