News

The next is being taken in a bid to establish Scotland’s first commercial drone port in Montrose.

It is nearly five years since shore-to-ship drone trials were launched from the town.

Medical flights between Stracathro Hospital near Brechin and Ninewells in Dundee followed soon after.

Each aimed to demonstrate Montrose’s potential as a pioneering base for drone technologies under the Angus Mercury Programme.

It is a billion-pound partnership programme driven by the Tay Cities Deal (TCD).

A key element is the Zero Four business park at the north of Montrose where the drone port would be created.

But it has emerged the full realisation of the project could still be a decade away.

The latest development has come with publication of a contract notice to test the market for a project concessionaire.

The next step is to establish a temporary reserved area for beyond visible line of sight (BVLOS) flights from Montrose to the North Sea.

The contract notice states: “The future concessionaire will the design specification for ground and air infrastructure and supply all air-related equipment and operate the drone port.

“Angus Council will fund and deliver ground infrastructure, with approximately £400,000 allocated.”

But it has been revealed the Angus ambition could take a decade to fully materialise.

The contract notice sets out three operational phases.

Firstly, a one-t0-two-year temporary reserved area demonstration.

Secondly, industrialisation via mandatory zones or similar, taking three to five years.

And finally, full integration at scale, with a 10-year timescale.

In 2021, Montrose Port staged the first UK trials of shore-to-ship drone flights.

A year later, a two-month medical deliveries test programme was launched.

It saw flights from Stracathro Hospital to a landing pad close to Ninewells.

The drones – capable of 60mph – flew within a 1,300-foot-wide corridor at up to 400 feet.

Since then work has been continuing behind the scenes on the drone project.

The business justification case is already approved by the TCD joint committee.

In a separate project in 2024, experts showed off 5G drone technology which could revolutionise search and rescue in remote areas.

A demonstration in Glen Esk showed how a self-deploying network could be established.

It would boost communication for rescuers and feed back video or infrared footage, reducing the time it can take to locate a casualty.

This article appeared in The Courier on 12 January 2026