The European project U-ELCOME (U-space European COMmon dEpLoyment), focused on deploying services for the safe management of drone traffic using the U-space concept, concludes this week with the presentation of its findings by ENAIRE at the event organised by the SESAR Joint Undertaking: “Supporting the Drone Strategy 2.0: Results from the U-space Digital Demonstrators”, held at EUROCONTROL in Brussels.
During this event, key results from other European projects (BURDI and EALU-AER) were also presented, all aimed at integrating drones into airspace through U-space technologies to enable safe, automated, and coordinated operations in both urban and rural areas. The event shared insights from test campaigns, challenges faced, and lessons learned across different European environments, under the supervision of the SESAR Joint Undertaking — the European public-private partnership driving innovation for the Single European Sky and its strategy for a digital, connected, and sustainable airspace.
As the project coordinator in Spain, ENAIRE highlighted the unique nature of the Spanish cluster within Europe, having conducted tests that integrated multiple drone service providers operating simultaneously in the country. This cluster has become the first to reach a technological maturity level equivalent to pre-industrial deployment — a milestone in the evolution of drone airspace management.
ENAIRE has been designated as Spain’s sole Common Information Service Provider (CISP), acting as a data facilitator between traditional air traffic service providers and the new digital services for drone operations.
To this end, ENAIRE has developed two software platforms — one for providing this common information service and another for delivering U-space services — both of which were successfully tested during the U-ELCOME project. The organisation is currently undergoing certification with the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) to provide these services.
During the project, more than 700 test flights were carried out across eight regions, demonstrating the operational feasibility and usefulness of U-space services and helping to improve public acceptance of drone use in both urban and rural environments.
The U-ELCOME project involved 50 organisations from Spain, France, and Italy, more than 25 of which were Spanish, consolidating Spain’s leadership in innovation and the development of advanced air mobility solutions. Across the three countries, over a thousand drone operations were completed, testing cutting-edge technologies, including live demonstrations of systems such as common information service providers like ENAIRE and drone service providers.
