Collaborative U-space-ATM interface

Topic description

Specific Challenge:

The demand for drone services is steadily increasing, with the potential to generate significant economic growth and societal benefits, as recognised in the 2015 EU Aviation Strategy, and in the 2016 SESAR Drones Outlook Study and Warsaw Declaration on drones. In order to realise this potential, the Declaration calls for “urgent action on the airspace dimension, in particular the development of the concept of U-space”. Ultimately, U-space will enable complex drone operations with a high degree of automation to take place in all types of operational environments, including urban areas. U-space must be flexible enough to encourage innovation, support the development of new businesses and facilitate the overall growth of the European drone services market while properly addressing, at EU level, safety and security issues, respecting the privacy of citizens, and minimising the environmental impact.

The introduction of new aerial vehicles within the airspace requires to further ensure a full collaborative approach between all actors with the objective to ensure efficient interface between U-space and ATM, and to avoid airspace fragmentation.

U-space – ATM SWIM Interface validates the exchange of UTM information through harmonised SWIM information services between various UTM stakeholders such as drone operators, UTM service providers, ATM service providers, data service providers, aeronautical data providers and authorities.

Collaborative ATM U-space Environment Concept Development develops the U-space-ATM collaborative concept and covers operations inside and outside controlled airspace, further defining the interface between ATM and U-space, as well as examining the corresponding information-exchange concept and requirements.

Demand for use of very high-level airspace has increased in the last years and this trend is expected to gain momentum in the coming years. ICAO has provisionally adopted the term ‘higher airspace’ to refer to that volume of airspace between airspace where ATM provides services (typical upper level of FL600) and the boundary between airspace and space (approximately 100 km). AU operating in this airspace are sometimes referred to as ‘New Entrants’, and have many different operating characteristics, such as unmanned HALE vehicles providing internet coverage or surveillance over large areas and Unmanned Free Balloons (UFB), as well as manned sub-orbital flights for leisure or scientific purposes (e.g. experiments, films or tourism at zero gravity) and supersonic or hyper-sonic passenger aircraft.

The delivered solutions are expected to have a positive impact on access and equity enabling U-space operations and high-density operations with multiple automated drones under the supervision of fleet operators.