Drones

Our Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) business in Italy was founded in 2017, following an in-depth analysis of the emerging sector of 'aerial work' involving remotely piloted aircraft systems, or drones.

Our UAS business unit was involved in a BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) experimental campaign from 2017 to 2021, coordinated by ENAC and other aviation bodies in Italy. The success of this campaign strengthened our relationships with institutional stakeholders, leading to ongoing consultancy contracts and service agreements.

Since 2021, we have been supporting SNAM, which manages a network of 38,000 kilometres of gas pipelines in Italy and Europe. We provide them with operations and fleet management, as well as initial and ongoing training for SNAM personnel involved in UAS operations.

Monitoring and inspecting sensitive infrastructure with drones is an efficient way for SNAM to ensure the safety of its gas pipelines, significantly reducing the risk exposure of its employees during inspections.

To provide this service, we coordinate the activities of approximately 80 pilots, 100 drones (owned by SNAM) and more than 48 operating centres. In 2026, we plan to train an additional 30-40 pilots in accordance with strict EU regulatory standards.

In Denmark, where we provide offshore services to windfarm clients such as RWE, Vattenfall and Ørsted, we are the first operator to commence an operational trial using drone and UAV technology. Our trial drone has a utility lift capacity of up to 100kgs to assist with short-range maintenance tasks, and will support the helicopter service by carrying tools and other supplies from a vessel to the wind turbine after the personnel have been hoisted to the platform. This delivers operational and cost efficiencies as it reduces the amount of flying time required by the helicopter. In future, we intend to develop a utility lifting capacity of up to 500kgs across longer range operations.