The iART Alliance is excited to announce the launch of the Alberta RTM Trials – Operational Evaluation (iART-OE), a pioneering initiative designed to evaluate Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Traffic Management (RTM) services in active, real-world scenarios. This project brings together key industry, government, and academic stakeholders to test, assess, and refine RTM capabilities that will be critical to enabling safe Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations in Canada.
The iART-OE trials will begin in Sherwood Park, Alberta—a progressive community in Strathcona County and part of the Edmonton metropolitan area. Both Strathcona County and the City of Edmonton are focused on enabling their communities with advanced drone capabilities, particularly in the area of emergency response through Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs. As Edmonton expands its drone operations and begins to leverage the capabilities of RTM services, the trials will scale across the Greater Edmonton Region. The region’s advantaged airspace makes it an ideal environment for establishing Canada’s first cooperative RTM-enabled airspace. This initiative is supported by the Government of Alberta via Emissions Reduction Alberta funding contributions.
Industry-Led Interoperability Testing for RTM
Building on the approach pioneered in the Dallas Keysite, the Alberta RTM Trials will feature industry-led interoperability testing to evaluate and advance cooperative airspace management. OneSky brings deep experience from integrating UTM services within the Dallas ecosystem, while AIRmarket contributes extensive expertise in Canadian RTM operations. Together, we are working to establish Canada’s first RTM-enabled cooperative airspace in the Greater Edmonton Region.
This initiative will leverage open-source tools developed in Dallas and will involve the simultaneous operation of two RTM service providers—OneSky and AIRmarket. This marks a first in Canada and sets the stage for testing real-world interoperability, coordination, and data exchange between platforms. The results are expected to inform the development of Canada’s broader RTM ecosystem, serving as a foundational step ahead of NAV Canada’s rollout of the rFIMS service.
Further details on the project, including how others can get involved, are available here: Alberta RTM Trials – Get Started
“These trials represent a pivotal step toward building the digital infrastructure Canada needs to safely scale BVLOS drone operations. By bringing together industry, government, and technology providers in real-world environments, we’re not just testing systems—we’re shaping the future of airspace access for RPAS.” – Lindsay Mohr, CEO, AIRmarket
“OneSky looks forward to working closely with AirMarket on this next step in advancing RPAS operations in Canada. Since our initial Canadian RPAS efforts in 2021, we have found the country’s RPAS stakeholders to be forward-thinking and receptive to innovative technology to support safe and efficient BVLOS RPAS operations.” – Robert Hammett, CEO, OneSky UTM
Airspace Stakeholder Engagement Meeting
The safety briefing held at AIRmarket’s offices on July 18 officially marked the launch of the iART-OE initiative. The meeting brought together a broad range of airspace stakeholders potentially impacted by upcoming operations. Discussions focused on raising awareness of the project, building a shared understanding of the intended operations, and advancing toward an ecosystem-accepted procedure for managing airspace through RTM services and standardized communications.
To view the updated list of all of our airspace stakeholders, please click here.
