Article 4 Dynamic airspace reconfiguration

SEGREGATION ASSURANCE

(a)Protection buffers should be applied internally in the design phase, when assessing the volume of airspace to be designated as U-space airspace, so that flight authorisations are only granted to a specified vertical/horizontal distance from the U-space airspace limits.

(b)The values of the protection buffers should be taken into account and should be consistent with the UAS performance requirements for a given U-space airspace, specifically those requirements related to the lateral and vertical navigation performance or containment criteria.

PRELIMINARY ALERT TO UAS OPERATORS When the location where UAS operations take place is to become deactivated, a preliminary alert should be issued soon enough by the USSPs to UAS operators to allow them to revise the UAS flight authorisations, or enable safe landing, before the restriction becomes active.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF IMPLEMENTATION Once the U-space airspace, or parts of it, are clear of UAS traffic (i.e. UAS have been redirected to portions of the U-space airspace that remain active or have landed), the implementation of the dynamic airspace reconfiguration should be acknowledged to the ATC unit.

GENERAL

(a)Article 4 introduces the concept of dynamic reconfiguration of the U-space airspace and requires Member States to ensure that this concept is effectively put in place to avoid proximity between manned and unmanned aircraft within the U-space airspace.

(b)The dynamic reconfiguration of the U-space airspace is an important element of the overall safety argument for safe operations in the U-space airspace. It applies to a U-space airspace that is established in controlled airspace and allows manned aircraft to fly clear of the U-space airspace whilst ensuring the containment of the U-space traffic. Dynamic reconfiguration is carried out by the ATC unit in response to variable manned traffic patterns, which demand short-term U-space airspace adaptations.

GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE OPERATIONAL CONCEPT

(c)Initially, at least, the number of instances where dynamic airspace reconfiguration would be required should be limited. In addition, certain strategic measures could be taken to limit the extent of the dynamic airspace reconfiguration through, for example, the design of the U-space airspace itself. The better the airspace is designed, the easier it will be for ATC units to segregate manned from unmanned aircraft in the U-space airspace.

(d)Operationally, the ATC unit will inform USSPs that, depending on the U-space airspace design, certain portions of the U-space airspace (or its entirety) are (is) not eligible for flight authorisation, activation, and utilisation by the UAS. When these portions of the U-space airspace are dynamically deactivated, for tactical, short-term changes in manned traffic demand, USSPs should not grant flight authorisation/activation and should request the UAS operator that already flies into the deactivated portion of the U-space airspace to either exit it or land.

(e)The time margins (time within which, after deactivation, it is expected that the UAS that occupies the relevant portions of the U-space airspace will exit them or will have to land) for these operations may be established on a case-by-case basis, based on different factors, such as the proximity of the ATC route to the U-space airspace, including standard instrument departure / standard instrument arrival (SID/STAR), typical performance of manned aircraft in that particular airspace, constraints in the controlled airspace, or unexpected situations (e.g. non-standard go-around, emergency).

OPERATIONAL SCENARIO

(f)When the ATC unit intends to issue a clearance to a manned aircraft to enter the U-space airspace, it will initiate a dynamic airspace reconfiguration procedure. The ATC unit will preliminarily alert, through its respective USSPs, UAS operators about the imminent deactivation of the entirety, or the relevant portions, of the U-space airspace to let them anticipate and engage the appropriate manoeuvres. The ATC unit will then publish a temporary U-space airspace restriction for UAS as part of the CIS for that U-space airspace. USSPs that are active in that U-space airspace will adhere to this newly published restriction and provide the corresponding information to all UAS operators connected to their services through the geoawareness service. In addition, they will check authorised UAS flights against the newly published restriction and cancel or amend flight authorisations accordingly.

(g)The UAS operators concerned will be notified through the UAS flight authorisation service and will need to either discontinue their flights or conform with the amended UAS flight authorisations, as applicable. USSPs will notify the ATC unit once the restricted portion of the U-space airspace is clear of UAS traffic as UAS will have exited the restricted portion of the Uspace airspace.

(h)The ATC unit will clear manned aircraft to enter the U-space airspace once it is ensured that the segregation from UAS traffic has been achieved.

(i)Upon completion of the manned flight through the U-space airspace, the ATC unit will complete the dynamic airspace reconfiguration procedure, by lifting the dynamic restriction, and USSPs will be allowed again to activate UAS flight authorisations or provide UAS new flight authorisations for UAS operators accordingly.

SEGREGATION ASSURANCE

(a)The segregation effectiveness and assurance are highly dependent on the amount of time given to UAS operators to react according to the performance of the UAS they operate. As per GM2 to point ATS.TR.237 of Regulation (EU) 2017/373 amended by Regulation (EU) 2021/665, the ATC unit is expected to raise an alert as soon as practicable and ensure a recommended time window of 10 minutes before the implementation, plus 2 minutes once the restriction becomes active.

(b)To ensure that manned aircraft that operate in controlled airspace within a U-space airspace are segregated from UAS that operate in that U-space airspace, there is a need for:

(1)performance standards for UAS (those for manned aircraft being already widely established) to make reasonably sure that UAS will have the capability to stay within the defined airspace volume, with reference to both position accuracy and horizontal/vertical speed, and to exit the deactivated U-space airspace or land within a reasonable time;

(2)criteria (e.g. applicable buffer) to determine the airspace volume required to consider that segregation has been reasonably assured.

(c)According to Article 3(4)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2021/664, UAS capabilities and performance requirements are determined by Member States for each U-space airspace, based on the related airspace risk assessment.

SEGREGATION ASSURANCE According to the GM to point ATS.TR.237 of Regulation (EU) 2017/373 amended by Regulation (EU) 2021/665, it is recommended as best practice that the ATC unit raise an advisory alert to UAS operators either 10 minutes or 5 times the anticipation time before the U-space airspace becomes deactivated. This ‘anticipation time’ is suggested to be a minimum of 2 minutes.