BLUEPRINT

FOR THE SKY

The roadmap
for the safe
integration of
autonomous
aircraft
AUTHORS
Karthik Balakrishnan A3 by Airbus | Head of Project, Altiscope
Joe Polastre A3 by Airbus | Head of Product, Altiscope
Jessie Mooberry A3 by Airbus | Head of Deployment, Altiscope
Richard Golding A3 by Airbus | Chief Architect, Altiscope
Peter Sachs A3 by Airbus | Safety and Risk Architect, Altiscope

REVIEWERS
The following individuals reviewed and provided feedback for this document.
We appreciate the time and contributions that improved this Blueprint.

Hamsa Balakrishnan Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Marc Baumgartner International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations, Skyguide
Benoit Curdy Global UTM Association
Ed Diaz-Gomez GreenSight Agronomics
Mark Dombroff LeClairRyan
Mike Hirschberg Vertical Flight Society | Executive Director
Marc Kegelaers Unifly | CEO
Mykel Kochendorfer Stanford University | Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Andreas Lamprecht Airmap | CTO
Ben Marcus Airmap | Co-Founder and Chairman
Hiroko Nakamura University of Tokyo and Japan UTM | Professor of Aviation, Deputy Director
Ryan Panchadsaram Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers
Timothy Reuter World Economic Forum | Civil Drones Project Head
Daniel Vaca International Air Transport Association | Head of ATM Harmonization and Global Policy
Peng Wei Iowa State University | Professor of Aerospace Engineering
Steve Weidner National Air Traffic Controllers Association
New Zealand Ministry of Transport

INTERNAL REVIEWERS
Olivier Colaitis Airbus Defense and Space | Vice President, EU Relations
Bruno Darboux Airbus | Vice President, Systems General Engineering for Airbus
Isabel Del-Pozo-De-Poza Airbus Helicopters | Senior ATM/UTM Expert
Didier Delibes Airbus | Head of ATM Deployment, Leader of ATM Partnerships
Eduardo Dominguez Puerta Airbus | Senior Vice President of Urban Air Mobility
Julien Etaix Airbus Ventures | Investment Partner & Portfolio Manager
Robert Hoffman Metron Aviation | Vice President Research and Engineering
Robert Keele A3 by Airbus | General Counsel
John Kefaliotis Metron Aviation | President
Vanessa Kuroda A³ by Airbus | Altiscope Wireless and Communications Architect
Bruno Ley Airbus | Head of Systems Functions; Overall System Design Architect,
Architecture & Integration
Alfred Lief Airbus Defense and Space | Head of UAV Portfolio and Innovation, Global
Research and Technology Cooperation
Zach Lovering A3 by Airbus | Vahana Project Executive
Rodin Lyasoff A3 by Airbus | Chief Executive Officer
Philippe Masson ATM/UTM Innovation Team Leader | Airbus
Joerg P. Mueller Airbus | Urban Air Mobility Programs and Strategy
Alexandre Piot SESAR CLASS Project Coordinator | Airbus Defense and Space
Naresh Shah A3 by Airbus | Chief Operating Officer
Uma Subramanian Voom, an Airbus Company l CEO
Pascal Traverse Airbus | General Manager for the Autonomy Thrust, Chief Technology Office

About Airbus
Airbus is an international pioneer in the aerospace industry. The company is a leader in designing, manufacturing, and
delivering aerospace products, services, and solutions to customers on a global scale. Airbus aims for a better-connected,
safer, and more prosperous world.

About Altiscope
Altiscope plays a vital role in developing the architecture and systems to enable autonomous aircraft to fly safely
and efficiently. Altiscope is the UTM initiative of A3, the innovation outpost of Airbus.

Contact [email protected] or visit utmblueprint.com for more information.

© 2018 A^3 by Airbus LLC. All rights reserved.

Welcome
We stand at a thrilling point in the history of aviation. The skies are
busier than ever, and Airbus is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of
commercial aircraft, helicopters, military jets, rockets, drones, and space-
craft, among others. Our industry’s prospects for the future are exciting, with
current air traffic—that is, commercial and cargo flights and helicopters—
having quadrupled in the last 30 years, and set to double in the next 151. Soon
there will be an estimated 25,000 human-piloted flights in the air at any given
moment2. Nobody would have imagined that future a century ago.
But there is another change on the horizon. An entirely new category of
airspace user is on the rise, with self- and remotely-piloted aircraft develop-
ing rapidly. Soon, autonomous aircraft will be transporting people and goods
all around the world.
Airbus welcomes this revolution. The shift is exciting, and enables all
manner of new opportunities. It also brings risks that need to be addressed
now. Safety is not an afterthought in aerospace; it is a fundamental rule that
cannot be compromised.
We have always been on the forefront of innovation in the skies, from
our origins among Europe’s aerospace pioneers, through jet age creations
including the Concorde, to megascale airliners such as the Airbus A380.
We know bold ideas, new technologies, and thoughtful strategies are how to
navigate and conquer such risks.
So how do you marry the promise of innovation with the culture of safety
developed over aviation’s many decades? How do you create opportunities to
collaborate and build an airspace that works for everyone?
That’s what this Blueprint is. It is a roadmap for collaboration and cooper-
ation that puts safety on an equal footing with technological advancement. It
supports policies and rulemaking that can regulate autonomous operations
to ensure that air transport remains as safe tomorrow as it is today. And, be-
cause Airbus cares about the skies—not just building drones—it anticipates
how an integrated airspace will impact everybody, developing fresh models
of air traffic management that will enable new kinds of operations to flourish.
The airspace of tomorrow can only deliver on its promise through col-
laboration—regulators, manufacturers, service providers, investors, and
consumers, all working together with a common understanding. We are
excited to share this with you, and to see the future we can make fly together.

Tom Enders
Airbus Chief Executive Officer
04 OVERVIEW

Look up!

H
uman flight has captivated our Such dramatic expansion is not
imaginations for thousands straightforward, however. How can these
of years. It was only when the aircraft be introduced safely? How can
Wright Brothers first took to they co-exist with each other—and with
the air in 1903, however, that future uses that have not even been in-
our collective dream became vented yet? And how can we make sure
real. Since then, aviation has that we manage that change? The an-
scaled at an unbelievable swers require redesigning airspace in a
pace, from those pioneer- way that enables innovation while also
ing days, to the jet age of the prioritizing high assurance.
1950s, to now. In 2017, more We have already seen the benefits
than 3.5 billion passengers that one flexible architecture—the Inter-
traveled by air3. That is a 10-fold increase net—made possible in the online world.
in 30 years. Now, at any given moment, And today, there are multiple proposals
there are over 1 million people airborne for modernizing airspace using digital
around the world2—more than the popu- systems. NASA’s UAS Traffic Manage-
lations of San Francisco or Stockholm. ment5 (NASA UTM) creates a framework
And it is only growing. for safely managing growing use of low-
The biggest surprise, though, is that altitude airspace.
we’re still just at the beginning of this rev- In Europe, the SESAR Joint Undertak-
olution. Change is happening faster than ing is developing U-space6, which is en-
anyone imagined, and the digital age is dorsed by the European Commissioner
speeding innovation up even more. for Transport, Violeta Bulc, and opens
Recent developments—in battery ca- the continental market for lower alti-
pacity, autonomy, and on-board technol- tude drone services and aircraft. RPAS
ogy—make new kinds of aircraft possible. are governed by a separate and parallel
These vehicles have new shapes, capa- framework with rules similar to manned
bilities, and operations, which our cur- aircraft.
rent airspace system was not designed to Both plans paint a picture of a decen-
handle. Smaller cargo drones can move tralized, coordinated network of services
packages faster and more efficiently to that safely open airspace to new and ex-
hospitals, offices, and homes. An emerg- citing uses. But NASA UTM and SESAR
eVTOL: Vehicles that can take
ing class of electric vertical take-off and U-space also leave open the implementa- off and land like a helicopter, but
landing (eVTOL) aircraft can transport tion details. For ease of reading, the term use electric or hybrid power. They
people around congested cities in min- UTM is used throughout this document may or may not use wings
utes instead of hours. These new vehicles to refer to the various proposals and sys- for cruise.
can fly higher—and lower—than ever be- tems around the world.
fore. And because prices will fall to a frac- Here is our contribution to moving NASA UTM: NASA’s UAS Traffic
tion of today’s air operations, they create aviation forward. This document lays out Management program started in
the potential for massive, wide-scale use. the information and the specifications 2014 in collaboration with the FAA
and other federal agencies7.
The digital age of aviation will change needed to implement an action plan. It
our skies. The number of flights will grow is an outline of how we can transform
SESAR Joint Undertaking:
by orders of magnitude4. The airports of airspace faster for the next generation of The technological pillar of
tomorrow will be all around us—in our aircraft. This is a Blueprint for the skies Europe’s Single European Sky
homes and our workplaces, on the roofs that will enable a new revolution in avia- initiative, coordinating and
of buildings, on top of delivery vans and tion—safely, efficiently, and fairly. concentrating all EU research
fire trucks. and development activities.
05 OVERVIEW
06 OVERVIEW

