Israeli companies and government officials have developed the world’s first municipal airspace control centre, designed to manage autonomous drone and eventually eVTOL flights in and around cities.
The new control centre has been built in Askelon and equipped with the Cando platform which integrates data from combined stationary sensors on masts, drones and mobile devices, along with the HighLander Orion DFM (drone fleet management) and Vega UTM (unmanned traffic management) systems.
The facility is designed to manage autonomous drone missions throughout the surrounding region for local authorities, government agencies and commercial operators. The centre is the latest output of the Israel National Drone Initiative (INDI), a partnership of government bodies led by the Ministry of Transportation, the Innovation Authority, Ayalon Routes and the Civil Aviation Authority.
The programme has been developed as an operational centre for managing autonomous aircraft missions in a highly complex airspace, with both civil and military airspace users sharing a very limited space. On the military side, senior Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and security forces need a platform to coordinate their drone activities, enabling detection and investigation of threats by autonomous management and control of multi-drone fleets. On the civil side, Israeli companies are trialling new beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations while opening the door to future eVTOL flights.
According to Yulia Katz, VP Strategy at Cando Drones: “Cando Drones is proud to lead the creation of this command centre at the Ashkelon Innovation Center. Maintaining civilian security in at-risk areas requires short response times, rapid intelligence gathering, and quick decision-making. Drones provide accurate, reliable information in real time and their operational flexibility enables decision makers and operational teams to respond in an efficient and effective manner. We bring to this project years of experience in all aspects of airspace operations in a wide range of applications throughout Israel, and in the future in other countries too.”
The last few weeks have seen the new centre manage several increasingly complex trials. Cando Drone operators have used Orion DFM to execute drone missions in multiple towns and villages with a variety of drones, as well as delivery missions with Speedbird Aero’s DLV-2. “The focus was on locating and tracking simulated suspicious objects and events and coordinating ground response,” according to a High Lander social media post, “while sharing live video with invited audience members including emergency service representatives and local politicians.” Further south, Robotican executed missions with its Rooster semi-autonomous hybrid drone, fitted with a RID device from TopView Srl. to demonstrate its connection to Vega UTM.
Alon Abelson, CEO and co-founder of High Lander, said: “This command centre answers an important need in an area where the volume of drone activity is growing every day. It provides a hub where security and public safety operations can be managed, as well as commercial applications such as deliveries..”
According to the Israeli Innovation Authority, in reference to the wider INDI programme: “The purpose of the project is to support and promote an ecosystem through technology, regulation and infrastructure for the use of advanced aircraft and to prepare the airspace for the flights of these aircraft with the intention of easing the congestion on Israel’s roads, optimizing commercial and public services and creating a competitive advantage for Israeli high-tech companies in the field of drones to break into the global market,”.
In June 2023, within the framework of the project, the Dronery company from Cando Drones flew demonstration flights with an autonomous EHang EH-216.
For further information
https://cando.co.il/eg-cando/solutions-and-products/
https://innovationisrael.org.il/en/press_release/israels-national-drone-initiative-enters-second-phase/
