EIC Drone Day 2025: event and purpose

The European Innovation Council organised EIC Drone Day on 16 September 2025 at Mont des Arts in Brussels. The open event brought together seven EIC-supported companies, several EU agencies and sector bodies, and the public for demonstrations and discussions. Organisers positioned the day as a way to show the breadth of commercial drone applications while reinforcing the need for coordinated regulatory and operational frameworks to support safe market entry.

Who attended and what was shown

Commissioners and senior officials opened the event and stressed the economic and societal potential of drones. European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva, Mayor of Brussels Philippe Close and Belgian Minister of Mobility Jean-Luc Crucke gave opening remarks. Stephane Ouaki, acting Director of EISMEA, acted as master of ceremonies. The exhibition included live demonstrations and a static display that remained on show at the Berlaymont building until 19 September 2025.

Selected exhibitors and why they matter

Skypuzzler

Skypuzzler presented its Integrated Digital Air Traffic Control system, or iDATC. The software offers strategic and tactical Conflict Resolution Services and promises software-to-software communications that do not require additional on-board equipment. The company says its approach enables one pilot to manage multiple drones and resolves conflicts dynamically to clear flight paths. Skypuzzler described EIC events as useful for ecosystem recognition and networking.

AirForestry

AirForestry demonstrated an electric harvesting drone designed for aerial thinning. The firm claims the method avoids heavy diesel machinery, reduces ground damage and emissions, and improves forest carbon sequestration potential. The concept replaces 15 ton ground machines with electrically powered aircraft that detach tree tops and extract stems to nearby roads. The company positions this as both a climate and biodiversity benefit but scaling will depend on operational safety, battery endurance and cost comparisons with mechanised forestry.

PATS

PATS showed a closed greenhouse pest control system that combines fixed camera detectors with small 'PATS-X' bat-like drones. Cameras use AI models to identify pest species, and the drones are steered into flight paths so their propellers kill insects on impact. The company emphasises a pesticide free method and continuous monitoring via dashboards. The approach raises practical and ethical questions over efficacy across insect species, potential non-target impacts, and the acceptability of lethal interception as a commercial pest control method.

Reblade

Reblade presented a repair drone that lands on a horizontally positioned wind turbine blade to perform leading edge erosion repairs. The company argues this avoids rope access and fall risks, shortens repair times and enables higher wind speed operations. Technically this requires precision landing on moving structures, robust adhesion or landing aids and reliable material application systems. Market adoption will depend on certification, operator training and demonstrated reliability under field conditions.

Dronamics and Kawasaki partnership

Dronamics exhibited its Black Swan cargo drone and on 18 September 2025 announced a strategic partnership with Kawasaki Motors to co-develop aero piston engines for the platform. The Black Swan is described as a 350 kg payload drone with a 2,500 km range. Dronamics said Kawasaki will collaborate across engine development, integration, flight testing and validation with an eye to both civil cargo and civil protection missions. Such industrial partnerships can accelerate maturity but do not remove certification, airworthiness and operational approval hurdles.

XSun

XSun displayed its SolarXOne concept and solar autonomous aircraft. The company claims high autonomy, ecological operation and multi-hour endurance enabled by solar power. Solar-electric platforms have clear advantages for long endurance and low noise missions but face trade offs in payload and energy budget. Their usefulness depends on payload efficiency, regulatory permissions for long-duration flights and reliable autonomy stacks.

Wingtra

Wingtra presented its VTOL mapping drones and end-to-end WingtraCLOUD workflow. The company cited broad adoption metrics including more than 300,000 flights and 1,500 organisations using its systems. Wingtra positions its VTOL mapping drones as time saving and cost efficient for surveying, and highlighted EASA compliance and certifications that can enable operations in populated areas under specific mitigations such as parachute add-ons.