What is
UTM?

T
oday, aircraft are guided In practice, this means aircraft are no
around the skies by air traffic longer forced to talk only to a single en-
controllers. Each controller is tity, such as an assigned air traffic con-
responsible for a sector, keep- troller. Instead, aircraft can communi-
ing aircraft safe by talking di- cate freely with their service suppliers of
rectly with pilots using radio choice, who are held to relevant safety,
communications. Estimates security, and performance standards by
show that the growth of com- the authorities and coordinate with the
mercial air traffic is already rest of the network to make efficient deci-
exceeding the capacity of a sions based on specific flight objectives.
human-centered system8— Human air traffic controllers, mean-
and that is only for human- while, will become airspace manag-
piloted flights. The expected growth of ers, focused on oversight, safety, and
unmanned and self-piloted operations security.
will increase traffic by several orders of UTM allows the same foundation to
magnitude. serve different needs in different geog-
To handle this dramatic growth, air raphies at different times. Regulators can
traffic management must shift to a more adapt requirements to match their local
scalable model: a digital system that can needs, and operators can select the pro-
monitor and manage this increased ac- viders they need to complete their mis-
tivity. That system is what we call Un- sions. Providers can create, update and
manned Traffic Management, or UTM. deploy their own services quickly. One
UTM is not a single, central system operator can choose to build, certify and
that mandates one way of operating for supply its own services, while another
everything. Instead, it is a framework. It may find the same services in a market-
is a networked collection of services that place. Providers will be responsible for
join together and understand each other, coordinating with each other10.
based on common rules. For unmanned applications to thrive,
UTM is built to enable future applica- many stakeholders must come together
tions. The challenge is designing a sys- to advance their respective domains. Ad-
UTM: UTM is the autonomous
tem that can remain relevant as technol- vances can be accomplished in phases, corollary to ATM, the existing Air
ogy progresses and market needs mature with each phase dependent on the previ- Traffic Management systems that
without knowing what that future will ous ones. As UTM shows positive results, are used to handle movement in
look like. Rather than relying on central- there may be technology sharing or in- aispace. The acronym ‘UTM’ is
ized control, UTM frameworks around creased integration with traditional ATM. widely used to describe a traffic
the world use the principle of distributed Pages 26 and 27 outline the blueprint for management system that will
authority9. This opens up the system to stakeholders. support self-piloting aircraft.
more service providers, who can adapt Several countries and trans-national
Distributed Authority: A system
as the market evolves and needs change. bodies have already adopted this over-
in which any individual actor is
Decentralization privatizes the cost of all approach as the foundation for their
able to make decisions and take
serving and adapting to market needs, own UTM implementations (see pages action based on information
while government regulators remain key 8-9). Each government has a slightly dif- and a set of agreed rules, rather
for ensuring that safety, access, and eq- ferent view on how authority should be than refer to a central authority
uity are maintained. distributed. for permission.
07 OVERVIEW

Airplane
Vehicle to Vehicle

Vehicle to Ground

Ground to Ground

Core Information Exchange

Top: Today aircraft talk

to local ‘sector’.
Bottom: Tomorrow air-
craft will talk to different
digital systems which
coordinate each other.

Helicopter

eVTOL

Helicopter Drone

Drone
08 OVERVIEW

Different Countries,
Similar Approaches
The underlying principles and approaches of
UTM schemes in development around the world
are very similar, even though each region uses
slightly different terminology and organization.
Each one consists of systems run by regulatory EUROPE — U-SPACE (SESAR)
authorities, independent service providers, data Key functions are provided by U-space
Service Providers (USP) which may be re-
providers, operators, and aircraft. quired to exchange certain information and
coordinate through a SWIM system. They
may also communicate with a U-space sys-
tem manager—similar to the Single Europe-
an Sky’s current network manager. This acts
as a centralized coordinator in a manner
much like NASA’s FIMS, as well as manages
traffic. Other providers are responsible for
non–safety–critical services, as well as data
on weather and terrain.

UNITED STATES- Status: U-space is scheduled for a gradual

UTM (NASA) rollout in four stages, called U1-U4. U1
services are expected to be in full use in
In NASA’s model10, private Unmanned Air- 2019, when pre-operational demonstrations
craft Systems Service Suppliers (USS) are of U2 will also take place. The first results
certified by the Federal Aviation Administra- of U3-U4 research will be complete in 2019.
tion (FAA). Each one takes responsibility for Demonstrations and rollouts are planned
exchanging data and coordinating with the for the early 2020s6, with exact timelines
others. Data needed for coordination with driven by individual countries.
the ATM system passes through an informa-
tion exchange called System Wide Infor- Coordination Manager: System
mation Management (SWIM), which is run Manager
by the FAA and stores information such as
flight plans. At the same time the FAA also Core Info Exchange: SWIM
runs the Flight Information Management
System (FIMS) that coordinates between
Service Provider: USP (U-space
USS providers, traditional air traffic man-
Service Provider)
agement, and the national airspace system.

Drone: Aircraft
Status: The first USS have already been ap-
proved to provide Low Altitude Authoriza-
tion and Notification Capabilities (LAANC)
to operators who wish to fly unmanned mis-
sions following Part 107 rules in controlled
airspace near airports. Expanded capabili-
ties will extend the airspace available to
unmanned vehicles and permit
greater autonomy.

Coordination Manager: FIMS

Core Info Exchange: SWIM

Service Provider: USS

Drone: Aircraft
09 OVERVIEW

FIMS: Flight Information Man-

agement Systems coordinate
between the central authority
CHINA — (UOMS) responsible for enforcing airspace
regulations—like the United States
The China CAAC has specified the use of a FAA—and the unmanned services
civil UAS Operation Management System happening in its region.
(UOMS)11, with several Unmanned Aircraft
Cloud System (UACS) providers respon- Single European Sky: The
sible for the final link to the operator. These pan-European framework for
supply alerts, geofencing, registration, and managing airspace covers both
vehicle location services. existing technology and, through
SESAR, future unmanned traffic.
Status: There are currently seven UACS The network manager is currently
providers approved by the CAAC. EUROCONTROL.

Coordination Manager: UOMS Geofencing: The creation of a

virtual boundary in the airspace,
Service Provider: UACS which constrain a drone to stay
either within a specific area, or
Drone: Aircraft remain outside it.

