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Wisk, the Bay Area air taxi company backed by Boeing and Kitty Hawk, recently had the opportunity to share its vision with Anderson Cooper on an episode of 60 Minutes. The nationwide televised episode also revealed that the newest iteration of Wisk’s eVTOL aircraft – the vehicle for which Wisk plans to obtain type certification from the FAA – will have four seats. 

Watch the episode here.

Wisk’s mission is to “deliver safe, all-electric, autonomous, everyday flight for everyone.” Since 2010, the air taxi company has been working toward that mission by designing, developing, and testing five generations of aircraft, and now they are developing their 6th and possibly final iteration, which will have four seats. Much of the company’s work so far has been performed in “stealth mode,” staying out of the public eye, but on April 17th, the 6th generation aircraft made a public debut on the show 60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper.

The TV debut demonstrated many of the key features and changes expected to be made in the latest vehicle iteration. These include a larger seat configuration that provides more space for passengers and baggage, while ensuring that the aircraft is accessible for those with disabilities. In addition to these benefits, the 6th iteration aircraft’s larger capacity opens the door to future use cases, such as cargo transportation or emergency rescue. According to Wisk, higher payloads and cabin volume will better support other applications and use cases long term.

Also featured in the 60 Minutes episode were California-based Joby Aviation and Texas-based LIFT Aircraft, as well as cameos from Beta Technologies, Archer Aviation, EHang, and Lilium, among others.

Related: Wisk and Skyports Partner to Define Autonomous AAM Infrastructure Operations

Why it’s important: As phrased in Wisk’s latest blog post, “the day in which you’ll be able to skip traffic by flying over it in an air taxi is approaching and we want the world to be ready.” Wisk has notoriously deflected questions about its newest eVTOL design up to this point, but this nationwide televised reveal of its aircraft marks the start of the company revealing further details of its 6th generation aircraft later this year. Moreover, this appearance on a mainstream media source will excite viewers about what the near future holds for the advancement of regional transportation and aerial mobility, increasing the likelihood of public acceptance and buy-in.

EHang announced on April 11 that it has secured the largest pre-order to date for passenger grade AAV’s in Asia. This new strategic partnership between EHang and Prestige Aviation will greatly advance the rollout of aerial mobility services in Indonesia, and EHang’s UAM technology would be able to contribute to the Indonesian new capital Nusantara’s Smart City initiative.

The pre-order from Prestige Aviation, a subsidiary of Prestige Corp, was for 100 units of EH216 AAVs. Previously, Prestige Aviation purchased one unit of EH216 from EHang, and the two parties jointly conducted a debut flight demonstration for aerial sightseeing in Bali, Indonesia in 2021.

Rudy Salim, Executive Chairman of Prestige Aviation, said, “EHang has long been a crucial partner to Prestige Aviation. As a forerunner of Indonesia’s sustainable transportation, we hope that we can address the Indonesian public’s need for aerial transportation and therefore, we are ready to support the Indonesian new capital Nusantara’s Smart City initiative with EH216 AAVs. Indonesia is an archipelagic country with more than 17,000 islands within its borders. Therefore, a new transportation mode that can facilitate inter-island mobility will undoubtedly help regional economies to grow exponentially, assisted by its low cost when compared to other conventional land routes. We will join hands with EHang to bring safe, efficient, economical and eco-friendly transport solutions to facilitate inter-island mobility and many other scenarios in Indonesia.”

Hu Huazhi, Founder, Chairman and CEO of EHang, attended the online ceremony and commented, “We sincerely appreciate all the support and recognition of Prestige Aviation and our expanding network of partners, which inspire EHang to further expand our global market. We will continue our in-depth collaboration with Prestige Aviation on UAM in Indonesia. We believe that, as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (“RCEP”) brings favorable policies to international cooperation, we will further accelerate the development of UAM in Asia Pacific region with the aim to benefit the people with cutting-edge AAV technologies.”

Why it’s important: This pre-order for EHang 216 AAV’s allows Indonesia to be well poised for future progress in the aerial mobility space and also emphasizes the importance of many global regions’ progress and preparation for a future with democratized aviation as a cornerstone of transportation infrastructure.

Volcopter, the German-based eVTOL manufacturer, has completed its first flight of Volocity. The VoloCity will be the fourth-generation electrical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) by the company since its founding.

