Celebrating 1 year of U-space

What is U-space?

Last Friday we celebrated 1 year of U-space at SkeyDrone. Since 26 January 2023, EU Member States can identify U-space airspace areas where drones may fly increasingly complex operations – beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) – supported by air traffic services provided by certified U-space service providers (USSP). U-space airspaces will be created in areas of high traffic, with multiple drone operations creating a risk of collision.

To BVLOS or not to BVLOS?

Currently, no U-space airspaces have been installed so far in Europe. Consequently, BVLOS-based multiple drone operations are not allowed yet. However, BVLOS flights are authorised over the Port of Antwerp-Bruges area since March 2023, a first in Europe. SkeyDrone created a BVLOS Enablement Framework that enabled this. This framework has been recognized as a “safe to fly” risk-mitigating framework, paving the way for many other drone operators to conduct scalable BVLOS flights in congested airspaces and high-risk environments.

Is it a bird, is it a plane? It’s BURDI!

SkeyDrone’s BVLOS Enablement Framework was developed as a predecessor of U-space airspace under specific circumstances. Currently this Framework is being used at the Belgium-Netherlands U-space Reference Design Implementation (BURDI) project. This project aims to:

implement a U-space airspace concept able to manage various, dense and complex UAS operations in controlled, uncontrolled and UAM environments
make this implementation a reference to develop best practices, standardisation, harmonisation and/or interoperability requirements fostering operational deployment of U-space airspaces in Europe
ensure that solutions to be deployed are economically sustainable and socially acceptable/supported for the benefit of the general public

Within BURDI, the consortium is diligently navigating all the necessary steps, aiming for the actual implementation of the first U-space airspace in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges later this year. This will be an important milestone, bringing us closer to SkeyDrone’s vision of creating a future where drones have seamless access to airspace and will bring significant contributions to the economy and our society at large. Cheers to that!

Learn more about SkeyDrone’s U-space services here.

Latest Posts

SkeyDrone collaborates with Belgian police to secure airspace during summer festival season

Steenokkerzeel, 1 July 2024 – SkeyDrone is proud to announce its collaboration with several Belgian police districts, responsible for security at major music festivals. The Police Districts of Rupel, Lokeren and Limburg Capital Region will benefit from SkeyDrone’s state-of-the-art drone detection solution to keep the airspace above the festivals in their districts safe. Belgium is […]
Exciting Updates to the SkeyDrone Hub

We are excited to announce several major updates to the SkeyDrone Hub, making it even more user-friendly and functional. As the central cloud platform for all SkeyDrone applications, including Drone Analytics and Drone Radar for drone detection, Drone Monitor for Traffic Information Service and Fly and Planner for flight authorisation, the SkeyDrone Hub plays a […]
SkeyDrone Releases First Drone Detection Report

Steenokkerzeel, 5 June 2024 – SkeyDrone is proud to announce the release of its first public Drone Detection Report. The report offers a high-level analysis of the drone flights detected within the center of Brussels during the month of May 2024, based on SkeyDrone’s Drone Detection network. The report provides crucial insights into various aspects […]
SkeyDrone supports Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport’s ambitions to become a drone hub

Wevelgem, 22 May 2024 – International Airport Kortrijk-Wevelgem is paving the way for a sustainable future by fully committing to drone technology. The first step involves installing a new drone detection system to ensure air traffic safety in and around the airport. To test this system, the airport temporarily suspended crewed air traffic today for […]