JAPAN — UTM (JUTM)

This system is being built by the Japan UTM
Consortium (JUTM)12 and a national UTM
project founded by New Energy and Indus-
trial Technology Development (NEDO). It
comprises one FIMS, several UAS Service
Providers (UASSP), a layer of Supplemen-
tal Data Source Providers (SDSP), and
operators. FIMS manages all flight plans,
handles emergency alerting and provides
avoidance instructions. The UASSP sits
between FIMS and each operator.

Status: JUTM started demonstrations in

2017. Individual systems developed under
NEDO will be demonstrated during 2018,
with first full system demonstrations in 2019
and implementation slated for the 2020s.

Coordination Manager: FIMS

Core Info Exchange: FIMS + SDSP

Service Provider: UASSP

Drone: Aircraft
10 OVERVIEW

How Airspace
Will Expand
The primary users of airspace today are commercial jets
and general aviation. As technological advances take
hold, we need to open the skies—and our imaginations—
to many more possibilities.

Air Mobility (UAM) aircraft will aircraft, helicopters, and drones.

HOBBY DRONES
take off and land vertically from Military training and opera-
More than 3 million consumer airports and “vertiports” all over tions, meanwhile, use aircraft
hobby drones were sold world- towns and cities for passengers and drones extensively. It is
wide in 2017. Users fly for fun, and emergency transport. As important that government
and most flights are remotely the technology becomes more and military operators receive
controlled, while some newer affordable, air traffic will increase priority access to airspace when
drones can automatically follow hundreds of times over. If just 1% necessary.
the user or fly pre-programmed of the 2.2M people in central They should also be able to enact
patterns. Hobby pilots are Paris commute by UAM each day, airspace restrictions, define
required to stay below 400 there will be more than 11,000 training routes, and mandate
feet above ground level in most flights per hour over the city dur- other airspace constructs that
areas, but this is currently dif- ing peak times. are essential to public safety and
ficult to enforce. Most users are national security missions.
untrained, relying on education
HELICOPTERS
from pamphlets or programs like
Helicopters excel when endur-
COMMERCIAL AVIATION
the FAA’s Know Before You Fly13.
ance or capacity are impor- Airspace will get busier and
tant—such as in emergencies, more complicated as unmanned
IMAGING AND ANALYTICS
search and rescue, commercial operations expand and global
Drones can perform inspections transport, and maintenance of in- air traffic doubles by 2036.
and capture imagery faster, frastructure. Today’s helicopters With up to 25,000 commercial
more often, and more safely than predominantly use visual flight flights15 in the air during peak
people. This data can be used rules, but are increasingly adopt- times, demand for pilots will
for everything from construction ing digital systems for navigation triple current numbers and
and agriculture to insurance and and air traffic coordination. greater ATM automation will
disaster relief. Flights can cover be necessary to handle
a region on a regular schedule,
GENERAL AVIATION the increased volume.
or be ordered on demand. These
missions can be local or cover Private, non-commercial flight
covers everything from high-
HIGH ALTITUDE
long distances.
performance business jets and Drones, both self- and remotely-
medical transports to gliders piloted, can operate far above
DELIVERIES
and flight trainers. Pilots require normal commercial altitudes
Four billion parcels were ordered flexibility in when and where they for long periods. They will deliver
online for home delivery in fly, generally depart without fil- services including sub-satellite
Europe in 2017, up 28% on the ing a flight plan, and may seldom imaging and provision of
previous year14. Tomorrow, talk to air traffic controllers, internet access.
everything from retail parcels to depending on where they fly.
urgent medical deliveries will be In general, the community is
moved by air—from small drones cost-conscious, against new
to larger eVTOL transports. equipage mandates, and con-
Delivering only 1% of parcels this cerned about privacy, so should
way will create more than 14,000 only be required to participate in
drone flights every daylight hour the air traffic system when it is a
across Europe alone, requiring safety issue. Several groups hold
significant airspace management considerable sway, particularly
to ensure safety. when it comes to imposing taxes
or usage fees.
TRANSPORT
Today, light planes and helicop- GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY
ters connect air taxi operators National and regional govern-
and passengers through ments regularly use airspace for
platforms like Airbus’ Voom law enforcement and emergency
and Blade. management. They use light
11 OVERVIEW

HIGH ALTITUDE
Operators: Airbus Zephyr,
Google Loon

COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT
Manufacturers: Airbus, Boeing

GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY

Operators/Organizations: Na-
tional militaries, Police and Fire
departments, EMS

GENERAL AVIATION
Manufacturers: Cirrus, Diamond,
Cessna
Organizations: EAA, AOPA,
GAMA, NBAA

HELICOPTERS
Manufacturers: Bell, Sikorsky,
Robinson, Airbus, Leonardo,
MD Helicopters

TRANSPORT
Services: Uber Elevate, Blade,
Airbus Voom
Aircraft: Kitty Hawk Cora, Airbus
Vahana, CityAirbus, Aurora
eVTOL, Joby S4

DELIVERIES
Operators: Airbus Skyways,
Google Wing, Amazon Prime Air,
Zipline, SF Express

IMAGING AND ANALYTICS

Operators: Airbus Aerial, Air-
ware, DroneDeploy, Precision-
Hawk, DJI

HOBBY DRONES
Manufacturers: DJI, Yuneec

UAM: UAM covers passenger

and cargo flights operated in
densely populated areas,
including air taxis, delivery
drones, remotely piloted and
autonomous operations.

PinS: Point in Space approaches

use instrumentation as well as
visual maneuvering—enabling
helicopters to deal with inclement
conditions or difficult terrain
more easily.

Classes: E is general controlled

airspace, G is uncontrolled air-
space—both areas outside
highly-controlled zones like
airports, air corridors, and radar
control zones.
12 PRINCIPLES OF AIRSPACE

The New
Principles
of Airspace
Future airspace will be full of drones, commercial aircraft, helicopters, and
more. It must be structured and managed to ensure safety, equitable access,
efficiency, and compatibility with future technology.

Here are the operating principles that will be needed in order to thrive.
13 PRINCIPLES OF AIRSPACE

1 3 6
Safety and Drones Must Airspace
Security are be Allowed to Must be
Paramount Self Pilot Accessible