Volocity is propelled by 18 rotors, with redundancy in all critical systems, a low noise signature and a rigid commitment to the inner-city mission. According to Volocopter, “the VoloCity will become the first commercially licensed Volocopter, developed according to the high standards and requirements of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Our intensive testing programme has informed the innovative design and the outstanding overall performance of the VoloCity. Quiet, safe, and comfortable, the Volocity engenders Urban Air Mobility.”

VoloCity was announced in 2019 and released a re-design in 2020 and intends to be fully certified and ready for commercial entry to service in conjunction with the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Volocopter commented on a blog post of the first flight, “Today, we celebrate a remarkable achievement: the culmination of our aspiration to create a better future in which electric aircraft and emission-free flights are the new dimension of global mobility. As Volocopter taxis toward this new frontier, it will make urban flights just a few smartphone clicks away. These moments demonstrate how our pioneering spirit will bring our vision to life before our very eyes. And it’s just the push we need as we enter the final leg of the race to commercial launch.”

Why it matters: While not the most exciting of flights, the short hover test marks a significant milestone for Volocopter’s VoloCity program as it transitions from a concept to a real aircraft. As testing progresses, expect to see VoloCity’s flight envelope expand to meet the desired operating characteristics and work begin towards EASA certification in 2024.

Adding another organizational layer to its aerial mobility efforts, CAAM, the Canadian Air Mobility Consortium, has now added the Canadian Centre for Advanced Research and Training in Aviation (CARTAMS) to its partner list.

CAAM was first launched in October of 2020, in order to bring together stakeholders in the future of aerial mobility in Canada including eVTOL developers, infrastructure developers, governmental organizations, and more. In all, the organization has brought in over 70 partners, all with the aim of creating collaborations that will help launch the future of aerial mobility in Canadian cities. According to its mission statement, CAAM’s goal is to ‘create a national AAM (Advanced Aerial Mobility) strategy for Canada while implementing regional revenue generating use cases.”

The Canadian Centre for Advanced Research and Training in Aviation (CARTAMS), meanwhile, focuses on fostering the digital side of aviation advances in Canada, providing vast resources and organizational structures for promoting the use of super computing and machine learning in aviation and new kinds of aerial mobility. CARTAMS seeks to ‘drive innovation, education, and training across the country through data creation, visualization, application, and knowledge translation.’ CARTAMS also seeks to raise awareness on the potential impact of these new technologies in conjunction with aerial mobility across industries. Its partners already include Air Canada, Solway, and more.

Now, the two organizations will partner to create an even more powerful hub for aerial mobility innovation and development in Canada. Together, they intend to ‘build an evolutionary, made-in-Canada aviation, mobility and space (AMS) ecosystem to ensure future growth and address the needs of Canadians for decades to come’, in order to maintain Canada’s top 7 global ranking in aviation and aerospace design and production.

“CAAM has been working hard to organize dozens of groups from industry, academia, and government
around regional revenue generating use cases which are supported by a national strategy to rapidly unlock
the safe development of this industry.” said JR Hammond, Executive Director of CAAM. “We’ve always known
that our structure and goals would make it difficult to play a large role in coordinating the research and
talent development needed for the industry to grow safely alongside other global leaders. Our partnership
with CARTAMS allows us to focus even more on helping industry and government chart a course towards
safe operations while supporting CARTAMS in the other pieces we aren’t currently set up for.”

Why it’s important: Canada is currently one of the top 7 countries in the world for aviation and aerospace design and production, which brings in over 25 billion CAD to the country’s GDP and supports over 200,000 jobs. In order to stay on top of trends in the industry, Canada has launched organizations like CAAM and CARTAAMS in order to drive innovation and development in new aerial mobility with technologies like eVTOL, drones, and distributed electric propulsion aircraft. With this partnership announcement, Canada shows that it is continuing to stay focused on the future of aerial mobility, ensuring that it has the organizational resources to match and encourage the growth of these new industries.

Source // CAAM – CARTAMS Press Release

Related:

• Canada Launches CAAM to Accelerate Aerial Mobility Development and Implementation

LIFT Aircraft Co. announced on April 7th that it was recently awarded a Phase 3 contract through the United States Air Force’s Agility Prime Program to continue experimentation and flight test efforts around HEXA, LIFT’s all-electric, single-seat eVTOL aircraft.

