The European U-ELCOME project, coordinated by EUROCONTROL and led by ENAIRE in Spain, concluded its final validation campaign in Fuerteventura with a practical demonstration of U-Space technology, focused on the automated management of drone operations in airspace.
The trial took place at the Canarias Stratoport for HAPS & UAS, a public facility of Parque Tecnológico de Fuerteventura S.A., specialised in the testing and operation of unmanned aerial platforms, such as drones (UAS) and high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS).
During the exercise, emergency situations requiring aerial reconnaissance and the transport of medical supplies were simulated. Flights were conducted by UAS operated by the Telespazio Ibérica – Pegasus joint venture, which detected an incident and activated an emergency protocol. A helicopter from the Emergency and Rescue Service of the Canary Islands Government then took off from Fuerteventura Airport to provide assistance. In the second phase, the delivery of medicines from the General Hospital was simulated using UAS, which transported them to the incident site.
The entire operation was coordinated thanks to U-Space services, managed on this occasion by ENAIRE and ITG, which enabled the safe integration of drones with conventional air traffic, with the trial taking place in controlled airspace.
