Federal Minister Dr. Volker Wissing wants to simplify commercial use of drones in Germany. A new concept for integrating drones into the airspace creates the basis for this.
Surveillance of power plants and ports, maintenance of technical facilities, rapid delivery of medical supplies: the need for the use of civil drones in Germany will increase sharply in the coming years. In order to better integrate drone traffic into existing airspace, the German Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV) today presented a "U-Space Concept." In so-called U-Spaces, manned and unmanned aircraft fly safely and in a coordinated manner in a common airspace. The first U-Space law will be drafted next year on the basis of the concept.
Dr. Volker Wissing:
"We want to make the use of drones in Germany easier and safer. Drones have great potential to relieve traditional traffic flows and make our everyday lives easier. As an industrial nation, we want to be open to technology - also with regard to the use of drones. With the U-Space concept, we are creating an important prerequisite for connected and automated flying in our country. We want to further strengthen Germany's role as a driver in unmanned aviation and will present legislation that enables innovation and progress."
About the U-Space concept of the BMDV
The U-Space concept serves to safely integrate unmanned aviation into existing airspace structures in compliance with European regulations. The aim is for delivery, inspection and supply drones to be able to use a common airspace with, for example, emergency helicopters, gliders or passenger aircraft. The concept provides action guidelines for a law planned for 2023 to establish U-Spaces in Germany. Participants in the development included the federal and state governments, aviation authorities and the Drone Advisory Board. The results of the BMDV-funded U-Space reallaboratory in Hamburg were also incorporated into the concept. The U-Space concept helps to define the responsibilities, necessary structures and the procedure for the designation of U-Spaces in accordance with the Implementing Regulation (DVO) (EU) 2021/664.
In the future, a U-Space coordinator based at the BMDV or in its division is to decide on the establishment of U-Spaces with the participation of the responsible state authorities and the municipalities. U-Spaces are to be designated in metropolitan areas, since a large number of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles are on the move here. They will be spatially limited to the extent necessary for planned operations. Once legislation has been passed next year, the first U-Spaces can be designated in Germany.
How the drone flight works in U-Space
A U-Space serves to safely integrate unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into existing airspace structures where the operation of a large number of UAS is expected. To this end, important services for the operation of UAS, some of which are safety-related, are provided for companies and private individuals.
In other words, U Spaces are used to provide visibility of manned aircraft and UAS and to implement the necessary safety and traffic management measures. Drone traffic is coordinated by service providers (U-Space Service Providers, USSP), of which there may be several in a U-Space. These are the points of contact for the drone operators and issue flight permits for the drone missions, among other things. The USSPs receive their information from the Single Common Information Service Provider (SCISP). It provides the USSP with all relevant airspace and traffic data for the provision of U-Space services. Among other things, drone operators are provided with a complete aerial situation picture for their flight, showing manned and unmanned air traffic together. This allows operators to detect other air traffic in a timely manner. If there are restrictions or other traffic participants are in the vicinity, operators are automatically notified. Drone controllers and supervisors are also automatically alerted if they leave approved flight corridors. The establishment of U-Spaces is thus an important prerequisite for safe commercial drone traffic.