ParcAberporth is a technology park created on what was Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 (RAF) station Aberporth

Aberporth

Aberporth is a community and small town in Ceredigion on the west coast of Wales. The population was 2,485 in 2001.- Location :The town lies at the southern end of Cardigan Bay about six miles north of Cardigan and ten miles south of New Quay approximately one mile west of the A487, on the...

, near the village of that name in the county of Ceredigion

Ceredigion

Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. The station was one of two local sites that had been used as a site for a missile range that stretched out for some miles into the nearby Cardigan Bay

Cardigan Bay

Cardigan Bay is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales....

. This Danger Area still exists and is known as Danger Area D201. Since the RAF left, the testing facilities at nearby Parcllyn, are operated by QinetiQ

QinetiQ

Qinetiq is a British global defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...

, and the old RAF camp at Blaenannerch (now recreated as ParcAberporth) is owned by the Welsh Assembly Government. Next to ParcAberporth is West Wales Airport and is owned by businessman Ray Mann, who operates West Wales Airport.

ParcAberporth was created by the Welsh Development Agency

Welsh Development Agency

The Welsh Development Agency was a QUANGO and later an Assembly Sponsored Public Body established in 1976 to encourage business development and investment in Wales, to clear derelict land and to encourage growth of local businesses...

, (which in 2006, merged in to the Welsh Assembly Government

National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...

) to utilise the facilities and skills in the area. It has been focused as an operational test and evaluation centre for Unmanned aerial vehicle

Unmanned aerial vehicle

An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...

s (UAVs). One of the main difficulties in getting a wider acceptance of UAVs in civilian and commercial use has been integrating unmanned flights with existing aviation. Work at ParcAberporth and West Wales Airport has been possible as a 6 nautical miles (11.1 km) radius around the airfield has been designated Restricted airspace

Restricted airspace

Restricted airspace is an area of airspace in which the local controlling authorities have determined that air traffic must be restricted for safety or security concerns...

- Temporary (RA(T)) up to 5000 feet (1,524 m) allowing UAVs to operate without special dispensation.

Since 2004, ParcAberporth is the site for an annual event of exhibition and conference devoted to the UAV industry.