The rapid emergence of the Low-Altitude Economy (LAE) is transforming unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from experimental research platforms into practical carriers of parcels, medical supplies, and sensor data at altitudes below approximately 1000 m. Urban airspace and complex mountain terrain remain among the most demanding operational environments for autonomous UAV control, because flight trajectories must account for dense obstacles, variable meteorological conditions, and strict safety margins during approach and landing. This paper evaluates the readiness of a heuristic UAV control approach, based on an information danger function that relates angle-of-attack and airspeed deviations along the glide path, for delivery-service deployment within the Low-Altitude Economy. The safety model is complemented by an economic model that compares the hourly and life-cycle costs of a UAV complex with those of a medium-class helicopter, based on the amortization of the UAV, the ground control unit, and the retransmission (Scope) network. The results show that the sign of the derivative of the danger function along the landing-time axis can serve as a practical heuristic indicator of approach safety, and that the economic model favours UAV complexes by approximately one order of magnitude in hourly operating cost. Based on both criteria, the paper identifies the advantages and limitations of heuristic UAV control for urban delivery and rescue-oriented logistics within the Low-Altitude Economy framework and defines the conditions under which such control can be regarded as ready for operational deployment.
Science Journal 