Air traffic management systems are re- The commercial viability of drone and The rules for access to airspace must
sponsible for safely guiding physical air taxi operations depends on achieving be impartial, clear, and openly avail-
objects through airspace which carry economies of scale. Requiring a human able. Two identically-licensed operators
both people and cargo over populated to serve as an onboard or remote pilot should have equitable access. Equitable
areas and sensitive sites. That means the significantly limits economic feasibil- does not mean equal; it means that both
consequences of a dropped packet are far ity of drone businesses. This means that operators are evaluated by the same set
more severe in aviation than on the Inter- drones must be able to react to chang- of rules without bias. Clear rules incen-
net. Services like tracking, identification, ing conditions. Not all drones will be tivize and enable operators to either in-
and registration must be established rap- self-piloting, and self-piloting drones vest in added safety or select less risky
idly. However, the airspace will also be- will sometimes need human control. But mission profiles, depending on their
come more dense. That means these ser- they must be capable of adapting their business model and market. Excep-
vices must be quickly followed by those flight paths to ensure they can safely co- tions can be granted for government or
that provide active risk management, de- exist. military, but a level playing field is nec-
confliction, emergency alerts, and other essary for the market to support new
critical functions. Provisions must exist
for emergency and security response
4 entrants. The objective is to create the
greatest possible market opportunity
vehicles to rapidly access the airspace. through opening the airspace to new
Operators must be incentivized to invest Fleets Must players. Restrictions on airspace use,
in safety through airspace, process, and
service design. Safety, security, and the
be Able to such as no-fly zones based on aircraft
risk or capability, or air traffic manage-
integrity of the airspace against careless, Self-Manage ment decisions such as routing chang-
clueless, and criminal actors must always es, must be impartial to the operator or
be the top priority and considered at ev- aircraft. They may, however, favor or
To achieve scale and efficiency, opera-
ery step of design, testing, certification, disfavor based on aircraft capabilities
tors want to manage their own fleets.
and operation. or characteristics in the interest of
This includes flight planning, vehicle
ensuring safety or meeting societal de-
assignment, vehicle management, flight
sires such as vehicle noise limits.
dispatching, and fleet coordination. Ex-
amples include coordinated formation
flying, hovering near warehouses, and
2 fleet balancing. 7
Airspace Airspace
Must be 5 Must be
Shared Futureproof
Airspace Must
Unmanned aircraft will share airspace be Harmonized When the Internet was first created, a
with manned counterparts. A piloted Worldwide supercomputer in everyone’s pocket
passenger jet will share airspace, run- was science fiction. But the decentral-
ways, and taxiways with an unmanned ized and layered design of the Internet
cargo jet. Self-piloted air taxis will share Systems, vehicles, and technology built made it possible to create new and
airspace with helicopters. High altitude for one region will need to be interop- wildly different uses of the technology
drones will share airspace with super- erable with other regions. Incompatible without ever requiring the core archi-
sonic military jets. Airspace must be con- regulations, inconsistent procedures, tecture to be radically upgraded. Today
figured so that these can coexist—and it spectrum licensing, or vendor restric- Air Traffic Management is largely cen-
is vital that it is properly integrated.Ac- tions all force manufacturers and opera- tralized and will not be able to support
cess to airspace must be dependent on tors to adapt their products and services the volume and scope of operations we
equipage and performance, not mission. for each region. This can have significant know are coming, let alone the ones
Airspace reserved only for a single kind costs, and will reduce both the speed of that have not been invented yet. If we
of user is more complex, less flexible, innovation and the adoption of proven are going to design airspace manage-
and restricts what is possible in the fu- safety technology worldwide. Standard- ment to be useful and relevant as the
ture. For example, small drones will not ized rules and procedures encourage in- future is still developing, we need well-
routinely fly in the same areas as com- novation, maximize market potential, defined interfaces between decentral-
mercial aircraft. Commercial aircraft and speed up the adoption of autono- ized systems so they work together.
may sometimes make emergency ma- mous systems. Countries that choose to Governments and ANSPs will
neuvers through areas dense with drone adopt rules that are very different from need oversight and audit mechanisms
operations. Drones will need to adapt elsewhere may see their market under- for these distributed services and
their flight paths accordingly. served—or not served at all. their providers.
14 BLUEPRINTS

Blueprints
If autonomous aviation systems are going to reach their full potential, then
the rules under which aircraft fly, the way airspace is configured, and the
services that manage airspace must also adapt to incorporate autonomy.

The current approach, where one person is required to directly operate each
aircraft while traffic management is funneled through central points of con-
trol, makes it difficult to introduce new applications.

Here are our blueprints—an adaptable model that provides guidance—for

evolving roles, rules, configuration, and management in the airspace
of the future.

Blueprint for Airspace

Blueprint for Systems

Blueprint for Regulation

Blueprint for Stakeholders

15 BLUEPRINT FOR AIRSPACE

Blueprint
for Airspace

Drones Safety
Existing flight rules and airspace servic- The current air navigation system is
es limit or prevent drone flights. Drone largely organized around paths that trav-
traffic has a greater diversity of landing el between waypoints, increasingly de-
The current air traffic system locations: not just airports, but verti- fined ad-hoc in 3-D by satellites16. Drone
focuses primarily on flights ports and delivery platforms that could flights performing missions in lower
between airports, with airspace be on buildings, in backyards, and even density airspace could use free routing,
on vehicles. These landing locations are with fixed routes, corridors, or other
classes and procedures in place spread throughout a region rather than constructs to avoid conflicts, obstacles,
to guide fixed-wing pilots in concentrated at an airport—indeed, ev- or areas too dense for safe operation.
making control decisions. ery home could be a potential landing In high-traffic areas like urban centers,
site. The current system of approach airspace structure, infrastructure, and
Most aircraft climb away from and departure routes needs adapting for procedures may be required to enable
the ground as quickly as drones and helicopters. safe operations. A delivery warehouse,
possible, and only descend The in-flight phase can vary widely, for example, has many drones approach-
toward the ground on too. Infrastructure inspection and emer- ing and departing, requiring coordina-
gency response can involve hovering tion to operate safely. Procedures can
approach to a runway. near a ground location at a low altitude define a safe route through an otherwise
point. Agricultural missions involve sensitive space, such as crossing over
Helicopters have very different low-altitude flights back and forth over an airport. Other procedures can orga-
operations and the volume of a plot of land to measure soil or plant nize safe routes between buildings in an
conditions. New kinds of missions re- urban core, with special navigation aids
flights is relatively low, so they quire new kinds of traffic management. to ensure high-precision guidance in
operate in a unique space. complex environments.
 16 BLUEPRINT FOR AIRSPACE

Routing
As traffic over a region increases, airspace will become more disordered if it is not managed. Simulations run by Altiscope17 show that
increasing disorder leads to lower safety levels, including a loss of separation and increased collision rates. Ensuring safe operations
means employing routing strategies to keep the airspace ordered. Several routing strategies exist, each with their own tradeoffs between
freedom for the individual aircraft and amount of ordering it provides to the airspace. The most appropriate choice will depend on the
exact local criteria.

Approved!

eVTOL

Approved!

eVTOL

rone

Drone

Approved!

eVTOL Approved!

eVTOL

Drone

BASIC FLIGHT FREE ROUTE CORRIDORS FIXED ROUTE

Aircraft under basic flight are Free routing is when aircraft Corridors are defined vol- Fixed flight routes are used
responsible for self-separa- can fly any path, so long as umes in space, useful for to ensure safety when there
tion. Aircraft must maintain their planned path is coordi- managing airspace in high is high traffic density or in
separation with other ve- nated with and deconflicted demand or to manage traffic any location where structure
hicles through automated or from the paths of other air- flow and separation. Coor- is required to ensure safe op-
manual means. Basic flight is craft by a traffic manager and dination is necessary to en- erations. This could include
the simplest routing scheme approved based on calculat- sure safety in this airspace. locations such as airports or
and is the most straightfor- ed risk. Free routing is being A corridor may take on many warehouses. These routes
ward to implement. How- introduced worldwide, such different shapes. Aircraft could be constructed or
ever, when everyone is al- as free route airspace in Eu- are often guided inside modified dynamically based
lowed to take the most direct rope19. This allows commer- corridors using predeter- on calculated risk. The most
route without coordination, cial flights to freely plan their mined routes analogous to restrictive version is a pre-
conflicts are bound to occur route through participating approach procedures used determined path, where the
as the number of aircraft in- sectors during cruise. There worldwide today. only variable is when an air-
creases. Simulations show is less freedom for an aircraft craft is at a specific point in
this happens even at low traf- in this situation than in basic the path.
fic volumes18. flight, since its request may
be rejected.
17 BLUEPRINT FOR AIRSPACE

