pianyyd
Don't be taken in by the QinetiQ spin, open it may but as it does not have the protection of an ATZ with ATC (not AFIS), or has either a RA (T), TDA or a Danger Area surrounding it, the only testing is going to be with UAVs the size of model aeroplanes, typically 20 KG or less - they are not going to need a 7500 FT runway!
Rumour has it that many hundreds of thousands (may be a million+ ) of Welsh taxpayers money have ended up re-surfacing the runway and making other changes/for what? After large hand-outs to build Parc Aberporth, which sits mostly idle, what is WAG playing at? Parc Aberporth is/was the centre of excellence for flying UAVs, which they appear to be doing, albeit with only the MOD Watchkeeper project, why does Wales need another UAV centre when Parc Aberporth is clearly under utilised? I would love to see the business case for this latest hand-out!
If I was resident I'd be knocking on my AM's door to ask why all this money for something that appears pie (unmanned of course) in the sky when the Welsh NHS is in crisis? A good Welsh friend of mine was recently diagnosed with early signs of prostrate cancer and was essentially told by Wales NHS to go home and that he might live longer than expected. He's now paying for private healthcare, any chance that WAG will give him some cash to pay for it?