Since 2020, LIFT Aircraft has conducted flight testing with the support of the US Air Force under a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. Additionally, the HEXA single seat eVTOL has been transported inside of the C-130 Hercules cargo transport aircraft to prove out additional use cases and ability to deploy the eVTOL in a variety of environments.

The newly awarded Phase 3 contract will continue experimentation and use case development through a fast paced, rigorous flight testing program. The program, which will begin at Eglin AFB per previous announcements from LIFT, may expand to other locations, and will include efforts such as flight envelope expansion, acoustics testing, developmental testing of a modular cargo adaptation for the airframe alongside continuous operational testing with stakeholders. This effort aims to accelerate and further develop HEXA for future public and military applications like emergency first response, personnel transport, base logistics, and search and rescue missions. The development effort will also help accelerate the testing required for LIFT’s planned rollout of commercial flight locations.

Agility Prime has taken a unique flexible approach to contracting with the newly awarded phase 3 SBIR for LIFT. The contract is designed to be as agile as possible – it allows not only the Air Force, but any governmental entity to contract for flight test activities with LIFT’s HEXA aircraft on an as-needed basis.

“This contract was designed to enable flexible flight test as a service (Company Owned-Company Operated) of multiple HEXA aircraft for any government stakeholder, location and desired experiment. We want it to be able to serve as a contract vehicle that accelerates HEXA towards fielding not just for the USAF, but the DOD and USG in general. We have a large number of interested stakeholders that are looking at use-cases for the aircraft and welcome growing the community even further in the future.” said the Technology Transition Lead and LIFT Program Manager at Agility Prime, Sterling Alley.

“​LIFT’s Phase III SBIR contract award is a meaningful vote of confidence from the US Air Force. It means the Air Force has determined LIFT’s previous development and testing contracts were successful. This is an important step towards scaling access to LIFT’s HEXA eVTOL aircraft throughout the DoD and Federal Government at large,” noted Eric Horan, former US Navy government contracting officer and founding partner of Decisive Point, a venture capital firm that invests in dual-use technology startups and has invested in LIFT.

Why it’s important: The recent extension and progression of LIFT’s work with the USAF will enable for future flight test progress and design of their eVTOL aircraft and will leverage the USAF’s experience in flight testing along with the resources of expertise in unique operational scenarios that can help to further develop and expand the envelope of the HEXA aircraft.

HyPoint, a growing expert in providing hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion solutions to all kinds of upcoming aircraft including long-range eVTOLs, has recently announced a partnership with Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories to greatly increase hydrogen fuel storage capacity on its partnered aircraft.

Image: HyPoint’s website highlights the types of aircraft that could use its hydrogen fuel-cell solutions

HyPoint has been working for several years to develop more advanced hydrogen fuel cells that focus on maintaining the weight and energy efficiency requirements for many upcoming aircraft, rangining from infracity aerial mobility aircraft to longer range eVTOLs and more.

Now, HyPoint has found a new partner in Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories, which specializes in making carbon fiber hydrogen fuel tanks that can store up to 10 times the amount of liquid hydrogen fuel as compared to existing tanks of the same mass. In particular, HyPoint envisions using GTL’s new advanced carbon composite BHL Cryotank, which have demonstrated a 75% mass reduction as compared to existing tanks. The new BHL tanks will be integrated seamlessly with HyPoint’s air-cooled aviation fuel cell systems.

Image: Zachary Taylor, vice president of engineering at Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories, poses with one of GTL’s larger BHL tanks, which only weighs 148lbs.

HyPoint has already established several partnerships with eVTOL aircraft makers and advanced aerial mobility developers, including XTI Aircraft, Bartini, McFly.aero, AMSL Aero, and Piasecki Aircraft, and Urban Aeronautics.

Said Dr. Alex Ivanenko, founder and CEO of HyPoint: “Reducing weight is the most important factor for enabling longer-distance air travel with fewer stops to refuel. Our hydrogen fuel cell system offers better specific power performance compared with any alternative available today, opening the door to short-haul zero-emission hydrogen flight and urban air mobility. This partnership with GTL goes even further by offering aircraft and eVTOL makers a liquid hydrogen tank that is stronger and lighter than anything else on the market, thereby significantly increasing fuel capacity. By utilizing this new fuel tank technology, longer-haul aircraft may be able to utilize hydrogen for the first time while eVTOL makers can effectively multiply their flight range and operational time.”

Why it’s important: With its significant achievement of decreasing fuel tank mass by factors of around 75% percent, Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories has made itself a highly appealing partner for any company aiming to create hydrogen propulsion solutions for aviation and new aerial mobility aircraft. By partnering with GTL, HyPoint, which is seeking to become an industry expert in hydrogen fuel-cell solutions for eVTOL, may be able to offer eVTOL makers greatly increased range and performance for their aircraft.

Related:

• HyPoint and Piasecki Aircraft Announce Partnership for Development of Hydrogen Fuel Cell System
• Urban Aeronautics Partners with HyPoint to Design Hydrogen-Powered CityHawk

Lilium has grown from Germany to Spain ahead of the next phase of flight testing of its Phoenix 2 technology demonstrator in the country. The testing will be based out of Spain’s ATLAS Flight Test Center. According to a company press release, Lilium plans to expand the flight envelope of the aircraft through full transition and high-speed flight. These developments come after successful flight testing with the same aircraft in southern Germany last year.

Daniel Wiegand, Co-Founder and CEO of Lilium said: “We are excited to have kicked off our next phase of flight testing in Spain. This step takes us even closer to reaching our goal of creating a sustainable and accessible mode of high-speed, low noise regional air mobility.”

Together with excellent weather conditions, the ATLAS Flight Test Center provides optimal infrastructure and enables aircraft to fly over a large, unpopulated area while transitioning fully to high-speed wing-borne flight. The modern facilities and support from the Andalusian Foundation for Aerospace Development (“FADA”) and Center for Advanced Aerospace Technologies (“CATEC”) have been instrumental in setting Lilium up for a successful flight test campaign.

Lilium also plans to introduce an additional demonstrator aircraft, Phoenix 3, which is scheduled to arrive in Spain for a first flight this summer. This aircraft is expected to significantly accelerate the flight test campaign, allowing Lilium to increase learnings and reduce program risks.

In other news, Lilium recently announced it has delayed its expected entry to commercial service by 12 months to 2025 in a communication to investors. Lilium expects to begin construction of its first certifiable prototype in 2023.

Why it matters: The move to Spain offers excellent year round weather for Lilium to conduct testing of its flight test prototypes. This will allow more regular testing throughout the winters, which are normally cold and rainy in southern Germany. What remains to be seen is if the move will help Lilium ensure its new expected delivery dates.

Blueberry Aviation, a global commercial aircraft and helicopter specialist, and Dufour Aerospace, a Swiss eVTOL company, announced on April 4th that they’ve signed a global partnership agreement. Under this agreement Blueberry Aviation will provide marketing advisory and placement support to Dufour Aerospace. Blueberry Aviation will be Dufour’s privileged partner for helicopter trade-in and will set up financial tools to fund or lease Dufour products. Also of substantial note and included in Dufour’s press release was acquisition plans from Blueberry Aviation to purchase 100 Aero2 and 100 Aero3 products from Dufour.

Blueberry Aviation has 20 years of experience in the commercial aircraft and helicopter markets and resultantly is well posied to support Dufour Aerospace in launching its aircraft and achieving its commercial goals. 

The tilt-wing design of Dufour Aerospace’s aircraft family combines the ability to take off and land vertically like a helicopter with the efficiency and speed of a conventional aircraft, without the constraints and limitations of other eVTOL designs. With unparalleled range and speed, high payload and large access doors, Dufour’s Aero2 and Aero3 offer many assets for operators and end users seeking efficient and cost-effective sustainable technology.

The Aero2 is an electric-hybrid, remotely piloted aircraft which has applications in surveillance and mapping activities, critical cargo delivery (high value goods or medical supplies such as blood, vaccines or organs), or public security applications like search and rescue and firefighting.       

The Aero3 is a larger, pilot operated aircraft with a has a maximum take-off weight of 2800kg (6173 lbs), a useable weight of 750kg (1653 lbs) with a cabin for up to 8 passengers, a cruise speed of 350 km/h (189 knots), and a range of 1020 km (551 nm). Dufour is marketing the Aero3 as a replacement for many helicopter operations, particularly EMS transport, SAR operations and surveillance, and also asserts that the Aero3 will “create tremendous opportunities for airlines to attract new customers by feeding their current routes with legs from previously untapped areas with limited air services.”

