Overview

• The province, Defence and Infrastructure ministries signed the collaboration agreement at Valkenburg’s Unmanned Valley.
• The designated zone lies above the North Sea between Katwijk and the Port of Rotterdam, with launches and recoveries based at Unmanned Valley.
• Zuid-Holland has initiated the formal airspace-change process with MovingDot, AirHub, To70 and NLR to create a segregated test corridor.
• Initial BVLOS test flights are projected for the end of 2026, contingent on new procedures that keep other traffic out of the area.
• Defence state secretary Gijs Tuinman framed the site as key to advancing drone and anti-drone capabilities, citing lessons from Ukraine and civil uses such as wind farm inspections and ship-to-ship logistics.