VFR: Pilots flying under visual Flight Rules

flight rules are required to
see and avoid other aircraft.
Aircraft today use Visual Flight Rules in the airspace, such as temporary re-
IFR: Pilots flying under (VFR) or Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). strictions or weather conditions. Flights
instrument flight rules are These are essential for maintaining safe receive control instructions to keep op-
tracked by air traffic control separation distances between aircraft to erations within acceptable risk tolerance
and given instructions to prevent collisions. thresholds. Real-time two-way commu-
avoid other aircraft. Complying with these rules limits op- nications report position and status so
erations for drones and helicopters, and that traffic managers can coordinate with
Detect and avoid: A system that does not allow for the introduction of their aircraft. Around airports, ATM and
allows aircraft to spot obstacles
new capabilities like automation in a safe UTM services work together. For exam-
or dangers and take action to
and extensible way. ple, they coordinate the direction of local
avoid collision without human
intervention. This happens either To accommodate unmanned flight, traffic flows between fixed wing aircraft
through sensors on other aircraft new flight rules need to be established— and unmanned drones at local airports
or the ground, which send an for example, Basic Flight Rules (BFR) based on weather conditions.
alert to the endangered aircraft, and Managed Flight Rules (MFR). Traffic management services provide
or takes place when the au- BFR would cover flights that operate basic information to pilots and autopi-
tonomous vehicle itself senses a independently. They take full respon- lots about conditions in the airspace,
problem and takes action on sibility for their safety, routing, and regulation, and nearby traffic. Managed
its own. separation from other air traffic. MFR aircraft use this information as input
will apply to flights that coordinate their for tactical self-separation and collision
Procedural separation:
trajectory with a traffic management ser- avoidance. The same general traffic in-
A method by which air traffic con-
trol mitigates the risk of aircraft vice and follow its guidance to maintain formation is useful to any pilot to im-
collisions by separating them in separation. prove their flight planning and in-flight
time on predetermined routes. Traffic management services direct situational awareness.
flights using MFR and monitor changes
Corridors: Corridors are volumes
in space that aircraft must stay in-
side. They can take on any shape
necessary to safely and efficiently
separate traffic—such as cones,
cylinders, tubes, or multiple con-
nected tubes.

eVTOL

Waypoint
18 BLUEPRINT FOR AIRSPACE

Corridors
A corridor can be implemented in areas
of high demand or wherever a special
procedure or routing is needed to man-
age traffic flow and separation.
Each corridor has a control service
that governs and coordinates its use. A
drone must get clearance from the cor-
ridor’s control service to enter.
Corridors may have specific proce-
dures or rules to mitigate risk. An urban
corridor may require a specialized navi-
gation sensor, because GPS signals can
be degraded by nearby buildings and
multipath reflections. Similarly, there
may be groundspeed and endurance re-
quirements, limiting the types and ca-
pabilities of the aircraft which can enter.
Other corridors may be implemented for
aircraft with lesser equippage to traverse
an otherwise complex region.
Corridors are flexible enough that they
could take on the shape necessary to
safely and efficiently separate traffic—
such as cones, cylinders, tubes, or mul-
tiple connected tubes.
Over time, corridors may be replaced
by new constructs or eliminated entirely
with more sophisticated, high
assurance technology.
19 BLUEPRINT FOR SYSTEMS

Blueprint
for Systems

Architecture
Today’s Air Traffic Management systems to be different because of the radical in-
CENTRALIZED are complex and consist of many dif- crease in traffic density and the changes
ferent functions. They are provided in in vehicle performance, onboard auto-
Single entity provides for all
a one-to-many fashion, through a cen- mation, and sensing technology.
vehicles in an airspace.
tral entity such as a control center, and For example, while most commercial
the services are deployed en masse as a flights are planned in advance and fol-
monolithic system. Functions include low regular schedules, air taxi and cargo
the acceptance and approval or rejec- missions can be requested just minutes
tion of flight plans, tracking of aircraft, before takeoff. In urban environments,
providing guidance and separation ser- traffic densities will be far higher, with
vices to pilots, and handling emergency vehicles much closer to each other, and
HUB AND SPOKE situations. This approach works well for to obstacles20. The diversity of opera-
existing aviation needs, which are well tions means the traffic management sys-
Multiple entities exist in
defined and grow predictably. tem must be able to cope with aircraft
an airspace, but each vehicle
gets services from single entity.
New traffic management systems will that have radically different characteris-
perform many similar functions. Howev- tics sharing the same airspace.
er, the way these are delivered will need

Microservices
FEDERATED
In order to meet these needs, NASA ensure interoperability, and perform
Multiple providers exist for UTM, SESAR U-space, and Japan UTM audits.
most services, each aircraft can
all rely on a networked, microservice- A microservices approach does not
choose between entities.
oriented system architecture where ser- mean that all functions will be served by
vices are built and provided by multiple multiple players. Governments may op-
players. erate a services directory to ensure that
A microservice is a piece of software only microservices which meet applica-
built to conduct a single function. Mi- ble certification requirements are able to
croservices have well-defined interface operate. Others may operate a service to
PEER TO PEER / CLOSEST PEER and performance requirements, which ensure that all parties have an identical,
allow them to be added, removed, or up- real-time view of traffic.
No entity provides services, graded quickly. New microservices can The microservices approach is ex-
aircraft communicate locally be created and deployed as new require- tremely powerful because of its flexibil-
with nearest neighbors. ments are uncovered. These services ity. Regulators can adapt requirements
may be certified against a reference stan- to meet local needs. Operators can se-
dard by regulatory bodies and ANSPs de- lect the exact service providers that best
pending on function. Customers can se- serve their missions. And service provid-
lect the ones that best meet their needs. ers can quickly create, update, and de-
There may be multiple providers for ploy microservices, subject to certifica-
DISTRIBUTED any given microservice. For example, tion, where business opportunity arises.
there may be several traffic management Services in this architecture must
No entity provides services, service providers, each performing real meet the key principles outlined ear-
vehicles communicate globally and time tracking and deconfliction. A cargo lier—safe, automated, harmonized, ac-
directly, relative to flight plan. company with a large fleet may operate cessible, futureproof. The level of safety
a service that only manages their flights. and security must be equivalent to or
Other services would be available for better than the current air transport sys-
anyone to use as part of a marketplace. tem. It must also incentivize innovation
The authority would certify services, and safety.
20 BLUEPRINT FOR SYSTEMS

Communication
GPS Spoofing and
Participating in controlled airspace re- be anticipated, strategic airspace man- overshadowing: Spoofing at-
quires two-way, real-time communica- agement adapts well. Tactical airspace tempts to fool a GPS receiver by
broadcasting incorrect GPS
tions on board all aircraft. The com- management, meanwhile, is effective at
signals. In the case of an
munications must be performant and avoiding near-term threats and keeping
overshadow attack, the false
secure. High bandwidth and low latency density lower. DAA is then a secondary signal is boosted to such levels it
is necessary to quickly and safely re- option, avoiding follow-on effects. drowns out the accurate data.
spond to threats. Performance-based re- Communications channels must be
quirements allow operators to equip the designed with security in mind to limit
best available technology and it incentiv- vulnerabilities such as spoofing of flight
izes market innovation. plans. Without this, malicious actors
Aircraft will also need to meet naviga- could potentially interrupt communica-
tion performance standards. Navigation tion between an aircraft and manage-
may be assisted by GPS, ground-based ment so that a flight cannot be tracked,
beacons, or other technology. Aircraft or compromise systems to give the air-
may need to maintain precise navigation craft false instructions. Communication
in areas like urban canyons, where mul- providers must also protect against mes-
tipath effects degrade traditional naviga- sage deletion through deliberate signal
tion accuracy. jamming or unintentional interference.
With traffic management services This may lead to unexpected or even
maintaining separation for managed unsafe congestion or misallocation of
drones, detect and avoid (DAA) is a back- resources. Protocols which ensure data
up. Simulations show that it works well integrity must be used to guard against
in low-density regions, while strategic deletion or injection attacks that modify
and tactical management work better at messages. GPS spoofing or overshad-
higher densities17. When there are more owing could be defended against with
than a few drones in a 2 square kilometer redundancy or cross-validation. Regula-
area traveling at 100 knots, DAA creates tors will be responsible for setting data
follow-on conflicts caused by the resolu- privacy requirements, as this will af-
tion of the first conflict. The safest solu- fect the solutions used to guard against
tion is a hybrid between management eavesdropping attacks.
and DAA. If dangerous conditions can

eVTOL

ATM-UTM Coordination
during Emergency Response Helicopter

One critical area for new

communications will be
in emergency response.
Drone
Rapidly creating new flight
plans in emergencies will
become more complex as
the number of actors in
the airspace increases.
Today, an EMS aircraft
receives an urgent call
and communicates
directly with a control
facility, and ATC gives it
priority clearance to fly.
1 2 3 4 5
Tomorrow, the request
from the aircraft will need Helicopter requests ATC notifies network UTM service provider Corridor service Corridor service
to be pushed throughout emergency takeoff manager, which computes new flight instructs affected informs ATM of drone
clearance, clearance notifies UTM service plan, advises new drones to expedite non-compliance in
the entire network so that approved. providers and corridor trajectory, and eVTOL transit through flight path, ATC
is can safely cross existing control services. aircraft confirms. corridor. Drone assigns helicopter
fails to respond. a vector for traffic.
corridors or flight paths Helicopter confirms.
without conflict. The system
will also be robust enough
to cope if communications 1 2 3

fail, remaining safe and

allowing emergency
operations to continue. Helicopter Air Traffic Control Network Manager Service Provider eVTOL

