Successful applicants

This project continues from Skyverse’s previous AMS Support Fund project (Light GA digitisation of flight data). It will demonstrate three further capabilities in relation to the enhanced use of flight intent data. These are ‘Route Validation Capture’, ‘Route Validation Sharing’ and ‘Flight Intent Actioning’. The project is designed to test new technologies that could fundamentally change the way the UK builds a low cost, digital picture of visual flight rules (VFR) and flight intentions without either impacting a pilot's right to roam nor mandating any new requirements of them.

This project is now complete. To view the final reports, email airspace.modernisation@caa.co.uk.

This project will further develop, deploy and gain test data on a transformational new airspace technology: PDAR (Passive Detection and Radar). This carries benefits such as reduction of CO2 emissions, increased efficiency in traffic routing and greater airport capacity.

The objective of the proposed project “Dragon’s Eye” is to perform end-to-end experimental flight testing of lower airspace Flight Information Service (FIS) procedures and surveillance technology options in the context of the illustrative use cases defined in the AMS for routine beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) and General Aviation (GA) flight in Class G airspace.

This project focused on enhancing extended arrival management techniques to achieve two sets of benefits targeted in the AMS:

• To further reduce the level of stack holding at the main UK capacity-constrained airports
• To stream arriving aircraft prior to the top of descent

Stansted Airport was used as the test case for this project.

To view the final benefits analysis report, please email airspace.modernisation@caa.co.uk

This multi-phase project will build on the existing Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Sandbox trial. It will introduce methodologies to fully exploit the testing potential of a 60km construction corridor. The project will use Temporary Reserved Airspace (TRA) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) carrying Electronic Conspicuity (EC) devices to facilitate risk quantification. The final goal of the project will be to see UAVs operated along the corridor BVLOS in fully integrated airspace.

This project developed the Concept of Operations (ConOps) and requirement set for an Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled tool capable of identifying, classifying, and managing suitable volumes of airspace to accommodate Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations.

This project is now complete. To view the business case and project plan, please email airspace.modernisation@caa.co.uk.

This project will resolve the ‘Reduced Night Noise’ (RNN) trial issues, and thereby develop guidance on PBN arrivals implementation to Future Airspace Strategy Implementation (FASI) airports, so that they can deliver the expected noise benefits. This activity will focus on simulations (not a trial) because this offers more flexibility. To complement the simulations, modelling will be undertaken to confirm the noise benefits of these procedures (as this is not measured in the simulations) and this will also confirm the carbon benefits of the procedures.

The RDD Research Project was conducted in 2023 with support from the AMS Support Fund to produce a UK Minimum Standard for the angle of divergence required between Performance-based Navigation (PBN) departure routes to achieve a given interval (or split time) between successive aircraft taking off from the same runway end. This project will use a third-party organisation to validate the research. 

The final report is available online: Reduced Divergence Departures Project Summary and Recommendations

The scope of the ECITP Stage 3 concentrates on four related workstreams that build on the successes of Stages 1 and 2 to maximise the potential for electronic surveillance networks such as the one established at Goodwood Aerodrome to enable Airspace Integration. These are:

• System adaptations to protect against Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference,
• Developing and testing software and processes for assessing the performance of Automatic Dependent Service Broadcast (ADSB) emissions from aircraft
• Enhancing situational awareness via Traffic Information Service-Broadcast (TIS-B)
• Creation of an Air Traffic Density Analysis Tool

This project will develop and implement a web-based Flight Path Design Visual Repository (DVR) that is intended to enhance the development, engagement, and consultation aspects of all Airspace Change Proposals (ACPs) required to deliver airspace modernisation in the UK. The Flight Path DVR aims to deliver a step change in the UK’s approach to options development, community outreach and airspace integration, especially for larger, more complex modernisation ACPs like those included in the four regional clusters of the UK Airspace Change Masterplan (the Masterplan).

This project proposes an enhanced Air Traffic Management provision by connecting individual airport’s surveillance sensor feeds into a Data Exchange using its ‘edge network’ infrastructure, where airport data from one location is transmitted directly to and augments the surveillance picture of another. This serverless approach to data aggregation has a range of benefits, including data assurance, security, latency, cost and robustness, opening up the potential for it to be used for a range of enhanced flight information/ traffic services.     

The overall objective and primary outcome of this project is to provide feedback to inform, evidence and to support the adoption and the alignment of the three UK CAA Detect and Avoid (DAA) related policy documents.

This project aims to collect mobile network data at a number of spot locations from all UK mobile network operators (MNO’s) at altitude (up to 500ft) to understand the performance of 4G and 5G across various altitudes and radio access network (RAN) clutter classes (Rural, Urban, Sub-Urban, etc.) within the UK. This is to ascertain whether this cellular network technology achieved the required link performance to underpin safety critical services. 

This project will ensure an impartial and suitably qualified third party to conduct functional testing of the Reduced Departure Divergence (RDD) concept in a real-world procedure design and operational context. The testing concentrates specifically on the impact of RDD on Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS) and the risk of in-air wake vortex.    

This concept depends on complementary tools that can stream aircraft onto arrival routes, meaning it takes measures to prevent aircraft from clustering at the beginning of these Performance-based Navigation routes. This helps avoid creating high Air Traffic Control and pilot workload during the descent phase, which would undermine the benefits of the structured airspace.      

This project aims to develop a Reference Service Architecture (RSA) that will serve as a high-level blueprint of the service interfaces required to modernise airspace operations. The RSA will be a multi-layer model, which captures the anticipated UK Air Traffic Management service architecture for the 2030 timeframe, presented in an interactive form (e.g. a website) that allows different views to be explored in detail depending on user need. The RSA will be a tool to facilitate alignment between stakeholders—such as Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), airports, airspace users, and the regulator on the service requirements, and interfaces necessary to achieve the objectives of airspace modernisation.