Richard Williams, Programme Director, future Capability Autonomous systems for BaE Systems told the Insurance Institute of London that the market for AUVs was expected to be in excess of £1.2 billion in 2018 with the unmanned aircrafts attracting growing interest from the world’s civil security agencies and the commercial markets.

The products which have been developed with a military use and have been tested in some of the world’s most demanding war zones are already forming part of the security forces’ thinking both in the UK and internationally to tackle some of the major security issues of the time, he said.

“The world is becoming an ever more dangerous place and the use of technology to provide protection to citizens has been a significant topic,” he said.

The fact that the aircraft are unmanned means that they can be smaller and carry additional technology with the weight of the pilot and the mechanisms needed to control the plane stripped out, he explained.

The average police helicopter can be used for around two hours in the air and will burn a significant amount of fuel in doing so. The new UAV will be able to stay in the air for up to 16 hours at a fraction of the fuel costs.

The same it seems can be said for the new breed of unmanned airships which area already under consideration for use in London for the 2012 Olympics, explained Mr Williams.

Their use is also being considered by the security services in the patrol of the Indian ocean in the war against Piracy and BaE is working with the police services in Essex and Kent on a scheme which may well see UAVs monitoring both major shipping movements in the English Channel and identifying fast boats used for human trafficking into Britain from continental Europe.

“The aviation market has been underway for over 100 year and as such you as insurers have a century of accident and loss data on which to base your underwriting,” he said. “The biggest challenge is that there is not that century of data on unmanned autonomous aircraft. You need to start to consider how you will underwrite and rate a significant new chapter in the future of aviation.”