5 Corridor Services Drone

21 BLUEPRINT FOR SYSTEMS

A UTM Service Stack

The system manager provides a single, traversing specific airspace corridors.
authoritative system to coordinate digi- All the other services support traffic man-
tal traffic services. This is implemented agement and corridor control services.
and operated under the auspices of gov- These include: weather information, sur-
ernment regulatory agencies. Scope will veillance, information, registration, and
vary between countries. more. Each one should inform the others
Digital traffic management services of their decisions, to assist each other in
manage the flights of aircraft in broader making the best possible decision.
airspace. The services coordinate with A service provider may utilize their
each other to ensure safety at all stages own certified traffic management ser-
to ensure that flight plans are deconflict- vice, or contract with other providers
ed, aircraft maneuvers are coordinated, that offer a certified service. This allows
and emergency response is deconflicted for the flexible composition of service
rapidly. These are complemented by cor- providers that may specialize in a partic-
ridor control services that provide guid- ular set of use cases, services, functional-
ance for drones taking off, landing, or ity, or regions.

Regulatory
Agency

Current Air Traffic System Other Public

Management Manager Agencies

Manned
Aircraft

Communications Flight Planning Data Traffic Management

Service Service Services Services
Corridor SERVICE SERVICE
Control PROVIDER PROVIDER
SERVICE PROVIDER 1: SERVICE PROVIDER 2:
Service 3 4
OPEN SERVICE INTEGRATED Traffic
Management
Traffic Management Services
Services

Registration Emergency Weather

Service Response Surveillance Operator
Service Service

Operator Operator/
pilot

Drone Drone Drone

Autonomous VLOS UAS

UAV
22 BLUEPRINT FOR REGULATION

Blueprint for
Regulation
Aviation has a safety culture of continuous learning and improvement.
Pilots, controllers, and maintenance personnel are all part of the foundation
of safe operations. Expanding these principles to unmanned operations is
fundamental to future airspace safety.

Safety Culture: Many decades of Risk Assessment

experience have led the aviation
industry to focus intensely on
Using all available data about potential When it comes to risk, authorities
safety as a priority. A conservative
approach to operations, from task
threats to calculate risk is critical to safe can set the thresholds or policies for safe
checklists to open communica- operations. Comprehensive Safety Man- flight under different conditions, and
tions, has led to air travel becom- agement Systems (SMS) identify, ana- design airspace structure, procedures,
ing the safest form of global lyze, and mitigate a wide range of these equipage, and other requirements to
transport. risks. Threats include failures in avion- keep harm rates within acceptable limits.
ics, navigation, and communication. Those conditions are enforced when a
ETOPS: Extended Operations They can also include bad weather, or flight plan is submitted for approval (such
rules allow aircraft on longer pushing an aircraft beyond its capabili- as permission to access certain airspace,
flights to fly further from the
ties. Depending on the capabilities of the corridors, or routes), and in pilot ratings
nearest airport—for example
aircraft, its path, and the other aircraft in and system certifications (similar to VFR
ETOPS-180 certification means
that an aircraft must always be
the area, the flight will have a different and IFR flight). Risk assessments must
within 180 minute range of a risk assessment. Flying over a city cen- use a common methodology so that they
suitable airport in case of engine ter has more potential harm to people on are directly comparable between servic-
failure. Altiscope proposes similar the ground than a flight over a river, for es, and to the thresholds set by authori-
rules about how long an aircraft example. ties. Altiscope and JARUS21 are develop-
can fly that are checked during Traditional risk assessment ap- ing open risk assessment frameworks.
flight planning and submission. proaches are problematic when applied Both are being collaboratively developed
to high-volume, highly automated un- with regulators and industry. The SORA
SORA from JARUS: The Specific
manned operations. Their conclusions from JARUS is qualitative in how it cate-
Operations Risk Assessment is
rely largely on qualitative aspects, and gorizes threats and resultant risk classes.
a methodology for establishing
confidence that a particular flight
different people assessing the same risks By contrast, Altiscope is using statisti-
operation can be conducted will often reach different conclusions. cal modeling and relevant data to con-
safely. JARUS, the Joint Authori- Creating a quantitative risk assessment struct a quantitative model with a variety
ties for Rulemaking on Unmanned workflow is a vital step to enabling high- of outputs.
Systems, is a group of regulatory volume automated flight plan processing
experts from 54 countries. while maintaining safety.
23 BLUEPRINT FOR REGULATION

Security Certification Standards

and Licensing
Air traffic control systems rely on re- Standards are necessary for interoper-
dundant dedicated links to securely ex- Certification and licensing—currently ability between suppliers, while allowing
change data. External users have limited required for aircraft, avionics, operators, each product to innovate in their own
points of entry to these networks, which traffic management service providers, way. Standards are required for:
often function like one-way streets. AN- and pilots—will follow substantially the
SPs also use dedicated fiber to connect same form as today. • Air traffic management and digital
radar antennas and remote communica- Under current FAA/EASA regula- traffic management suppliers, including
tion outlets with controllers. All of this tions, performance and training require- notification of threats, conflict resolu-
limits the attack surface. Each compo- ments for each certification or license tion, and emergency procedures.
nent in the ATM network is certified to parallels the level of safety required.
high-reliability standards for uptime and Recreational and private drone pilots do • Between traffic management service
latency, including backup power and fall- not operate for hire, may be restricted suppliers, including flight plan ex-
back systems, and is routinely subject to from flying in certain airspace classes, change, conflict detection, and agree-
penetration testing. and have different training requirements ment on conflict resolution.
Distributed UTM systems introduce from commercial pilots. Recreational op-
a number of new challenges in ensuring erators do not need a certificate, whereas • Between system management service
security. Each connection between two commercial operators must have an op- and traffic management services,
service providers introduces two new at- erating certificate that ensures they have including discovery of service suppliers,
tack surfaces. A region with multiple pro- the personnel, training, and systems in flight plan data, and auditing.
viders will easily have many more attack place to protect the safety of their em-
surfaces than today’s ATM network. ployees, customers, and the general • Between traffic management services
Regulators have several tools to en- public. Similarly, manufacturers and avi- and corridor control services, for flight
sure security. Many of the strategies used onics suppliers must certify their equip- planning (sequencing, flow control) and
to keep ATC systems safe, including ded- ment to performance specifications. in-flight safety and capacity manage-
icated and one-way links, limited physi- Services that provide safety or secu- ment (tactical deconfliction from cor-
cal access to network equipment, and re- rity-critical services will require accredi- ridor control service).
dundant power and backup systems can tation and licensing. This list is kept to
be employed. Requiring operators to reg- a minimum. Regulatory agencies are • Aircraft performance metrics, for traf-
ister to receive encryption keys can limit responsible for the licensing and a peri- fic management services to accurately
access to only known users, and regular odic review and renewal. Agencies make plan, assess, and guide aircraft safely
audits (announced and unannounced) of performance results of licensed services and within capabilities.
system providers can ensure compliance publicly available.
with certification requirements. A licensing and certification regime Other standards will speed the devel-
provides regulatory authorities with an opment of necessary technologies. Com-
enforcement mechanism: a pilot’s li- munication standards open the field for
cense can be suspended, an operating multiple providers of aircraft and ground
certificate can be revoked, while airwor- communications. Navigation standards
thiness directives are used to correct un- focus research and development organi-
safe conditions in a product. zations to meet performance targets with
for a well-defined market.
Most likely, the required standards
will evolve out of consensus-based in-
dustry working groups, using compa-
rable levels of reliability, latency and
interoperability specifications for similar
conventional ATM systems, with an aim
of ensuring overall equivalent levels of
safety and performance are maintained.
24 BLUEPRINT FOR STAKEHOLDERS

