The European Defence Agency (EDA) and an industrial consortium led by Airbus Defence and Space have launched a new project to contribute to the integration of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) into common airspace in Europe.
A contract for the Enhanced RPAS Automation (ERA) project was signed between the EDA and a multinational industrial consortium in mid-December 2015. The project will support the widespread use of both civil and military RPAS in non-segregated airspace in Europe in general and their integration in airport operations. The project will contribute to setting the European standards that will provide the technical grounds for the certification of the Automatic Take-off and Landing, Autotaxi and Automation and Emergency Recovery functionalities, in the frame of the regulatory framework currently being produced.
To achieve these goals, technical and procedural solutions will be developed, and demonstrated by simulations and flight trials. Additionally, the project includes the development of draft standards in cooperation with the European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE). The project also relies on active collaboration with other important stakeholders, such as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Eurocontrol.
ERA is an EDA ad-hoc project launched by five Member States: France, Italy, Poland, Sweden and Germany as the lead nation. The planned duration of the project is 42 months with an overall budget of around €31 million (excl. VAT).
The ERA industrial consortium is led by Airbus Defence and Space, and composed of sixteen partners from five EDA Member States: Airbus Defence and Space and ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH from Germany; Sagem, Thales and ONERA from France; Saab from Sweden; Finmeccanica from Italy; and nine partners from Poland: Air Force Institute of Technology (leadership Polish consortium), Institute of Aviation, Hertz Systems Ltd., EUROTECH, PIAP (PrzemysłowyInstytutAutomatykiiPomiarów), Eskadra Grzegorz Trzeciak, PolitechnikaRzeszowska (Rzeszow University of Technology – RUT), WB Electronics S.A., Asseco Poland S.A.
Project leader: dr inż. Jerzy Graffstein
Phone: (+ 48) 22 846 00 11 wew. 271
E-mail: jerzy.graffstein[at]ilot.lukasiewicz.gov.pl
Date: 12.02.2015 – 30.12.2019
Funding institution: EDA/MON
Programme: EDA ad hoc
Consortium: Airbus Defence and Space (coordinator) and ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH from Germany; Sagem, Thales and ONERA from France; Saab from Sweden; Finmeccanica from Italy; and nine partners from Poland: Air Force Institute of Technology (leadership Polish consortium), Institute of Aviation, Hertz Systems Ltd., EUROTECH, PIAP (PrzemysłowyInstytutAutomatykiiPomiarów), Eskadra Grzegorz Trzeciak, PolitechnikaRzeszowska (Rzeszow University of Technology – RUT), WB Electronics S.A., Asseco Poland S.A.
