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HARMONIZED INTEGRATION AND VERIFICATION OF UAS MULTIPLE SIMULTANEOUS OPERATIONS IN THE U-SPACE ENVIRONMENT (HIVE)

Objective

The evolution of U-space must anticipate the rise of Multiple Simultaneous Operations (MSO) as a driver for scalable and economically viable drone services. Fleet operations—multiple unmanned aircraft managed under a common Fleet Management System (FMS)—are essential for logistics, surveillance, and inspection. Swarm operations—groups of aircraft flying within a tightly coordinated 1-connected envelope—have proven value in entertainment and are expanding toward higher-value applications such as public safety, search and rescue, and emergency response.

Today’s U-space remains optimised for single-aircraft management, with separation provided by U-space Service Providers (USSPs). Scaling this model to fleets and swarms risks overloading service layers and limiting capacity. HIVE (Harmonized Integration and Verification of Multiple Simultaneous Operations in U-space Environment) addresses this challenge through a layered delegation framework, where selected intra-separation and conformance functions shift from ATM/U-space services to FMS or Swarm Management Systems (SMS). In such scenarios, the USSP treats the swarm as a Single Operational Object, while internal spacing, C2 management, and Remote ID are coordinated within the group.

This delegation must rest on verifiable performance and safety requirements. A key research gap is the absence of air and ground risk models for MSO operations, particularly for higher-SAIL missions (e.g. SORA SAIL III+). HIVE tackles this by extending existing frameworks—CORUS ConOps, EUROCONTROL ARA, and SORA —to cover fleets and swarms.

Aligned with SESAR’s transformation levers—automation, dynamic airspace, trajectory optimisation, and human–machine teaming —HIVE will deliver:

operational concepts for fleets and swarms,

novel MSO risk models,

a preliminary compliance framework, and

pre-validation activities.

These outputs lay the foundation for scalable integration of MSO into U-space and the Digital European Sky.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03

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Coordinator

Flyfire srl
Net EU contribution
€ 234 500,00
Address
Via Macerata 15
10149 Torino
Italy
SME
Yes
Region
Nord-Ovest Piemonte Torino
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost
No data

Participants (4)