SKYRIPER and the presence of dual use systems

A Ukrainian firm, SKYRIPER, exhibited tactical UAVs used operationally in Ukraine. The company described NATO Class I tactical UAVs, kamikaze drones and airborne repeaters with frequencies and endurance claimed in their product sheets. Its presence prompted explicit commentary from the exhibitor about how drones are used in conflict. The inclusion of battle-tested systems at a public civil innovation event exposed the unresolved tension between civilian innovation and military or dual use applications of the same underlying technologies.

Regulatory and policy context emphasised at the event

Speakers and institutional exhibitors used the event to link innovations to the EU Drone Strategy 2.0 and existing work on U-space, airworthiness and EASA rules. Agencies present included the European Defence Agency, DG DEFIS, EASA, CINEA, the SESAR Joint Undertaking, Eurocontrol and Drone Alliance Europe. The presence of police and first responder units illustrated operational interest in drone detection and counter-drone technologies.

Technical building blocks and operational hurdles

Speakers referenced several technology areas as critical for scaling a European drone market including satellite positioning and communications, AI for perception, secure command and control, airworthiness standards, and industrial scale manufacturing. The event reiterated the 2022 Drone Strategy estimate that the sector could create up to 145,000 jobs in the EU if barriers are addressed. That forecast is frequently cited but depends on assumptions about regulatory harmonisation, public acceptance and investment in infrastructure such as U-space and droneports.

Safety, cybersecurity and public acceptance

Event speakers repeatedly emphasised the need for a clear harmonised framework for operations, airworthiness rules and cybersecurity assurances. The Commission strategy work identified voluntary cybersecurity labelling and common airworthiness criteria as priority actions. Those are sensible but voluntary labels alone will not substitute for robust certification regimes and procurement standards that public sector buyers will trust.

Public acceptance also remains fragile. Drones appear in mainstream media in the context of risk, privacy breaches or military uses. EIC organisers framed the day as an opportunity to present positive civilian applications, but the co-existence of a tactical UAV exhibitor underlined the fact that many drone technologies are dual use. That complicates messaging and regulatory oversight.

Funding, partnerships and industrialisation

The EU has invested heavily in drone research and projects over the last decade. EIC support remains visible in the line up of exhibitors and in Dronamics’ public acknowledgement of EU co-funding. The Dronamics-Kawasaki partnership announced on 18 September 2025 provides an example of industrial collaboration that can accelerate engine integration and supply chain confidence. Partnerships with established manufacturers can close technology gaps but do not automatically resolve airworthiness certification, export control or manufacturing scale issues.

Implications and open questions

EIC Drone Day demonstrated a genuinely diverse set of commercial propositions and near market prototypes. The event also made clear that the path from prototype to routine commercial operation requires more than good engineering. The sector needs harmonised regulation across member states, robust cybersecurity and airworthiness pathways, validated detect and avoid and communications infrastructure, and visible commitments on safety and non proliferation of military uses where appropriate.

Key open questions include how quickly U-space will be implemented to support BVLOS at scale, whether common cybersecurity and airworthiness labels will win trust among large buyers, how liability and insurance arrangements will evolve, and how regulators will manage the boundary between civil and defence applications for similar technologies.

Practical details and next steps

Following the outdoor exhibition on 16 September 2025, the drones were on static display at the Berlaymont building of the European Commission until 19 September. The event was framed as a public awareness activity and a satellite event to the Commission’s Research and Innovation Days. Organisers signalled continued engagement between EIC beneficiaries, EU agencies and industry to progress the 19 operational actions laid out by the Drone Strategy 2.0.

For readers tracking the sector, watch for the implementation progress on the Drone Strategy 2.0 actions such as common airworthiness rules, voluntary cybersecurity labelling, innovation roadmaps, and funding for local stakeholder platforms for Innovative Air Mobility.

Takeaways

EIC Drone Day 2025 put a spotlight on the technical diversity and industrial potential of European drone companies supported by EU innovation programmes. The exhibition underscored strong commercial intent and emerging industrial partnerships. At the same time the event highlighted unresolved regulatory, safety, cybersecurity and dual use issues. Delivering on the market potential cited by the EU will require sustained regulatory harmonisation, proven safety cases, trusted certification and public engagement beyond one off exhibitions.