Among the hot topics in European drone regulation is the upcoming U-space deadline.  European member states are currently directed to have their own U-space areas implemented by January 2023; but as the date rapidly approaches, key decisions still need to be made.  DRONELIFE caught up with friend and UTM expert Amit Ganjoo of ANRA Technologies, supporting both NASA and EASA as a provider of UAM services, to discuss his thoughts on the current discussions.

U-Space Definitions

U-Space is Europe’s concept for managing drone traffic, and U-Space areas would be dynamic areas within which commercial drones could operate.  This bulletin from the European Civil Aviation Conference  gives an excellent summary:

Those services will be delivered by U-Space Service Providers (USSP), who must meet 4 key requirements:

• Network Identification Service
• Geo-Awareness
• UAS Flight Authorization
• Traffic Information

Decisions, Decisions: Some of the Barriers to Meeting the U-Space Deadline

Those required capabilities are clearly defined – but one problem, says Ganjoo, is that there isn’t yet a standard certification or onboarding process for USSPs.  In Europe, that may be up to individual member states, but reciprocity could simplify the process.

Secondly, Ganjoo points out, not every member state has published the planned location of U-Space areas.  “States could decide to start in low-risk areas – or could immediately begin with higher-risk, higher-use areas.  They could decide to have fewer large areas as U-Space areas, or smaller areas – but we just don’t know yet how each member state will go.

The Common Information System (CIS) that underlies the U-Space capabilities is another aspect that is open to interpretation.  “We don’t really have a common understanding of what the CIS should be,” says Ganjoo.  “This isn’t a technical issue – it’s a concept.  CIS could be as simple as airspace information, or it could offer authorizations.”   As a technology provider, Ganjoo says that delivering the solution isn’t the problem: “The stakeholders need to decide what the CIS should look like… and that will dictate who pays for it, and whether or not it is monetized.”

That’s another big issue to be worked out, for U-Space and for unified air traffic management systems around the world: who will pay for it?  Airspace authorities? Users? Fairness of airspace access is a difficult consideration for every country.

In the meantime, many participants in the EASA High Level Conference held at Amsterdam Drone Week wondered if the deadline will change.  While significant progress has been made on U-Space throughout Europe, there still remain many questions about how U-Space implementation will work.

“I don’t think every state will be ready by January 2023,” says Ganjoo. “There’s a lot of work to do.”

Read more about EASA drone regulations and U-Space: