Marshall Aerospace Boosts UK Drone Sector with Five Government-backed Assessments

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Marshall Aerospace is strengthening its leadership in the UK’s fast-growing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) sector after securing five separate SAIL Mark assessment projects funded by Innovate UK and the Department for Transport.

Awarded through a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) grant programme, the assessments will help UAS manufacturers progress toward UK operational authorisation. Marshall’s flightworthiness evaluations will span SAIL II (low) and SAIL III (moderate) risk levels, supporting applications from agriculture through to security, and will cover both drones and independent flight termination systems.

Launched by the CAA in March 2025, SAIL Mark is a new independent technical assurance process that enables operators flying in the Specific Category to evidence that their drones are safe and suitable for their planned operation.

Only CAA‑designated Recognised Assessment Entities for Flightworthiness (RAE(F)) are authorised to conduct SAIL Mark assessments. Marshall was one of the first organisations in the UK to secure this designation, achieving RAE(F) status immediately after the launch of the SAIL Mark scheme.

Marshall will provide each applicant and the CAA with an independent flightworthiness report that includes an analysis of compliance with scheme requirements and a SAIL Mark recommendation. The CAA will then determine whether to award a SAIL Mark to the applicant.

Under the grant programme’s framework, UK and international UAS manufacturers have applied to receive fully-funded SAIL Mark assessments of their products. Recipients have now been nominated by a panel of experts from Innovate UK and the CAA, and funding has been awarded, with assessments scheduled to be completed by the end of July 2026.