British UTM provider Altitude Angel will be taking their business to new heights after agreeing to a partnership with flight-planning platform Airmate.

The duo will exchange real-time aircraft telemetry data, developing an Unmanned Traffic Management system to enable manned aircraft and drones to detect each other.

An Altitude Angel press release stated:

“Private pilots can use the Airmate app to plan, manage and track their flights. Altitude Angel’s GuardianUTM platform allows drone pilots to submit flight reports and request approval to fly in controlled airspace from official air traffic management authorities around the world, including [the] FAA’s LAANC and NATS’ Airspace User Portal, and, soon, [the flight authority of the Netherlands].

The new UTM will leverage Altitude Angel’s current platform but will also combine live flight data from Airmate’s opted-in pilots and output a single feed through Altitude Angel’s Conflict Resolution Service (CRS), providing “a real-time situational awareness picture for flight operations outside controlled airspace.”

“Over the last 12 months Altitude Angel has been the first to develop and launch key technological pillars of UTM, including strategic and tactical deconfliction, which will serve as the foundation of the industry for years to come,” Altitude Angel CEO Richard Parker said. “Through our cloud platform, we provide services to a growing community of concerned and conscientious companies and individuals operating drones and aircraft worldwide.”

“Thanks to open aviation data from aviation authorities, Airmate brought free flight-planning tools to the aviation world in more than 200 countries,” Airmate founder Daniel Mavrakis said, adding that the company’s pilot community numbers 70,000 pilots.

Earlier this month, Altitude Angel snagged a contract to provide Netherlands air traffic control authority, Luchtverkeersleiding Nederland, with a nationwide UTM platform.

The contract will furnish the Netherlands with a UTM platform that will integrate drones into Dutch airspace.
“Our goal is simple: we want to enable our customers to unlock the tremendous potential of drones and UAM to transform lives and revolutionize businesses, safely and securely,” Parker said. “Through our partnership, we’re enabling [the Netherlands] to deploy new capabilities to serve – and catalyze – the emerging drone and UAM industry.”