The aircraft is being designed to meet EASA’s SC-VTOL (Special Condition for VTOL) standards, making use of a hybrid-electric propulsion system to meet the requirements of operators in multi platforms. Aero3 is due to be certification ready in 2025 with an entry into service in 2026.

Why it’s important: The partnership between Dufour and Blueberry will aid both firms’ progress in the emerging aerial mobility space by leveraging one another’s strengths as an OEM and marketing/operating specialist, respectively. Blueberry’s helicopter background will supplant the future transition toward mixed aircraft medium operations, including that of eventual eVTOL aircraft introduction to the current fleet of traditional helicopters. Further, laying the frameworks for these types of operations today will better prepare global aviation operations for an equipment swap once the time is right and the technical maturity of AAV systems is adequate to begin passenger carrying operations.

FedEx Express is teaming up with California Bay Area-based Elroy Air, the company building an end-to-end autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial cargo system. As a first of its kind agreement in the U.S., FedEx Express will develop plans to test Elroy Air’s Chaparral autonomous air cargo system within the company’s middle-mile logistics operations, moving shipments between sortation locations. This is the latest initiative from FedEx in its effort to explore and adopt emerging technologies across its networks.

The exponential growth of e-commerce has accelerated the demand for reliable, efficient transportation and logistics solutions throughout all stages of the supply chain. FedEx believes that continued innovation and automation will improve safety, efficiency, and productivity for the company’s 600,000 team members as they continue to move the world forward.

“FedEx was built on innovation and we are always looking toward new technologies to help enhance the logistics industry through improved safety, efficiency and customer service,” said Joe Stephens, senior vice president, global planning, engineering and technology, FedEx Express. “We look forward to continued testing and learning throughout our collaboration with Elroy Air.”

Elroy Air announced its signature Chaparral autonomous aircraft in January 2022. The Chaparral aircraft is an eVTOL aerial cargo system that can autonomously pick up 300-500 pounds of cargo and deliver it by air up to 300 miles. The Chaparral is capable of longer-range flights without the need for additional infrastructure, such as airports or charging stations.

“We are proud to work with FedEx to build the next generation of express logistics,” said Kofi Asante, Elroy Air’s VP of Business Development and Strategy. “When you’re not limited by challenging infrastructure, traffic, or airports, logistics can reach more people, faster than ever before. We look forward to working together to create a new future for how we get goods to people around the world.”

Why it’s important: FedEx and Elroy Air have been working together since January 2020 and will continue their collaboration to pursue certifications and begin flight testing in 2023. FedEx has already utilized autonomous air vehicle technology when in 2019 they delivered a package to a home in Christiansburg, Virginia in collaboration with Alphabet’s Wing Aviation. This previous effort marked the launch of the first scheduled, commercial residential drone delivery service and the first scheduled e-commerce delivery via drone delivery trial in the United States. FedEx’s expansion to using drone logistics for middle-mile transportation signals the company’s perceived value that the technology can bring to its operations.

Related: Alphabet’s Wing and FedEx Offer Residential Drone Delivery Service

Source // FedEx press release

Aiming to fulfill its vision of building a comprehensive Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) ecosystem, Hyundai’s subsidiary Supernal has announced that it will be developing a longer range, hydrogen-powered short take-off and landing aircraft in addition to the SA-1 eVTOL that is already in development.

Many companies the world over are beginning to realize the potential of distributed electric propulsion technology to fill a market need for sustainable and cost-effective regional air transportation in addition to in-city vertical take-off and landing services. These companies, several of which are launching the United States including Electra.aero, Metro Hop, and Airflow, argue that these new aircraft, many of which are capable of taking off and landing within 100 feet, could replace regional aircraft that fulfill logistics and eCommerce needs for middle-mile transportation.

The new aircraft from Supernal, which will be released after its main eVTOL aircraft SA-1 (seen above), aims to be able to fly around 1,000 kilometers per flight, and will be powered by hydrogen fuel cells rather than purely by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

A new aircraft development unit of Hyundai in Korea, the ‘Korea Advanced Air Mobility’ unit, will be primarily responsible for this new aircraft. Hyundai plans on launching a regional aerial mobility network with this aircraft starting in Seoul, Korea, around 2030.

