Unmanned Aircraft Training Organisations, or UATOs in short, have been mushrooming since the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) mandated that those operating drones for commercial purposes or those with drones above 7kg obtain Unmanned Aircraft Pilot Licenses (UAPL) in order to fly their equipment.
Most UATOs started out as Unmanned Aircraft Operators and offer various services using drone technologies – from aerial inspection to photo/videography to surveillance. As of November 2021, there are 11 drone academies that have been endorsed by CAAS as UATOs.
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Types of Drone Training Offered
Depending on your prior experiences as well as availability, you may choose between full courses that prepare learners for both theory and practical assessments required for the UAPL, or choose to attend theory and practical components separately.
Garuda Robotics Pte Ltd
Garuda Robotics is a robotics company that builds drone systems and uses them to capture data and generate actionable insights for its customers. Garuda Robotics first launched its drone flying school, Garuda Robotics Academy in July 2017 with training courses to help its students obtain the CAAS UA Operator Permit.
Courses offered: UAPL up to 7kg: Full course, UAPL up to 25kg: Full course, UAPL up to 25kg – Removal of Weight Limitation: Training and Assessment only, Theory only
MIRS Innovate Pte Ltd
MIRS Innovate offers a wide range of services using drone technologies. Besides providing drone training, MIRS Innovate is also a DJI Enterprise Dealer, providing drone application and repair services in the process. The academy offers time-strapped learners more flexibility as learners can choose between courses conducted on weekdays or the weekends, accelerated or normal learning.
Courses offered: UAPL up to 7kg: Full course (Weekend, Weekday), UAPL up to 25kg: Full course (9-day Beginner course, 5-day Accelerated course), UAPL up to 7kg: Training and Assessment only (Weekend, Weekday), UAPL up to 25kg: Training and Assessment only (Beginner course, Removal of Weight Limitation), Theory only
Avetics Global Pte Ltd
Similar to MIRS Innovate, Avetics is also an authorised DJI dealer. In addition, it is an authorised dealer for the underwater drone Chasing M2 ROV and is currently the only drone solutions provider to specialise in underwater drone inspection. Avetics Global started providing drone training courses in 2017 and have pilots with over 500 hours of combined flight experience as part of the team.
Courses offered: UAPL up to 7kg: Full course, UAPL up to 25kg: Full course, UAPL up to 7kg: Training and Assessment only, UAPL up to 25kg: Training and Assessment only, Theory only
Apollo Global Academy Pte Ltd
Apollo Drones Academy provides full-service professional drone education and flying practice programmes. The academy launched the Unmanned Aircraft Basic Training (UABT) portal in June 2020 – as the first and only appointed UA Basic Training Organisation (UABTO) in Singapore appointed by the CAAS to deliver UA Basic Training.
Courses offered: UAPL up to 7kg: Full Course, UAPL up to 25kg: Full course, UAPL up to 7kg: Training and Assessment only, UAPL up to 25kg: Training and Assessment only, Theory only
Institute of Technical Education (ITE)
To make drone flying more mainstream and accessible to the public, the Institute of Technical Education started offering certification programmes in March 2021 and was the first to do so. The ITE’s training facilities feature an indoor drone simulator with a 180-degree curved projection screen and a fully netted outdoor drone flying area.
Courses offered: UAPL up to 7kg: Training and Assessment only, UAPL up to 25kg: Training and Assessment only
CWT Aerospace Services Pte Ltd
CWT Aerospace Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of CWT Pte. Limited, a provider of integrated logistics services in the region. Established in 2014, CWT Aerospace Services has been providing products and services in the Defence and Security industry.
Courses offered: UAPL up to 7kg: Full Course, UAPL up to 25kg: Full course, UAPL up to 7kg: Training and Assessment only, UAPL up to 25kg: Training and Assessment only (Regular, Removal of 7kg weight limitation), Theory only
Others:
Air Beacon Pte Ltd
Air Beacon is the only UATO on the list that offers Class A Aeroplane and Class A Rotorcraft (All), on top of the Class A Rotorcraft (Multi-rotor only) license that all other UATOs are offering. The training provider claims to have instructors with more than 30 years of flying experience.
Courses offered: UAPL (Multi-rotor) up to 7kg: Full course (Normal and Express), UAPL (Multi-rotor) up to 25kg: Full course, UAPL (All rotorcraft) up to 25kg, UAPL (Aeroplane) up to 7kg: Full course (Normal, Express), UAPL (Aeroplane) up to 25kg: Full course, Theory only (F2F, Virtual)
Singapore Polytechnic
Similar to ITE and Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic is another tertiary institution on the list to offer drone flying courses and has been authorised by CAAS to train and assess drone pilots in training. Like all other tertiary institutions, learners are to register for theory and practical training courses separately.
Courses offered: UAPL up to 7kg: Training and Assessment only, UAPL up to 25kg: Training and Assessment only, Theory only
Singapore Flying College
A familiar name in the aviation industry, the Singapore Flying College is the de facto training school for cadet pilots with Singapore Airlines, Scoot and Singapore Airlines Cargo. The college now offers drone training courses too!
Courses offered: UAPL up to 7kg: Full Course, UAPL up to 25kg: Full course
Republic Polytechnic
RP first began offering basic two-day training courses to professionals from both the public and private sectors in March 2015. The RP Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Training Centre was launched in January 2017 by Republic Polytechnic – the first dedicated drone training facility among Singapore’s institutes of higher learning. Courses are taught by instructors from the School of Infocomm (SOI), School of Engineering (SEG) and School of Technology for the Arts (STA).
Courses offered: UAPL up to 7kg: Training and Assessment only, UAPL up to 25kg: Training and Assessment only, Theory only
Drone Element Pte Ltd
Besides unmanned aircraft training and assessments, Drone Element provides aerial imagery/videography and aerial inspection services. The organisation’s Head of Training, Mr Benjamin Goh is also a CASA (Australia) certified Remote Pilot.
Courses offered: UAPL up to 7kg: Full Course, UAPL up to 25kg: Full course, Theory only
Others: UAPL (Helicopter) up to 25kg: Full course
There you have it – a list of all UATOs in Singapore. If you intend to get your hands on an Unmanned Aircraft Pilot License offered by any of these institutions, check out our course comparison guide here where we compare prices, course duration, subsidies and more!