How can drones and traditional aircraft safely share the same airspace? That’s the question being answered by the ENSURE project, part of the SESAR JU Digital European Sky research and innovation programme.
From 28 to 30 October, the Indra UTM team led a major validation campaign at Torrejón (Spain), working with air traffic controllers from Málaga and Madrid to test how air traffic management (ATM) systems can seamlessly connect with drone management (U-space) systems.
The trials simulated real-life scenarios — from runway inspections with drones to emergency helicopter operations — confirming that both systems can exchange information safely and efficiently. The results mark an important step towards a future where drones and aircraft operate side by side in Europe’s skies.
As part of the ENSURE project (ATM–U-space Interface and Airspace Reconfiguration) under the SESAR JU’s research and innovation programme, the Indra UTM team successfully conducted a major validation campaign from 28 to 30 October. The activity focused on several use cases that will be executed in Málaga during the project’s final validation, which aims to achieve TRL7 maturity in January 2026.
The validation took place at Indra’s Torrejón facilities, with the participation of two air traffic controllers from Málaga Airport, one from Madrid, and experts from Indra, ENAIRE, CRIDA, and INECO.
This technical and operational validation proved highly successful, confirming the robustness of each information exchange service implemented in the interface between ATM and UTM systems — the core objective of the ENSURE project. The results demonstrate the advanced level of integration achieved between both systems.
Some of the validated use cases included:
- Simultaneous runway pavement inspection with drones
- Runway and surrounding area inspection and detection using drones – identification of foreign objects / FOD damage
- Helicopter emergency during drone operations for panoramic photography
- ILS calibration using a drone
- Various scenarios related to dynamic airspace reconfiguration for the management of both manned and unmanned traffic
The validated services, from both technical and operational perspectives, were:
- U-plan
- Conformance Monitoring
- Tactical Operational Message
- Tracking
- UAS Zone
- Collaborative Interface with ATC
- Strategic Conflict Resolution
- Emergency Management and Contingency Plan
- Dynamic Airspace Reconfiguration
This milestone marks the successful completion of a crucial technical and operational validation phase. Feedback from the controllers from Málaga and Madrid was extremely positive, as this was the first time they interacted with the latest version of the operational ATM system (iTEC) fully integrated with Indra’s U-space platform. These same ATM and U-space systems will be used during the TRL7 validation in Málaga.
All information exchange services developed and integrated between both platforms were included in this campaign. The validation was key to helping controllers become familiar with the real operational system to be used in the final trials and to receive initial training for the new responsibilities that the emerging role of DAR Manager will entail when managing operations in a shared environment with both manned and unmanned traffic.
Learn more about the ENSURE project here: https://www.sesarju.eu/projects/ensure
