Photo credit: West Wales Airport
Check out the Best Deals on Amazon for DJI Drones today!
Europe’s AI driven drone heavyweight, TEKEVER, has officially switched on the lights at its new UAS Training School in West Wales, turning a quiet corner of the Welsh coast into what looks increasingly like a nerve center for serious unmanned aviation, as SUAS News reports.
The facility has been fully operational since January 2026 and forms a core pillar of the company’s UK OVERMATCH investment program. This is not a symbolic ribbon cutting. The school welcomed its first internal and external cohorts in the second week of January and is already running at full stride.
Photo credit: West Wales Airport
For a company that builds operational systems used in real world missions, training is not an afterthought. It is the scaffolding that keeps performance from collapsing when pressure rises.
Built for Real Missions, Not Classroom Theory
The new Training School blends briefing rooms, simulators, hands on technical labs, and ground based TEKEVER aircraft and components. The goal is straightforward. Recreate the friction, tempo, and complexity crews will face in the field.
Students train with experienced instructors who carry operational insight, not just academic knowledge. That distinction matters. UAS operations in contested or complex airspace leave no room for guesswork.
Photo credit: Tekever
Over the course of 2026, TEKEVER expects to train more than 120 students. To support that demand, the company has formally established a permanent training team embedded within the school. This signals long term intent rather than a short term pilot program.
The location is not accidental. West Wales Airport has an established environment for unmanned aircraft operations, including segregated airspace that allows for safe testing and evaluation.
Photo credit: West Wales Airport
That includes both line of sight missions and beyond visual line of sight operations, which remain one of the most strategically important capabilities in the drone world.
Instead of flying in borrowed airspace, TEKEVER now controls the ecosystem.
A Strategic Move Under the UK OVERMATCH Banner
This Training School is underpinned by TEKEVER’s acquisition of West Wales Airport itself. That move transforms the site into a long term UK hub for training, testing, and evaluation.
Owning the airport changes the equation. It provides scheduling flexibility, infrastructure control, and the ability to scale without negotiating for airspace slots. In a regulatory environment where BVLOS access is tightly managed, that is a competitive advantage.
Photo credit: West Wales Airport
Stewart Pearce, Head of Regulations and Training at TEKEVER, framed it clearly. The school creates a consistent and repeatable way to transfer hard won operational expertise while raising standards across teams. It also allows the company to fully exploit the unique environment available in West Wales.
This fits neatly into TEKEVER’s broader positioning as Europe’s leading provider of AI centred uncrewed aerial systems. The company has increasingly emphasized integrated capabilities, pairing aircraft, autonomy, analytics, and now structured human capital development under one roof.
In the current geopolitical climate, sovereign capability is more than a buzzword. Governments and defense agencies want reliable supply chains, domestic training pipelines, and mission ready operators. A dedicated school strengthens that pitch.
DroneXL’s Take
Training infrastructure is often the quiet backbone of serious drone programs. Hardware headlines grab attention. Airframes sparkle. Autonomy dazzles. But without disciplined, standardized operator training, even the best system can stumble.
By acquiring West Wales Airport and embedding a permanent training organization there, TEKEVER is playing a longer game. Control the airspace. Control the training. Control the operational quality.
Photo credit: West Wales Airport
If TEKEVER scales this effectively beyond the projected 120 students in 2026, West Wales could evolve into a European benchmark site for UAS training and evaluation. In a market where AI autonomy is advancing rapidly, the companies that pair smart machines with rigorously trained humans will have the edge.
The runway in West Wales is no longer just a strip of asphalt. It is becoming a launchpad for institutional capability.
Photo credit: West Wales Airport, TEKEVER.