Drones Beyond.
2025
Towards the adoption of
Innovative Aerial Services
BARI
November 12-13-14, 2025
WHAT IS DRONES BEYOND
Drones Beyond is an initiative of the Distretto Tecnologico Aerospaziale (DTA), conceived as a reference point for European and national institutions and for the industry shaping the future of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Innovative Air Services (IAS).
The Drones Beyond initiative represents an international forum for discussion. Representatives of European and national institutions share their vision on development trajectories while engaging with the needs of the industrial sector.
Built on solid foundations and concrete results, Drones Beyond stands out for its pragmatic and action-oriented approach. Alongside the achievements of European projects, the initiative also presents the R&D programmes launched by DTA in the Puglia region, which have already proven to be effective and scalable.
Keynotes, round tables and live UAS/IAS demonstrations are designed to show how objectives, strategies and models align with the operational realities and technological challenges of the drone sector.
Drones Beyond also highlights the Grottaglie Airport Test Bed (GATB) — a UAS research and flight-testing infrastructure designed, implemented, operated and managed by DTA in collaboration with the University of Bari, the University of Salento and the Polytechnic University of Bari. Through this platform, DTA and its partners present concrete results, solutions and lessons learned that directly contribute to the advancement of the UAS sector.
In addition to its industrial and institutional mission, Drones Beyond also has a strong educational and outreach dimension. Since aerospace is a strategic pillar of Puglia’s Smart Specialisation Strategy, the event includes initiatives aimed at secondary school students, offering them direct experience with drone technologies and the sector’s growth pathways. This commitment to STEM education supports the development of a future-ready workforce capable of fostering regional innovation.
Drones Beyond is the key event through which DTA presents Puglia’s results, ambitions and future projects to Italy and Europe.
Organizzato da
As part of Drones Beyond 2026, DTA intends to focus attention on the conditions required to launch strategic and concrete initiatives aimed at implementing sustainable IAS. These include the early involvement of local public stakeholders, in order to define the social value of services; the participation of research organisations, to establish an appropriate innovation framework; the involvement of companies, called upon to develop sustainable solutions and business models; and the use of trials and pilot projects to mature technologies and solutions, consolidate operations and support regulatory evolution.
Through collaborative initiatives with several regional public bodies — including the Municipality of Bari, the Port System Authority of the Ionian Sea – Port of Taranto, the Local Health Authority of Lecce and the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection — and by leveraging the Grottaglie Airport Test Bed, an infrastructure dedicated to UAS research and experimentation, DTA is creating the conditions for the implementation of concrete IAS projects.
Several preliminary solutions are currently being prepared in the fields of medical transport, environmental risk prevention, infrastructure safety and security, and innovative mobility for smart cities.
To address the factors limiting the implementation of drone-based services, the development of solutions must proceed through the testing of technologies and procedures, as well as through the validation of business operations.
UAS flight test centres, such as the Grottaglie Airport Test Bed managed by DTA, accelerate the consolidation of solutions by providing testing services, a flexible system architecture, support services for the design, configuration and authorisation of UAS operations, test management procedures, dedicated instrumentation and data collection by third parties.
Within this framework, the Grottaglie Airport Test Bed represents a hub of knowledge and expertise capable of enabling the design, development, implementation, experimentation and testing of solutions, strengthening value creation capacity and preparing the commercial deployment of IAS solutions.
Large-scale IAS implementation projects also represent a significant business opportunity for startups and innovative SMEs, which can develop and introduce new products and services.
For this process to be sustainable and rooted in local ecosystems, public policies, incubation services and product development support services are required. DTA provides these services through the management of an ESA Business Incubation Centre and its participation in Innovation Hubs.
Drones Beyond 2026 offers a programme structured around a conference, live demonstrations, an exhibition area and educational activities. The conference, organised through keynote speeches and round tables, will start from European strategies and policies to explore the main technological, operational and regulatory challenges facing the UAS sector and Innovative Air Services. Experiences, best practices and results will be shared to support the transition from experimentation to the implementation of commercially sustainable services, while also creating opportunities for discussion and networking.
The programme will include live demonstrations in the Bari Urban Drone Range, an urban infrastructure designed by DTA together with the Municipality of Bari to test innovative air services in a real operational environment. The demonstration activities will involve cooperative drone traffic, experimental U-space services, new urban applications and a digital twin of the city, used to support the digitalisation of operations and urban planning. The demonstrations will make it possible to analyse the maturity of UAS technologies, UTM and U-space systems, SAIL II, III and IV operations, as well as business models and their sustainability.
The event will also host a high-tech square, where companies will present UAS platforms, traffic management systems, navigation and communication devices, and solutions based on artificial intelligence, fostering industrial collaborations and market opportunities. A specific section will be dedicated to the training of students from Puglia, with seminars on FPV drones and a drone racing competition, in order to increase knowledge of the sector and guide future educational choices.
Drones Beyond 2026 will address public decision-makers, executives and innovation managers, technicians and engineers, service providers, entrepreneurs, public operators, government agencies and researchers interested in drone applications in the fields of mobility, logistics, environmental protection, safety and security, agriculture, infrastructure monitoring and emergency management.
Drones Beyond is an initiative of the Distretto Tecnologico Aerospaziale (DTA), conceived as a reference point for European and national institutions and for the industry shaping the future of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Innovative Air Services (IAS).