Blueprint for
Stakeholders
For unmanned applications to thrive, many stakeholders must come together to
advance their respective domains. Advances can be accomplished in phases, with
each phase dependent on the previous ones. This model was first proposed for
autonomous vehicles and mirrors SAE J3016A22.

hint: the next page is sideways

 LEVEL O: LEVEL 1: LEVEL 2: LEVEL 3: LEVEL 4: LEVEL 5:
NO AUTOMATION HUMAN ASSISTANCE PARTIAL AUTOMATION CONDITIONAL AUTOMATION HIGH AUTOMATION FULL AUTOMATION

25
Human pilots are responsible Computer systems assist human For routine flight, onboard au- Automation systems perform Supervisors monitor fleets Autonomous systems are

BLUEPRINT FOR STAKEHOLDERS

for the safe operation of all pilots by reducing workload and tomation systems now control the entirety of flight operations, as they coordinate amongst proven and certified for use
aircraft. Conventional aircraft providing safety protections. the majority of activities. Pilots falling back to pilot control themselves, rather than in all conditions and during
avoid each other with well- Automation is introduced in the supervise the systems and take when performance-based con- requiring pilots for individual all phases of flight. Drones
defined airspace constructs, form of autopilots, while naviga- control only when necessary. ditions cannot be met. Through aircraft. Drones can fly in larger safely co-exist with helicopters,
pilot vigilance, and onboard tion assistance for the pilot Aircraft and drones can coordi- well-defined procedures, flight automated fleets, and com- general aviation, and commer-
collision avoidance systems. becomes widespread with GPS nate using their ground-based rules, and communication chan- mercial aircraft are capable of cial aviation in dense, complex
Drones are legally limited to fly- and navigation aids. Drones can systems to co-exist at low nels, aircraft and drones can op- single-pilot operation. Automa- urban areas. Performance of
ing within sight of the pilot. be used commercially, but with densities. erate in proximity to each other, tion systems actively assess risk onboard systems combined
very limited access to airspace. such as near airports. and provide advance notice to with their service providers’ ca-
human supervisors when their pabilities determines when and
attention will be necessary. how airspace can be used.
OPERATIONS ENABLED
Visual line of sight (VLOS), Improves safety for VLOS Autonomous BVLOS operations Safe integration of BVLOS in Fleet operations at On-demand autonomous
commercial drone commercial drone opera- in low-density airspace controlled airspace moderate scale operations in dynamic,
operations tions and Beyond Visual Line high-density airspace.
of Sight (BVLOS) operations
POLICY MAKERS AND REGULATORS
• VLOS Flight Rules • Waiver program • Authorization policy • Basic & Managed Flight Rules • Autonomous certification • Third-party accreditation for
(eg. US Part 107, NZ 101/102) • VLOS pilot licensing • Registration • Pilot/System rating • Detect and Avoid certification services
• ID equipment requirements • Flights over people certification
• Emergency and priority • Equitable access provisions • Fleet operating certification
access • Risk-based approval

TECHNICAL PROVIDERS AND STANDARDS BODIES

• Wireless command and • Basic sense and avoid • Vehicle-to-infrastructure • Navigation and DAA • Service-to-service • Vehicle-to-vehicle
control (ex. ACAS-X) comms performance requirements coordination information sharing
• Basic surveillance • Security requirements • Traffic Manager accreditation • Corridor control accreditation • Multi-modal transport
(ex. ADS-B) • ID surveillance equipment • Risk assessment coordination

AIRSPACE OPERATORS (ANSPS AND REGULATORS)

• Published aeronautical • PinS Procedures • UAS tracking • Unmanned procedures • High-density controlled • Dynamic and perfor-
charts • VFR corridors • Expanded Instrument • Corridor configuration airspace established mance-based rules for
• No fly zones • Altitude restrictions Procedures access to airspace
• Altitude restrictions • Automated geofencing and • Automated approvals
altitude limits

AIRSPACE AND UNMANNED SERVICE PROVIDERS

• Flight plan filing • SWIM • Network Manager • Digital Traffic Managers • Corridor control services • ATM integration
• Aircraft and • Operator flight planning • ATM-UTM coordination • Specialized traffic • Congestion avoidance
pilot registry • Unmanned Aeronautical • Info Service Providers management
Information Service • High assurance IT infrastructure
• Service provider marketplace

TODAY Stakeholder Responsibilities In Levels of Automation

26 WHAT COMES NEXT

What Comes
Next?

T
his is the underlying reality of happen on all levels, on all tracks.
a future with autonomous air- These developments are why it is so
craft. Not only is airspace inte- important today to build in an apprecia-
gration possible or even prefer- tion for aviation cultures: the cultures of
able, it is entirely achievable. safety, of security, of access. Ensuring
Some parts of this Blueprint are that these foundational elements re-
complex and technical; others main in focus is a duty held by every par-
are intended to be illustrative. ticipant. We must be careful and apply
All of it, however, is meant to forethought.
be inspirational. This is a future Evolution in air traffic happens slow-
we can build together. ly, but it happens, and it is lasting. Take
But Blueprints like this are the introduction of radar services at
only one element in achieving change. individual airports with TRACON in
Crafting an airspace where traditional 1981; by the 2000s, it had morphed into
aviation and unmanned aircraft can consolidated operations that could serve
thrive requires a combination of pragma- dozens of airports from a single facility.
tism, cooperation, and action. The choices we make now will affect the
It also requires adapting to new de- world for generations to come.
velopments, only a fraction of which we Building the best possible version of
understand today. Some of these devel- the future requires imagination. Doing
opments are things we can predict and it properly demands collaboration. So
plan for. Others have yet to be invented, we ask you—whether you are a policy
or even conceived. We can say for cer- maker, a participant, or a stakeholder—
tain, though, that as the era of autonomy to join our community defining these de-
arrives, new technologies, new products, velopments, and shape how tomorrow’s
and new ideas will emerge. These will airspace will operate. The blueprint for
add to the uses of our airspace, while also a safe, efficient, and fair sky must be
improving it. New systems will reduce developed together.
risks or improve communications.
Fresh developments will increase
safety levels. Progress can—and will— www.utmblueprint.com
27 GLOSSARY

Glossary
A Digital traffic management
services*, or traffic manager: N
Service provider: An organiza-
tion that offers a collection of
A service for assisting, organiz- services that manage aircraft in
Aircraft*: A device that is used or ing, and governing aircraft using NASA UTM: NASA’s UAS Traffic flight, including drones and self-
capable of controlled flight. digital means in the airspace. Management program started piloted aircraft. Compare to the
The service is responsible in 2015 in collaboration with the ICAO term Air Traffic Services24.
Air traffic management, ATM: for preventing collisions and FAA and other federal agencies.
The existing system for managing maintaining orderly flow. Com- SESAR Joint Undertaking:

O
or controlling manned aircraft; pare with the ICAO term The technological pillar of
includes Air Traffic Control (ATC) Air Traffic Services24. Europe’s Single European Sky
services. initiative, coordinating and

