The European Detect and Avoid System (EUDAAS) demonstrator, integrated into Leonardo’s Falco Xplorer, has completed its final test flight at Trapani airport, Sicily. Leonardo said the flight “validated advanced sensors, digital flight controls and smart technologies for safe integration of large remotely piloted aircraft into European air traffic alongside other crewed and uncrewed aircraft.”
The event was attended by military and industry representatives from EUDAAS’ five contributing member states. The EUDASS project has received funding from the European Defence Industrial Development Programme and the total programme budget amounts to EUR30 million, with EUR21 million funded by the EU grant. The project is supported by the Ministries of Defence of Sweden (lead nation), Italy, Germany, France, and Spain, which provide funding alongside contributions from the European Commission.
The in-flight demonstration concluded a technological development cycle that began four years ago in Europe under Saab’s coordination, with the involvement of aeronautical experts supported by a European ecosystem of 10 partners from the member states.
The flights at Trapani confirmed the effectiveness of the systems developed for the DAA demonstrator. These provide traffic awareness, remain well clear, and collision avoidance capabilities. The systems detect and avoid both cooperative and non-cooperative air traffic, performing necessary manoeuvres to prevent conflicts while reducing the workload for operators.
Leonardo’s Falco Xplorer demonstrated how uncrewed aircraft can be integrated into standard air traffic management systems. The company expects the results of this demonstration to have long-term positive implications, enabling uncrewed aircraft to serve as reliable assets in support of diverse community and operational needs across Europe.
Building on these achievements, the EUDAAS consortium* is moving forward to the follow-up project, EUDAAS2, which will begin on 1 December. The consortium will complete the full suite of DAA functionalities at the highest technology readiness levels, including the definition of European standards in EUROCAE WG-105 as the base for the future certification of the system.
*Saab AB (Sweden, coordinator), Centro Italiano Richerche Aerospaziali CIRA S.C.P.A. (Italy), Diehl Defence GMBH & Co. KG (Germany), Deutches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (Germany), Hensoldt Sensors GmbH (Germany), Indra Sistemas (Spain), Leonardo S.P.A. (Italy), Safran Electronics & Defense (France), Thales Six GTS France SAS (France), Onera (France) and Eurocontrol (Belgium). Additional participants include Thales AVS SAS (France) and Airbus Defence and Space GmbH (Germany).
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