The Drones Beyond initiative represents an international forum for discussion. Representatives of European and national institutions share their vision on development trajectories while engaging with the needs of the industrial sector.
Built on solid foundations and concrete results, Drones Beyond stands out for its pragmatic and action-oriented approach. Alongside the achievements of European projects, the initiative also presents the R&D programmes launched by DTA in the Puglia region, which have already proven to be effective and scalable.
Keynotes, round tables and live UAS/IAS demonstrations are designed to show how objectives, strategies and models align with the operational realities and technological challenges of the drone sector.
Drones Beyond also highlights the Grottaglie Airport Test Bed (GATB) — a UAS research and flight-testing infrastructure designed, implemented, operated and managed by DTA in collaboration with the University of Bari, the University of Salento and the Polytechnic University of Bari. Through this platform, DTA and its partners present concrete results, solutions and lessons learned that directly contribute to the advancement of the UAS sector.
In addition to its industrial and institutional mission, Drones Beyond also has a strong educational and outreach dimension. Since aerospace is a strategic pillar of Puglia’s Smart Specialisation Strategy, the event includes initiatives aimed at secondary school students, offering them direct experience with drone technologies and the sector’s growth pathways. This commitment to STEM education supports the development of a future-ready workforce capable of fostering regional innovation.
Drones Beyond is the key event through which DTA presents Puglia’s results, ambitions and future projects to Italy and Europe.
Organizzato da
Organizzato da
As part of Drones Beyond 2026, DTA intends to focus attention on the conditions required to launch strategic and concrete initiatives aimed at implementing sustainable IAS. These include the early involvement of local public stakeholders, in order to define the social value of services; the participation of research organisations, to establish an appropriate innovation framework; the involvement of companies, called upon to develop sustainable solutions and business models; and the use of trials and pilot projects to mature technologies and solutions, consolidate operations and support regulatory evolution.
Through collaborative initiatives with several regional public bodies — including the Municipality of Bari, the Port System Authority of the Ionian Sea – Port of Taranto, the Local Health Authority of Lecce and the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection — and by leveraging the Grottaglie Airport Test Bed, an infrastructure dedicated to UAS research and experimentation, DTA is creating the conditions for the implementation of concrete IAS projects.
Several preliminary solutions are currently being prepared in the fields of medical transport, environmental risk prevention, infrastructure safety and security, and innovative mobility for smart cities.
To address the factors limiting the implementation of drone-based services, the development of solutions must proceed through the testing of technologies and procedures, as well as through the validation of business operations.
UAS flight test centres, such as the Grottaglie Airport Test Bed managed by DTA, accelerate the consolidation of solutions by providing testing services, a flexible system architecture, support services for the design, configuration and authorisation of UAS operations, test management procedures, dedicated instrumentation and data collection by third parties.
Within this framework, the Grottaglie Airport Test Bed represents a hub of knowledge and expertise capable of enabling the design, development, implementation, experimentation and testing of solutions, strengthening value creation capacity and preparing the commercial deployment of IAS solutions.
Large-scale IAS implementation projects also represent a significant business opportunity for startups and innovative SMEs, which can develop and introduce new products and services.
For this process to be sustainable and rooted in local ecosystems, public policies, incubation services and product development support services are required. DTA provides these services through the management of an ESA Business Incubation Centre and its participation in Innovation Hubs.
Drones Beyond 2026 offers a programme structured around a conference, live demonstrations, an exhibition area and educational activities. The conference, organised through keynote speeches and round tables, will start from European strategies and policies to explore the main technological, operational and regulatory challenges facing the UAS sector and Innovative Air Services. Experiences, best practices and results will be shared to support the transition from experimentation to the implementation of commercially sustainable services, while also creating opportunities for discussion and networking.
The programme will include live demonstrations in the Bari Urban Drone Range, an urban infrastructure designed by DTA together with the Municipality of Bari to test innovative air services in a real operational environment. The demonstration activities will involve cooperative drone traffic, experimental U-space services, new urban applications and a digital twin of the city, used to support the digitalisation of operations and urban planning. The demonstrations will make it possible to analyse the maturity of UAS technologies, UTM and U-space systems, SAIL II, III and IV operations, as well as business models and their sustainability.
The event will also host a high-tech square, where companies will present UAS platforms, traffic management systems, navigation and communication devices, and solutions based on artificial intelligence, fostering industrial collaborations and market opportunities. A specific section will be dedicated to the training of students from Puglia, with seminars on FPV drones and a drone racing competition, in order to increase knowledge of the sector and guide future educational choices.
Drones Beyond 2026 will address public decision-makers, executives and innovation managers, technicians and engineers, service providers, entrepreneurs, public operators, government agencies and researchers interested in drone applications in the fields of mobility, logistics, environmental protection, safety and security, agriculture, infrastructure monitoring and emergency management.
Drones Beyond 2025 – Towards the Adoption of Innovative Air Services – 12, 13, 14 November 2025
Drones Beyond 2025 focused on the industrialisation of Innovative Air Services and the role of end users in defining concrete applications. The event explored the transition of IAS from experimentation to full operation and market maturity, highlighting the contribution of UAS test centres, such as the Grottaglie Airport Test Bed, to the development and validation of solutions. Through keynote speeches, round tables, open discussions and live demonstrations, European and Puglian experiences in the UAS, IAS and U-space sectors were presented, with applications related to mobility, public services, environmental protection, safety and security, and multi-UAS traffic management.