E
Operator*: The person or concentrating all EU research and
Autopilot*: An automated system organization that sets a mission development activities.
that directly operates an aircraft. for a drone, provides oversight
eVTOL*: Electric or hybrid-elec- of the drone in flight, and takes Supervisor*: A person (onboard

B tric vertical takeoff and landing

aircraft; they can be winged or
responsibility for the effects of
the drone’s flight.
or on the ground) who relies on
an autopilot to operate an aircraft
wingless, manned or unmanned, in normal conditions. The supervi-
Basic flight: A category of flights and have any number of applica- Overshadowing: An attack on sor is available to intercede and
(or segment of a flight) that tions from packages and cargo computer systems in which a provide a new plan to the autopi-
operates independently of traffic to air taxi. false signal is boosted to such lot or directly/remotely operate
management services, taking levels it drowns out the the aircraft. There may

F
full responsibility for safety accurate data. be a many-to-one relationship
and routing. where one supervisor oversees
Owner: The person or organiza- multiple aircraft.
Beyond Visual Line of Sight, Fleet supervisor: A person or tion that owns the aircraft and is
BVLOS: Operation of a drone automated system that manages responsible for maintaining its System Wide Information
beyond the visual line of sight of flight plans, aircraft assignments, airworthiness. Management, SWIM: The FAA’s
a remote pilot or observer. Com- and performs business opti- System Wide Information Man-

P
pare VLOS (Visual Line of Sight). mizations. The fleet supervisor agement Program to implement
dispatches aircraft with a flight a set of Information Technology

C plan that is followed by an pilot,

autopilot, or supervisor. Pilot: A human operator of an
principles and provide users with
relevant and commonly under-
aircraft (onboard or from standable information.
Corridor control service*: Flight plan: A record of the the ground).
A digital traffic management intended route in time and space System manager*: A single,

R
service that that has authority that an aircraft expects to follow authoritative service to coordi-
for a specific corridor to while in flight. nate digital traffic services. This is
safely manage the flow in, out, or implemented and operated under

G
through the corridor. Regulator, regulatory agency: the auspices of government
The singular organization that has regulatory agencies. Scope will

D Geofence, geofencing: The cre-

legal authority to regulate air traf-
fic in a location, along with that
vary between countries.

U
ation of virtual boundaries in the organization’s delegates (such as
Detect and avoid: A system airspace which constrain a drone, an ANSP).
which allows aircraft to spot either to stay within its limits, or

S
obstacles or dangers and take remain outside them. UAS Traffic Management: A
action to avoid collision without networked collection of services
human intervention. This can GPS spoofing: An attempt to fool that work together to safely direct
happen through sensors on other a GPS receiver by broadcasting Safety culture: The aviation self-piloted air traffic based on
aircraft or on the ground, which incorrect GPS signals. industry focuses intensely on common rules.
send an alert to the endangered safety as a priority, including a

L
aircraft. Or it may occur when conservative approach to op- Unmanned aerial system, UAS:
the autonomous vehicle itself erations, from task checklists to A system that comprises the
senses a problem and takes open communications. flying vehicle, communications
action on its own. Local authority: A government or link and any ground infrastruc-
equivalent organization that has Self-piloted aircraft*: An aircraft ture, such as a handheld remote
Distributed authority: A system authority to set policy and restric- whose flight path is managed ex- control unit or a computer that
in which any individual actor is tions on land and airspace usage clusively by an autopilot without sends commands to the vehicle.
able to make decisions and take within a local area. the need for a pilot.

V
action based on information

M
and a set of agreed rules, rather Separation: The minimum safe
than refer to a central authority distance required between air-
for permission. craft, set by standards Visual Line of Sight, VLOS:
Managed aircraft*: An aircraft or regulation. Operation of a drone within visual
Drone: An aircraft without a flying a managed flight under line of sight of a remote pilot
human pilot on board; includes the guidance of a digital traffic Service: The abstract provision or observer. The remote pilot
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) management service. of a function related to drone must be able to see the drone
and remotely-piloted flight, provided to one or more sufficiently well to have continu-
aircraft (RPA). Managed flight: A category of stakeholders. For self-piloted or ous awareness of its location,
flights (or segment of a flight) managed services, much but heading, and status, as well as
where the path is controlled by a not all of the function is the drone’s environment in order
traffic management service which provided digitally. to avoid other aircraft, structures,
also provides separation services. and terrain.

Terms marked with * require a license or certification to operate.

28 SOURCES

Sources
in Paris will
IATA, “2036 Forecast Reveals Air Passengers Will
increase by
1

Nearly Double” http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pag-

es/2017-10-24-01.aspx 2035
2
PBS, “City in the Sky” http://www.pbs.org/show/city-sky/

3
World Bank, “Air Transport, Passengers Carried” https://
data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.AIR.PSGR?end=2016&star
t=1970&view=chart

SESAR, “European Drones Outlook 2016”

COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT
4

https://www.sesarju.eu/sites/default/files/documents/re-
ports/European_Drones_Outlook_Study_2016.pdf

5
NASA, “UAS Traffic Management (UTM)“ https://utm.arc. 156
nasa.gov

6
SESAR, “U-space” https://www.sesarju.eu/U-Space 80
7
NASA, “Enabling Low-Altitude Airspace and UAS Opera- UAM
tions” https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.
gov/20140013436.pdf

8
FlightAware, https://flightaware.com/ 2,500
9
FAA, “LAANC Concept of Operations” https://www.faa.
gov/uas/programs_partnerships/uas_data_exchange/indus-
try/media/laanc_concept_of_operations.pdf

NASA, “Concept of Operations” https://utm.arc.nasa.

10

gov/docs/2018-UTM-ConOps-v1.0.pdf

11
CAAC, “UOMS in China” https://rpas-regulations.com/ 0
wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1.2-Day1_0910-1010_CAAC-
SRI_Zhang-Jianping_UOMS-_EN.pdf
DELIVERY DRONES
12
Global UTM Association, “UTM Project in Japan”
https://gutma.org/montreal-2017/wp-content/uploads/
sites/2/2017/07/UTM-Project-in-Japan_METI.pdf

13
FAA, “Know Before You Fly” http://knowbeforeyoufly.org/ 16,667
14
PostEurop, “Facts & Figures” http://deliver4europe.eu/
facts-figures/

IATA, “2036 Forecast Reveals Air Passengers Will Nearly

15

Double to 7.8 Billion” https://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/

Pages/2017-10-24-01.aspx

16
ESA, “What is EGNOS” https://www.esa.int/Our_Activi-
ties/Navigation/EGNOS/What_is_EGNOS

17
Altiscope, “TR-004: Metrics to Characterize Dense Air-
space Traffic” http://bit.ly/altiscopetr004

18
Altiscope, “Collision Events in a Big Sky” https://bit. 0
ly/2HJYa06
INSPECTION DRONES
EUROCONTROL, “Free Route Airspace” http://www.
19

eurocontrol.int/articles/free-route-airspace
58
20
EUROCONTROL, “ACAS Safety Studies, 2004” http://
www.eurocontrol.int/sites/default/files/article/content/
documents/nm/safety/ACAS/safety-acas-paper-safety-
studies-20040204.pdf
1
21
JARUS, “SORA” http://jarus-rpas.org/publications
HOBBY DRONES
22
SAE International, “Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms
Related to Driving Automation Systems for On-Road
Motor Vehicles” https://www.sae.org/standards/content/ 44
j3016_201609/
12
23
Altiscope, “Volume Estimation Tool” http://bit.ly/alti-
copevolumetool 2018 2035

24
ICAO, “ICAO Annex 11” https://unitingaviation.com/publi- Source: Based on Altiscope
cations/Annex-11/ drone volume model23.