Leading economist JP Fabri urged Malta to tap into the emerging low-altitude economy and become a “Beta Island” for drone technologies.
In a speech at Malta Aviation Outlook’s Business Breakfast, Mr Fabri said that the country’s small size gives it a strategic advantage when it comes to developing a coherent national system.
He said drones are already reshaping the rules of warfare, as evidenced by the wars in Ukraine and Iran, and that it’s only a matter of time before the same technologies seep into civilian infrastructure.
“History teaches us that technologies that emerge or accelerate in times of war inevitably find their way into civilian and economic applications,” he added.
“What begins as a tool of defence becomes a driver of productivity, efficiency and growth.”
He referred to a study by Morgan Stanley, which estimated that the global urban air mobility, transportation and logistics market is set to reach US$1 trillion by 2040 and surge to US$9 trillion by 2050.
“The real question is not whether this transformation will happen. The real question is where it will be implemented first, at scale, and with real economic impact,” he said.
“Because while technology is advancing rapidly, implementation is lagging behind.”
Mr Fabri said Malta can step in to regulate the space, with its small size allowing quick alignment between policymakers, regulators, industry, and infrastructure.
Indeed, he pointed out that it already created some of the world’s leading ship registries and replicated this model in aviation.
Besides registration, he said that Malta can offer a strong financial and insurance ecosystem and eventually become a centre for the testing, certification and validation of drone technologies.
Mr Fabri added that Gozo’s small size makes it a particularly ideal environment for testing advanced applications.
And he made it clear that these systems should ultimately be integrated into the fabric of the Maltese economy, to be utilised for the transportation of goods, infrastructure and construction monitoring, and environment and traffic management.
“Malta has done this before,” he said. “We have built sectors by identifying opportunities early and acting decisively. We have leveraged our size as an advantage. We have created ecosystems where regulation, industry, and innovation work together.”
“The low-altitude economy presents a similar moment. A moment where technology, economics, and strategy converge. A moment where early movers can define not just their own trajectory, but the shape of the global system.”
“Malta has the capability to be one of those movers. Not because we are the largest, but because we are among the few who can integrate, who can test, who can adapt, and who can act with speed and clarity by unlocking airspace, not just as a technological frontier, but as a fully integrated economic system.”
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