Fit for Flight - How competencies, technical, and organisational support can prepare remote pilots for safe drone operations and their perception of drone swarms

The rapid growth of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) brings new opportunities, but also safety risks, especially as operations move into uncontrolled airspace and involve autonomous swarms. Although UAS operate without a pilot on board, accident statistics indicate that their accident rates are higher than those of manned aviation. Research shows that UAS-related accidents are most often caused by human factors, such as poor situational awareness and flawed decision-making by the remote pilot. The rise of UAS swarms also introduces concerns about coordination and trust in automation. Despite these issues, there is limited research on Swedish civilian remote pilots’ views of their skills, the organisational and technological support available to them, and their perceptions of using swarms in their future work activities. This case study explores three main questions: (1) the key competencies and cognitive skills UAS remote pilots use for safe operations, (2) how technology and organisational supportfacilitate safe UAS activities, and (3) remote pilots’ perceptions on the opportunities and challenges of UAS swarms. Through semi-structured interviews with 12 Swedish civilian UAS remote pilots from various sectors, such as rescue services, police, and education, this study employed thematic analysis to identify key themes within the data. The Human-TechnologyOrganisation (HTO) framework, together with knowledge from the fields of Human Factors (HF) and Executive Functions (EFs), was used to analyse the results. The findings revealed nine key themes across the three research questions. The remote pilots highlighted that situational awareness, attention regulation, and cognitive flexibility were the main competencies used for safe operations. Organisational support and technological tools support safety by promoting a strong safety culture, facilitating regulatory compliance, and offering user-friendly interfaces and automated safety features.Regarding UAS swarms, remote pilots recognize efficiency gains in specific tasks yet harbourconcerns regarding increased automation, coordination challenges, and public acceptance issues. For successful implementation, increasing autonomy, providing more training, and fostering public trust are crucial to ensuring acceptance from both remote UAS pilots and the general public. The study emphasizes that the safe operation of UASs depends on aligning human cognitive needs, technological support, and organisational culture. The results may provide guidance for training, safety measures, and regulation, highlighting the importance of trust, transparency, and adaptability as UAS technology evolves. Future research might examine standardized Levels of Automation (LOA), simulated swarm scenarios, and methods to increase trust among the public and operators in autonomous UAS swarms.