No renderings of the new aircraft have been released yet, but Supernal senior manager Yesh Premkumar emphasized Hyundai’s holistic approach to Advanced Aerial mobility by saying: “We looked at multiple ways of solving the problem. For the short-range model, batteries emerged as the best solution because of their existing use in the automotive field. For the long-range aircraft, Hyundai chose hydrogen fuel cells in the context of its existing experience with the technology. The company currently makes about 10,000 fuel cells a year for automotive applications.”

Why it’s important: This latest move by Hyundai represents the company’s intention to create a fully comprehensive aerial mobility ecosystem rather than only one aircraft. The company recognizes that there will be a market need for both short range eVTOL services and for long range intercity services, and seeks to be a provider for all areas of the market.

Source // Future Flight.aero

Related:

• Hyundai’s Supernal to Enable Development of Advanced Air Mobility in Miami
• Electra Unveils First Product Configuration
• Plug Power Invests in Airflow’s eSTOL for Hydrogen Propulsion

On 21 March 2022, Volocopter became the first eVTOL developer to conduct both crewed and remotely piloted test flights in France. The crewed flights were part of a week-long urban air mobility (UAM) test campaign that will give Volocopter and its partners – Groupe ADP and RATP Group – key insights for subsequently launching the UAM industry in time for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Volocopter’s full-scale testing prototype, the Volocopter 2X, was used to perform successful flight tests at Pontoise airfield in Paris to measure the aircraft’s noise emissions. This data will be used by the company’s partners to shape the future of urban air mobility services in and around Paris.

Said Christian Bauer (photographed to the left), Chief Commercial Officer of Volocopter: “We have demonstrated our pioneering power once again here in Paris. By flying our aircraft in a crewed configuration at a Paris airport, we are proving to one of our launch cities firsthand that our aircraft will offer a practical addition for potential airport-to-city routes.”

Volocopter first flew its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in France uncrewed at the Paris Air Forum held in June 2021. Together with its partners, the company is gearing up for commercial launch in the next 2–3 years.

UAM, short for Urban Air Mobility, refers to the subcategory of advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft such as eVTOLs and the infrastructure involved with operating those aircraft in and around cities. Seen as an addition to existing ground transportation options, UAM supports the development of environmentally friendly mobility solutions, and will offer cities worldwide a unique mix of urban multimodal transportation systems.

Why it’s important: The UAM testing sandbox at Pontoise airfield addresses the challenges of this new form of mobility directly by assessing UAM solution use, acceptability, regulations, technologies, and industrialization. Furthermore, the airfield offers a real and secure aeronautical environment in a suburban area, 35 km northwest of Paris. If Volocopter can successfully erect the required infrastructure in time for the 2024 Olympics, the company has potential to establish itself as a leader in the European UAM industry.

Source // Volocopter press release

The Port of Rotterdam announced on March 25th the rollout of airspace and procedures after a market consultation for parties that can support the U-space prototype.

In their press release announcing the airspace deployment, the Port of Rotterdam stated that “increasing the operational safety of manned and unmanned traffic in the port area is one of the main motivations. Improving the visibility of aircrafts is another. Better identification of unmanned flights, the option of banning flights over sensitive locations and security also play a role. Airspace monitoring will provide insight into the use of the sky and make it possible to enforce regulations. At the same time, but no less important, an unmanned traffic management system will enable drone operators to offer their services safely to the ports’ clients.”

The Port Authority also released a white paper on the program, “Drone Port of Rotterdam; U-Space Airspace Prototype” that outlines in further detail the proposed plan for the airspace.

This announcement comes at a time when drone applications in the port are currently involved in incident control, supervision, inspections, combating crime and drug smuggling. Many experimental Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights have not yet received permission. For example, delivery of parts on board a ship, or cargo inspections before the ship arrives in the port. With U-space services in place, BVLOS permissions may be accelerated.

The prototype, starting in summer 2022 for a period of 2 years, will provide answers to questions about how to organize and control the low altitude airspace in the port in a way that ensures safety whilst providing opportunities. It will help determine the role that the Port Authority will play in low-level airspace. It will also give a substantiated impression of the type and amount of work involved in drone airspace control and the costs involved.

Why it’s important: This U-space airspace rollout will enable quicker paths toward BVLOS operational permits and ultimately more flexibility for mixed airspace use cases for future aerial mobility operations. Streamlining the pathway towards approval to operate within more congested areas, either from human presence on the ground, air traffic, or mixed commercial use, will allow more operators to deploy their drones (and eventually aerial mobility aircraft) easier and safer.